On my last trip to Los Angeles, when I had been throwing my sister’s wedding shower, we had driven by Son of a Gun on the way to Dry Bar and I vowed to return on my next visit. I made good on that promise to myself on this most recent trip to LA.
My main focus was to try the shrimp toast sandwich and their famous lobster roll. Besides anything with cheese, I would say a lobster roll tops my list that if I see it on a menu, I will order it. And, I am willing to travel and do what it takes for a good version of a lobster roll. The one at Son of a Gun has been listed as one of the top 5 lobster rolls in LA, which further fueled my motivation. The signage is not that obvious, but look for the red door.
Son of a Gun is mostly a seafood restaurant, which is why the large sections of their menu are divided into Raw, Shellfish, Fish, and only 2 options for Meat and 3 seasonals which are salads. But, one of those options for meat is their famous fried chicken sandwich. The other, which we did not have room for, is the Country ham sandwich they offer.
Unlike the shrimp toast sandwich and lobster roll, this thing is massive, served with a buttery roll and spicy b&b pickle slaw and rooster aioli.
Meanwhile, the shrimp toast sandwich and lobster roll are more palm sized, so like me, you can order 1 of each. The shrimp toast sandwich with herbs and sriracha mayo is small for the price tag, as is the lobster roll, but are intense in flavor. The shrimp toast sandwich you can conceivably cut in half to share a taste as it is a bit greasy, but you will want to eat that lobster roll, with its very buttery roll that is melt in your mouth, all by yourself.
Remember, the lobster roll is only palm sized, unlike many other lobster rolls that are hoagie sized, so set your expectations accordingly.
One disappointment during our visit was that service was slow. We arrived there a bit later to avoid the lunch rush, around 1:45 pm. It took almost 10 minutes before someone finally took our order and bring our waters, and so we didn’t see any food until 2:10 pm (verified by the timestamp on my pictures). Only shortly after receiving our food, while still eating, the waitress came over to ask if us if we wanted dessert or anything else as they were closing the kitchen (the restaurant closes at 2:30 to complete lunch service), not that they had the menu in hand when they asked so we could look. There were literally only a handful of tables occupied in the restaurant, so I’m not quite sure why they were slow to get to us. We paid cash in order to get out of there quickly. Hopefully, this was just a one-off experience on a waitress’ bad day.
Similar to how I will journey to find a good lobster roll, is there certain food you will go out of your way for when you travel?
