3.) Sam’s ChowderMobile: America’s first gourmet mobile seafood truck
It wasn’t long after Sam’s Chowder House opened in Half Moon Bay, California, in 2006 before customer requests for more locations started pouring in.
Practically speaking, opening another storefront in the San Francisco Bay was out of the question at the time. However, a gourmet mobile food truck was a concept that had real traction, recalls Sam’s Chowder House Co-Owner Julie Shenkman.
“The restaurant became very popular quickly, and we received requests from customers all over the Bay Area asking if we could open a Sam’s near them,” Shenkman told SeafoodSource. “At the time, that wasn’t practical for us, but it did lead us to the idea of a food truck, which could be a ‘travelling Sam’s.’”
Now the business has a fleet of Sam’s ChowderMobiles – three, to be exact – and has instilled a love for lobster rolls in many California patrons.
“Our lobster roll is the top selling item from our food truck,” said Shenkman. “We were the first gourmet mobile seafood truck in America when we opened our doors, and we’ve built up a huge following for our lobster rolls in particular. We do daily routes throughout the Bay Area, including many lunch stops at tech firms, but we also do a lot of private events from our trucks – from weddings to corporate events.”
Sam’s Famous Lobster Roll (USD 18) and Lobster Roll “Shortie” (USD 13) consist of Maine lobster tossed in butter and placed in a toasted bun. The menu item was also selected as one of the Top 5 “Best Sandwiches in America” by NBC’s The Today Show.
Other items sold by Sam’s ChowderMobile include the New England Clam Chowder (USD 5.25), which utilized little neck clams, Yukon gold potatoes, smoked bacon, onion, thyme and cream as well as the Crispy Crab Cake (USD 8.25), which includes Lump Blue crab fried “Maryland Style.”
