A Third Of Lobster Dishes In Restaurants Found To Contain Cheaper Fish

You're not necessarily eating lobster when you order it from a restaurant, suggests a new investigation from Inside Edition.

According to research, at least 35 percent of the lab-tested samples, gathered from 28 restaurants around the country, contained some amount of a cheaper substitute, such as whiting. One Tampa restaurant called Get Hooked admitted during the investigation that its lobster rolls are actually made with a frozen mixture that contains some lobster, as well as whiting and pollock.

Red Lobster — the national seafood chain recently honored with a shout-out in "Formation," the new single from Beyoncé — was found to be using a mixture of lobster and langostino in its seafood bisque.

However, despite being known in the United States as a "squat lobster," the langostino is not a true lobster, and is more closely related to a hermit crab. Inside Edition tested the bisque from three Red Lobster locations and found that one restaurant used exclusively langostino, which legally cannot be sold as lobster bisque.

In a statement, Red Lobster told Inside Edition, "Our lobster bisque can contain meat from Maine lobster, langostino lobster, or, in some cases, a combination of both. Both types provide the bisque with a rich, sweet taste that our guests love."

One chain, however, had samples that were "loaded with lobster." Inside Edition found that true lobster bisque can be found at The Original Soupman, the New York City soup restaurant that served as the inspiration for Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi."