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View Winners → They Are On A Roll, Literally: Cousins Maine Lobster
Arts Mar 19, 2015
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By Ea Nicole Madrigal
The approach toward providing quality food in a particular setting has changed dramatically over the last decade. No longer is the brick and mortar building the only way to give diners a specific restaurant’s cuisine. Instead, over the last 10 years, the food truck has revolutionized the dining experience by giving excellent sustenance to hungry (and mobile) patrons. One of the best examples of this food truck frenzy is Cousins Maine Lobster.
Photo by Ea Madrigal
Many of you in the San Gabriel Valley might remember Cousins Maine Lobster from their former residence on the lavish and crowded Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. However, in the greater Los Angeles area, the cousins have utilized their food trucks to spread the good word and great food.
I caught up with their food truck last weekend as it made a visit to the bustling streets of Sierra Madre Boulevard for the annual Wisteria Festival in the city of Sierra Madre. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to indulge in this seafood phenomenon. However, Cousins Maine Lobster has one of those rags-to-riches stories worth a mention before I share my personal food experience.
Started in April 2012 in Los Angeles by cousins Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis, Cousins became well known for taking the lobster food truck idea to ABC’s Shark Tank and finding an investor in Barbara Corcoran. Fast forward nearly three years later in 2015, Cousins services 10 different cities across the country (three in California) with the best lobster the United States has to offer – Maine’s.
With that said, why is it worth it to seek out this Los Angeles-based truck to try their lobster? Whereas most restaurants would charge you a premium for quality lobster, Cousins charges just a fraction of the cost for theirs. You may not be sitting down at a dining table with cloth napkins and a cocktail listening to elevator music, but a cold soda, some paper napkins, and the outdoor ambience should suffice.
On my visit, I tried their most traditional item on the menu – the one that they have become best known for over time: the Maine Lobster Roll. It was sautéed with butter and served on a perfectly crisp white roll. The roll itself is likely no bigger than 4-5 inches in length, but it is stuffed to the brim with some of the most delectable lobster I have ever tasted. It is astoundingly fresh, which may be surprising for some since it is coming from a food truck.
Especially for those of you who do not think of seafood when you search for a restaurant on wheels, you may be pleased to know that the lobster at Cousins does not have that distinctly “fishy” taste. And despite the relatively small size of the meal, you will find yourself pleasantly full.
Cousins does not simply serve a bunch of lobster rolls on their truck, either. The food truck cuisine also includes tasty items such as lobster-filled tacos. In addition, on their website, Cousins sells everything from lobster entrees to “lobster roll kits” where you can bring their restaurant experience directly inside your home to make your own lobster rolls.
Cousins Maine Lobster reminds us all that – as things have tendencies to transform in the 21st century toward convenience – so too does the traditional restaurant. And these cousins, and their seafood-based business which recognizes these modern changes, are certainly on a roll!
For more information on Cousins Maine Lobster, see their website: http://www.cousinsmainelobster.com
