I’ve visited Cousins Maine Lobster before, at their food truck in 2013, and since then the Cousins (yes, they are two cousins who founded this, plus backing from Shark Tank) they have expanded the number of cities for which they have food truck franchises (20 trucks in 13 cities throughout the US, though no location in Portland Oregon), and also opened a brick and mortar restaurant location in Los Angeles in the West Hollywood area. You can get their lobster goodness to eat there at the restaurant, order to go, or even get it delivered via Postmates or UberEats. Being a lover of eating lobster, of course I had to check it out!
They still offer three seafood rolls- the classic Maine lobster roll that is served chilled with mayo, the Connecticut which is lobster served warm with butter, or the Crab roll that is the Maine lobster roll but with crab meat instead of lobster meat.
The brick and mortar location adds the ability with a larger kitchen to have even more lobster options and other seafood, including a Lobster Tail & Tots combo with a 4-5 ounce lobster tail and tots, Lobster tacos, Lobster tots, Lobster grilled cheese, and a Lobster BLT, among many other options varying from Fish and Chips, Shrimp Tacos, Maine Fried Clams and more. There is more then twice as much stuff available at the restaurant then available at the trucks. They also offer a Lobster Rewards program that I am going to work on earning for my sister who lives there heh heh.
Connecticut Lobster Roll, served warm with butter and lemon on a New England style roll.
Lobster Tots, tater tots with warmed Maine lobster, cilantro lime sauce, and pico de gallo.
Lobster Grilled Cheese with Maine lobster and pepper jack and cheddar cheeses.
Lobster BLT with Maine lobster, bacon, slice tomato, mixed greens, herb spiked aioli, artisan bun.
My favorite is still the warmed roll, the Connecticut Roll, which lets you focus on the freshness of the lobster with just the simple butter and lemon. All the various seafood entrees from sandwich to tacos varies from $12-17, with the highest being a sampler special that offers three half sandwiches (1/2 each of lobster, crab, and shrimp roll) for $19. You can upgrade by adding more lobster meat for $5 to any dish.
Considering they still ship their lobsters from Maine, they have tried to really balance the reality of the costs with also providing a satisfying sandwich – it’s hard when you have a setup that is fast casual but has the premium of managing seafood. I appreciate having a place to get my lobster fix that is so easy.
What is your vote for, crab or lobster? As I’ve mentioned I love lobster most, but I will also take crab if I don’t have to wrestle it out myself which is my main problem with crab – how little meat you get for all the work!
LOBSTER DELIVERY??!?!?! OMG! Best ever!
OMG – All that lobster!!! Lobster Grilled Cheese?! I don’t believe I’ve ever even had a lobster roll – I want to try everything at Cousins!
Sounds delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever had lobster at a restaurant!
I may be swimming alone in the ocean on this one, but my vote is always going to be for the Dungeness. I’ve just never been a big lobster fan (at least not at West Coast prices). That being said, the Connecticut lobster roll looks fantastic, and I would definitely not turn one down if offered!
I’m sure you are not alone – most of PDX probably agrees with you based on how lobster focused biz don’t seem to be able to survive here. That said, I think it’s less work to get to the lobster meat then the crab meat which I appreciate
I love crab AND lobster! Lobster Tots?!!! I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place. I miss Maine lobsters like crazy here, and everything looks so good. Thanks for the tip, Pech!
I can’t believe they have their lobster trucks outside California in places like Texas or Arizona but not here in PDX – guess the crab love is too strong here
That lobster grilled cheese has my name written all over it! This place looks amazing. When we lived in CT we did a 4 day lobster crawl up from CT, through MA, and drove throughout the coast of Maine all in search of everything lobster (from cocktails, brunch, appetizers, all leading up to my very first ever full lobster dinner). Growing up in AZ I didn’t get much lobster, so I took full advantage of that when I was in New England.
So jealous of your lobster crawl…….
Sounds like they have a great business model so I’m curious to see how their brick and mortar does. Great suggestions and photos Pech!
I am hoping their brick and mortar does well since it saves me the trouble of trying to figure out where the cart is moving to that day – though the cart is a great option to go to where audience is
I’m going to try to go next time I’m in LA! 🙂