Sam’s Chowdermobile

The restaurant manager was very professional and solved the seating problem with a professionalism, thank you sir

Sam’s Chowdermobile came to our job for a private company lunch. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am for this treat. I tried the lobster roll, clam chowder, and chicken po boy. EVERYTHING was fantastic. All of my co-​workers enjoyed all of the selections as well. I hope they come back!

I feel fortunate when Sam’s shows up for a food truck event or even one time for a private catered event! This ain’t no street taco truck for sure!
Liked
— lobster rolls
— clam chowder
— shrimp

I tried the fish and chips when they were parked in Golden Gate Park (near the Academy of Sciences). They were out of lobster rolls and chowder (yes, a chowdermobile that is out of chowder). Two whimsy pieces of fish and soggy fries were placed in my white takeout box. $ 10+

All three soups were fantastic! The clam chowder was amongst the best I’ve had on the west coast! The Manhattan was rich in full ingredients! The gumbo had authentic ingredients like Okra! Thanks Bridget!

Sam’s Chowdermobile is the food truck for Sam’s Chowder House in HMB. We had their food in San Francisco’s Golden Gate park, very close to the de Young museum. Line was long, but they were efficient.
DH thought the best item was their lobster roll (regular size $ 17.75). Large, delicious chunks of warm lobster smothered in butter, with tiny bits of celery to provide crunch. Truly yummy. The soft bread was great too, except I thought they went overboard on the butter. The thing was dripping butter on the tray! Eat it fast or it will get cold in the chilly SF weather! It comes with a small container of coleslaw — onion forward, crunchy, very creamy, but not tangy enough.
Fried calamari ($ 8.75) is excellent here, even better than at the restaurant. I think it’s because you get them straight out of the fryer. They’re hot and super crispy. The dipping sauces are delicious… one is a cocktail sauce and the other is a tartar sauce.
Clam chowder ($ 5.50) is thinner than the stuff from cans. :) It is a white, New England style chowder with clean flavors, not smoky like the ones we’ve tried from Seattle. There are little pieces of bacon in there. It seemed too salty after a while. They get bonus points for large clam pieces. There are also potatoes, which were well cooked.
Overall, one of the best food trucks we’ve experienced (and we’ve tried a lot!).

A little disappointed in this place for being a no show on their weekday lunch schedule. Really dislike the lack of communication through their social media. My suspicion is that they may have posted one address, but ended at another location due to the drivers. When I walked to the location they had posted, no one was there except a couple others on their phone looking for a good lobster roll. I really enjoy the food here, they have great po boys and lobster rolls. However, recent experience has been a big let down.

Lobster roll, cole slaw, & fries — All pretty good. You know how it is… lobster is always pricey, so be prepared to shell out some $$ if you desire it. I wish they served a small size cup of clam chowder, but they don’t :(

The best clam chowder I have ever had. I love that there is outside seating, which is beautiful and also dog friendly. They seem to be always busy, especially on the weekends. Parking is a little limited.

3.5 stars. Was disappointed in the lobster roll. Found it a little tough and bland. The bread tasted too «fried».
Their clam chowder however was super tasty! I normally don’t like new England clam chowder but not in this case. I devoured that soup.
Their crab ball appetizer was really good as well but oh so tiny and oh so expensive. Is a tiny golfball size of crab worth around $ 13? Still pondering that one.
I’m wondering if I got the lobster roll at the restaurant if it might have been better than the food truck.
It’s nice that you can walk down to the beach and enjoy your food and relax. What’s not nice is seeing a dead seal on the beach with a decomposed face. I mean really!!! Come on! What are the odds?

A quick stop off at the Chowdermobile will do in a pinch when the unnecessary long lines at the restaurant gets to be unbearable. The lobster roll is stuffed with lots of succulent crustaceaned meat — we’re satiated for the moment. The steep price is $ 18.95 is less than to be desired though.

Worst lobster roll I’ve ever had. For $ 16, I expect more than a tiny bit of partially frozen lobster on a cold, previously toasted piece of bread. The guy in the truck was grumpy and had the nerve to stick the tip jar in my face — which had a note saying he was saving up for something.
Not at all enjoyable.

I went to eat at Sam’s Chowder House at about 2pm. There was about an hour wait for a table. They told me I could eat at the bar, which had a full menu, no seats there either. So, they told me to go to the Chowdermobile, and they basically have the full menu. I don’t know what their definition of «basically» is, but they have a very limited menu. I wanted some Manhattan Clam Chowder… not available on the chowdermobile. I got a Lobster Roll. It was like a combination between a Maine Roll, which has cold lobster Mayo & Celery and a Connecticut Roll, which is warm lobster and butter. This roll had celery, but no mayo and everything else was Connecticut style. It was ok. I am used to the New England rolls, which are bigger and better. From having to park about ¼ mile away, and then having to deal the holiday crowd, and then not really being able to get what I wanted, was quite a let down. The staff seemed very overwhelmed. It smelled good and the food I saw in the restaurant looked good and everyone seemed happy, who were lucky enough to get seating. And I’ve had worse lobster rolls. For those reasons and those reasons alone, I’ll give it three stars, but their disorganization and not knowing about the chowdermobile having a condensed menu from the restaurant is not acceptable. If I am up here again (doubtful), I probably would eat somewhere else.

I’ve ordered from Sam’s truck at the movbl feast in San Mateo and Willow Glenn.
I stumbled upon this​truck in San Mateo, when the lines for the other trucks were too long.
I opted for the shrimp po boy (I’m not a seafood fan, I only eat shrimp) hoping for the best since it seemed like the least popular truck on scene.
It was so freakin good! I devoured that boy and enjoyed every bite of it. The sauce (or dressing?) is definitely a winner and the batter used to fry the shrimp is on point. My coworker ordered the andouille sausage po boy and she was raving about it too. Definitely kind of messy to eat and I wished the fries were seasoned a bit more.
The next day, at my suggestion, we went to the feast at Willow Glenn with my bf and he, too, thought the po boy was delicious.
Definitely my new favorite truck!

Sam’s Chowdermobile comes to our work at least three times a year during the Winter season! Our Property Manager makes sure every tenant in the building receives an email about Sam’s coming to our parking lot to serve some deliciousness usually around 11:30 am. My coworkers are always the first ones in line BEFORE they are open for service, why? Because duh you have to beat the crowd and make sure you make people jealous as you walk by them with my yummy Lobster Rolls: D
I always get the Lobster Rolls because I’m just in love with it. Every bite just takes me to heaven. They put a good amount of meat which I really like and I get a side of clam chowder with it. I can’t wait until they come to my work again and just devour some Lobster Rolls. Thinking about this right now just makes me hungry: D

This is a review for the fish ‘n chips, which judging from other reviews praising the lobster rolls and shrimp po’ boys, is NOT the thing to order.
I liked the frying style, which imparted a distinct crust, although it edged on «burned» which was too much for my dining partner. Neither of us like the fish itself (pollock) too much, and it was a bit overcooked. Additionally, the fries were thinner than I’d like and were just ok. The 2-​piece meal was pretty huge.
If you go, don’t get the fish and chips.

In a part of my new quest to explore the wonderful world of food trucks, I stumbled across this particular one when I was on Unilocal.Since they were closeby at Nimble Storage, I decided to grab lunch there. Usually when I try a place for the first time, I like to try a little bit of their specialties, allowing me to get a good overall view of this place. I got the shortie roll, clam chowder, and the fries. I really didn’t care much for the fries, as they were just your typical homemade fries, which is now a norm in this area, with seasoning. However, the shortie roll and clam chowder were delicious. This place is probably not one where I would eat everyday, since the shortie roll had a lot of butter, the clam chowder has cream, and the fires… are fries… but it’s definitely a good place for a one-​in-​a-​while treat.
Now as for why I deducted a star… The total price came out to about $ 18. The fries were $ 4, which is a little crazy, considering, as I said, that they were just typical fries with some seasoning. Even if you don’t get the fries, the price is still $ 14 if you are getting just the shortie roll and clam chowder. For that price, I expected a little more food or at least a more filling meal. Yes, I understand seafood is expensive but still, if it’s over $ 10 for lunch, which to me is a sandwich and a side, then it has to be, at the very least, filling.
However, like I said, for a once-​in-​a-​while treat, I wouldn’t mind coming to this place again if they are in the nearby area.

Had my first lobster roll a couple years ago in Golden Gate Park, and since then have occasionally chased down their truck on the Peninsula or South Bay. I’ve tried their shrimp po’ boy — pretty good — but the lobster roll is the stuff. Heaping portions of tender lobster meat on a heavily-​buttered roll — absolutely delicious.
Why not 5 stars? Because the price is steeper than it should be (lobster meat wholesale has dropped recently but their prices haven’t reflected this change) and because the roll that you get at the restaurant is actually better than from the truck. But for an alternative to tech company cafeteria fare, this is an excellent choice.

(So I ended up getting unlimited amounts of Sam’s thanks to a company event. So this review doesn’t consider the price. They actually covered up the prices… so I have absolutely no idea what each item costs).
Here’s what I ended up trying (basically a lot of things on the menu. I couldn’t carry all the boxes in one trip…)
— New England Clam Chowder: delicious! This is what makes the chowdermobile so special. The ingredients and creaminess is perfect.
— Fried Calamari: the box was HUGE! I thought it was going to be tiny, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box and saw the amount of calamari about to enter my mouth. This was also my favorite.
— Lobster Roll: According to The Today Show, this is one of the top 5 best sandwiches in America. And you can definitely tell that within the first few bites. Unfortunately by the time I reached the Lobster Roll, I had already finished the majority of the first two things listed above. So I was extremely full.
— Baja Fish Taco — okay… stick to the lobster roll.
Great ingredients and awesome staff. I ended running into them again and multiple company events, so I’ve had the luxury to enjoy unlimited lobster rolls many times. Delicious and probably one of the best I’ve had. Thanks Sam!

The Chowdermobile is by far my favorite food truck. Although I haven’t really eaten at as many food trucks as I’d like to have, but no matter. Everything here is pretty good to great. Here’s a quick roundup of my favorites:
1) Lobster Roll is very good, but not worth the high price tag in my opinion
2) Clam Chowder is really good. Not the best I’ve ever had, but definetly top 5.
3) Shrimp Po’ Boy w/​fries is the best thing they have on their menu by far. It’s so good that I was slightly obsessed with it for a little while. I was hunting down the Chowdermobile like a rabid dog. They also have an Andouille Sausage Po’ Boy that I’m going to try one of these days. It looks really good, but I can’t stop thinking of the Shrimp.
The Mobile has some pretty regular stops and some not-​so-​regular stops. I suggest signing up for their weekly emails, or tweets, to see if they’re stopping someplace close to you. Also, I’d recommend getting there as early as possible. The line can get insanely long very quickly.