Trucking Around: The Lobsta Truck brings New England favorites, seafood to West Coast

Food trucks are a vital part of the L.A. culinary scene, with many accumulating hordes of followers who aggressively pursue them around the city. The sheer magnitude of trucks can make dining choices difficult, but columnist Alisha Kapur has narrowed down 10 to try and review. Join her as she goes across the city, experiencing everything from Korean barbecue tacos to sushi burritos, in an attempt to find the food trucks that are worth following.

As a Connecticut native, I take pride in my enjoyment of one of the East Coast’s claims to fame: seafood. During the summer, small New England towns bustle with excitement as visitors and locals alike frequent shacks that specialize in ocean cuisine. Before leaving for school, I filled up on lobster rolls, thinking that I would not see them again until the next summer.

I was wrong. Los Angeles and San Francisco have their own twist on one of my favorite foods, served straight from the Lobsta Truck, and it tastes as good as, if not better than, the Connecticut version.

The Lobsta Truck, which orders its bread rolls and lobsters fresh from New England, has a limited menu. Its main draw is the lobster roll, which one can order with either butter or seasoned mayo. Other than lobster rolls, the truck sells crab rolls, clam chowder, lobster bisque, potato chips, whoopie pies and fresh squeezed lemonade.

The truck travels around the city, but I visited it while in Sherman Oaks. It was a quiet Easter Sunday, so only two other people stood in line before my friend and me. I ordered a lobster roll with seasoned mayo, clam chowder and lemonade, and she ordered a lobster roll with butter. Each lobster roll costs $13 and a cup of clam chowder is $4.

One can add extra meat to the roll for a few more dollars, but neither of us did this, and I worried that the roll would not have enough lobster. However, when we got the rolls, they were stuffed with just enough claw meat to satisfy us. The rolls were a little small, but their prices were comparable to those of New England ones.

I expected my roll to be cold and covered with salad like the ones I have had at home. However, the lobster was warm, and the only other thing on the roll was the seasoned mayo. The mayo did not overpower the meat, and although I had never had a roll quite like this one, I enjoyed it more than the lobster salad rolls from home.

My roll had a little more taste than my friend’s, but hers reminded me of Connecticut’s specialty: the warm lobster roll, which only uses butter as seasoning. I could almost swear that I was back at home, sitting on a picnic table near the beach with my family, enjoying a hearty bite of the sweet and creamy seafood I love.

We moved on to the clam chowder after the rolls. It took on the form of a classic New England chowder: thick with a distinctly salty and vaguely sweet flavor. We burnt our tongues with the first bite, but after we waited for the chowder to cool, we scarfed the potato and chopped clam concoction down. I would probably ask for extra clam meat if I were to order the chowder again, but overall the chowder held its own; it was not too watery or too thick, and its taste did not overwhelm.

I also ordered the fresh squeezed lemonade, which was refreshing but not worth the two dollars I paid. The drink was small and a bit too sour for me. Next time, I will probably skip this and just get water.

Although its prices might seem a bit steep for a college student’s budget – I spent about $19 on my roll, chowder and lemonade – the Lobsta Truck provides Californians with a genuine taste of the East Coast and New Englanders with a pleasant reminder of home.

Do you know any food trucks in Los Angeles worth sampling? Email Kapur at [email protected].