ShackMobile

Oh don’t get me wrong, their rolls are still amazing but when you have to pay $ 18 for a roll it just takes the fun off it :(

I’ve tried this place a few times and have different experiences with the food each time. The lobster mac and the regular mac n cheese were just amazing, I really didn’t expect it to be so cheesy and good. I also tried the pulled pork mac and cheese and I did not like it at all, the two just did not go together and the pork wasn’t smokey enough or have enough bbq sauce to my liking. I would like to go to the actual restaurant and try some of their other menu items.

I like this truck for a few reasons, although I tried this a couple days after having a lobster roll at Sam’s Chowdermobile, and I actually prefer the version from the Chowdermobile.
Pros:
–Really fast service.
–Loads of lobster meat in the roll.
–Coleslaw is delicious with the dried blueberries.
–Large menu with lots of good options.
Cons:
–Lobster dishes are expensive
–I prefer the lobster roll at Sam’s Chowdermobile. The bread is more buttery and soft at Sam’s, and my taste buds think it combines with the buttered lobster at Sams’ better than the mayo’d lobster at the Shackmobile.
–Unlike Sam’s, there is no smaller roll option for a cheaper meal.
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Conclusion:
Expensive, and the roll isn’t as good as Sam’s Chowdermobile. However, the fast service and the extensive menu make the Shackmobile a really great food truck choice.

2 ½ stars-I’ve heard about the ShackMobile from other people, and I finally had my chance to try it for myself this week. The ShackMobile was scheduled to serve at Moveable Feast-​Valley Fair at 11, but woe is me, when I walked up, the truck wasn’t even there! Okay, I know traffic can be a pain, so no hard feelings. When they arrived 15 minutes later, I was so ready for my lobster roll. They actually parked and set up fairly quickly. They have a really cool truck equipped with one of those automatic awnings people often have in their backyards.
I wanted to compare apples to apples, so I ordered the naked lobster roll with butter. You see, Sam’s Chowdermobile lobster is tossed with butter, not mayo. I also got a cup of clam chowder. I was so disappointed in the food I had from the ShackMobile. I was expecting big ol’ chunks of lobster meat. There were a couple of claw and chunks, but my roll was filled with lots of little bits of shredded lobster meat. It was kind of odd to eat the cold lobster & room temperature bread with a side container of melted butter. I didn’t want to pour the butter on the sandwich, but dipping it was too awkward. I was underwhelmed with all aspects of the lobster roll. The clam chowder was thick and had pieces of potato & big clams. It also had shredded bits of carrots, which was a bit strange.
I was underwhelmed by the ShackMobile. My sister says it’s her favorite, but I’ll stick with Sam’s.

Every Monday and Friday nights food trucks gather at the Willows Market just two blocks from my house. I’m becoming a connoisseur of food trucks. Roach-​coaches are a thing of the past. Food trucks today often have better food than sit-​down restaurants. Last Friday night my wife and I decided to give the Lobstah ShackMobile a shot. Not wanting to pay $ 17 for the Lobstah Roll I went with the much more affordable $ 7 Pulled Pork Roll.
The Pulled Pork was very good and so was the BBQ sauce that was included on the side. The size was a bit too small. I’m a very light eater and was left wanting more. On the plus side a nice sized portion of fries are included with the sandwich. On the minus side the fries were old and cold. They tasted like they were left over from lunch and hadn’t even been warmed up before being served to me for dinner.
I wanted to give them 3-​stars but the fries were so bad I couldn’t bring myself to say the meal was OK. My wife who ordered the $ 17 roll was very disappointed. She rarely writes Unilocal reviews but mad a point of giving them a 1-​star review.
Lobstah ShackMobile needs to get their act together. Currently they have a very expensive Roach-​coach.

The lobster roll (I got the naked roll) was delicious. I love the bread that they used, it was somewhat sweet, fluffy and it was toasted. The lobster was fresh and sweet and in big chunks, so love love love the feeling of biting into real lobster meat. the naked roll = the no mayo on the lobster meat and they gave you a side of melted butter so you can drizzle it on your lobster. yummmm!
Major complaint: EXPENSIVE!!! $ 17? thus. three stars! ouch! and the size was not that big, if you are a big eater, this will be like snack only.

Shackmobile was a surprise to see in the east bay.
menu: clam chowder, lobster bisque, lobster roll, fish & chip, etc.
locale: castro valley fall festival (⁹⁄₉)
eats: clam chowder (new england), bowl, 6
–dozen small pieces of fresh clams
–some potato, carrots, cilantro
–rest mostly corn starch filling, little clam taste
–above average sodium/​msg taste
–clam crackers provided were stale.
2.5 stars
crumbs:
–fast service
–no line in afternoon.

ShackMobile needs to shack the frack up.
60+ minute waiting in line.
$ 17 for a lobster roll that I literally ate in about 3 medium sized bites (no, really, I’m not kidding). Well on second thought it was probably more like 2.5 small sized bites.
I’d guess there was about 2 – 3 ounces of actual lobster in it which, lets do some math… carry the four… works out to about $ 102 flipping dollars per pound of lobster! What, is this some magical lobster that’ll make me ridiculously handsome, cause Kate Upton to come running at me while screaming that she want’s to have my babies, give me mystical powers in bed? Um, I’m gonna go with «no».
The kicker, I ordered lobster bisque to go with my sandwich, only to see the couple who were in line behind me get their order first and have the guy taking orders loudly say, you’re lucky, you got the last cup of lobster bisque! WTF!!!
He looks at me with a sorry expression after he realized what he’d just done and says, how about clam chowder instead. Well, if I had wanted clam f-​ing chowda, I would have ordered clam f-​ing chowda.
After reading all these mis-​leading (as I have now found out) reviews on Unilocal,I thought Shackmobile was like a million times better than Sam’s. Boy how wrong all you Unilocalers are on this one!
I’m not really a grouch, I’m pretty easy to please. I give extra stars for effort.
However, ShackMobile is just not worth it. One star cause Unilocal doesn’t allow ZERO’s. One more star cause the lobster roll was edible, what there was of it.

During the inaugural Monterey Street Food Festival, Shack Mobile had the longest line of any truck. I kept putting off getting in line, figuring eventually it would die down. After making a circuit to the other trucks, I finally bit the bullet and got in line.
It was a 30-​minute wait just to order – really a blessing in disguise since it gave the rest of the food time to settle.
When I finally reached the truck to order, I figured I better make the most of it, so I ordered a sandwich and the lobster mac and cheese.
The Maine lobster sandwich was pretty disappointing – the lobster tasted a little off and there was too much mayo, a painful payoff for such a long wait.
The lobster mac and cheese was much better. It was very cheesy, topped with several big chunks of lobster.
I realize that Shack Mobile cooks the lobster to order, accounting for both the wait for food and the pretty steep price tag. But honestly, I think it’s more gimmicky than it’s worth. Next time, I’ll skip the lobster and spend my pennies on cheaper eats elsewhere.

Really really disappointing. Tried their Maine lobster roll at the Los Gatos food truck event tonight and it was not good at all. Actually I take that back slightly — the roll was nice. Unfortunately the lobster had a pronounced fishy smell and was basically inedible.
For $ 17, the quality was sorely lacking. The portion size was also on the small side for the price, but that wasn’t much of an issue since neither my fiancé nor I wanted any more after our first bite.
All in all, I blame them for serving a terrible product, but I also blame myself for being foolish enough to buy lobster from a truck. Lesson learned ShackMobile, lesson learned.

I love me a good lobstah roll.
Went to the Shackmobile at the Aviation museum’s Wednesday lunch time food truck gathering. While my friend was distracted by Señor Sisiq, I was intrigued by the promise and lure of lobster rolls.
I was not disappointed — they do not skimp on lobster! It was as good as I’d remembered from my days in Boston. I also got a nice bottle of root beer to make me feel like I’m on summer vacation and not my lunch break.

Me & the FH visited the ShackMobile at the Pleasanton Food Truck Festival. The wait for this truck, the only one featuring lobster, was about an hour. The wait for the food, after ordering, was really long too.
FH is a big fan of Sam’s Chowder Mobile. We felt disappointed once we got our $ 17 naked lobster sandwich. They ran out of the Texas Toast for the rolls. Instead, the lobster was presented between two slices of regular whole wheat bread. Booo for running out of rolls!
The lobster meat tasted fine, although, the quantity was less than what we expected. Also pieces of lobster were really small. Lobster was cold, but fresh, and cooked thoroughly. It comes with a small container of clarified butter. We do prefer the warm lobster roll that Sam’s offers and we feel the celery/​butter combination does a better job of enhancing the natural lobster flavor.
I wish we tried the lobster bisque or clam chowder. Maybe next time, but we wouldn’t go out of our way to seek out the ShackMobile.

Happened to be up at Pichetti Winery (
)today and these guys were there pushin’ the ocean-​bug goods.
They were very efficient and friendly, barely any wait at all!
Lobster & Shrimp Gazpacho — pretty good. Not the best tasting gazpacho I’ve had, but it was still plenty tasty and refreshing. I ordered a cup and they gave me a bowl (and charged me accordingly), but I didn’t feel much like putting up a fight. Just a shame, ’cause I couldn’t eat that much.
Baked Mac & Cheese (plain version) — this was pretty good, but I suspect the pulled pork or lobster version would be better. (I was with vegetarian friends and had to get something to appease them.) It was almost a little soggy though, I’m not quite sure how they’re storing it in there but it seems like it’s around too much humidity and loses the nice crunchiness of the topping. Still rich and cheesy though.
Blueberry Cobbler — this was the spotlight stealer. Freaking delicious. Nice crumbly topping on tasty blueberriness.
Their iced tea is bottled Tejava. I approve.
Overall: quick, tasty, friendly.
Reasons why it’s not 5 stars: many $ 18+ food items on a food truck kinda seems to defeat the point to me, and the gazpacho incident. Still a fan, 4 of 5 stars is pretty good.

The Shack Mobile is a great food truck. There is so much to choose from and I could not wait to try everything. I have tried the clam chowder, lobster roll (with butter but you can order it with mayo too), crab roll, and the lobster bisque. Wow! The chowder and bisque were awesome! I highly recommend getting a cup of each. I have tasted my fair share of lobster rolls from many different food trucks and the Shack’s lobster roll is OK. I prefer Sam’s Chowdermobile lobster rolls because of the taste, size and price. Here is my comparison:
Shack Mobile: lobster rolls are small and the meat is naked. You can add butter or mayo but there are no other seasonings that come with the sandwich. You also get coleslaw and potato chips with the roll. The cost is $ 16.
Sam’s Chowdermobile: the lobster rolls are double the size of Shack’s rolls. Sam’s has lots more lobster meat and they flavor it with veggies and a creamy sauce so I found Sam’s roll to have much much more flavor. The cost is $ 16.50.
However, I have to say that Shack Mobile has better clam chowder when compared to Sam’s. In my book Sam’s chowder is bland and has little to no clams. Shack’ chowder is full of clams and potatoes swimming in a wonderfully tasty white broth. I also like the crab too. The crab roll is full of flavor and the mixture of crab, veggies and sauce is really good. The texas toast used for the roll is awesome! I definitely recommend the crab for anyone in the mood for it. Nom nom!
There are many other items on the menu and I could not try everything but I will… sooner than later.

Lobstah mac ‘n cheese. It’s real.
Delicious beyond words. It’s all things comforting, ooey gooey, tangy, cheesy goodness. There’s plenty of lobster meat and the mac ‘n cheese alone is so good I could eat it by itself. This one is not to be missed, peeps. $ 16 and worth every penny.
I tried it today at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos. They apparently have a bunch food trucks out there on Wednesdays (not sure for how long though). Check it out!

As far as I know most lobster rolls are served with fresh, chilled lobster meat so I’m a little surprised that quite a few Unilocalers are giving low ratings ’cause the lobster meat doesn’t come out piping hot.
At any rate I had another excellent meal today in part due to the ShackMobile; I took a couple friends to Edgewood Eats so that they could try the lobster rolls and we ended up ordering a bunch of different items to try out:
The baked lobster mac and cheese came out nice and hot, though not so hot that we couldn’t dig into it right away. This was a generous portion of pasta covered in smooth, flavorful cheeses and topped with a bit of parsley and pleeeenty of yummy, warm chunks of fresh, sweet lobster meat. Overall the dish managed to convey a satisfying richness without any sense of greasiness or salt/​fat overload. I avoid dairy as much as possible and normally only take one polite bite of dishes like mac and cheese when friends try to share them with me; however, this time I willingly dug my spoon into the takeout tray again and again. My one complaint is a very minor one, and that is that the pasta could have been harder/​a bit more toothsome.
The lobster bisque (cup size) was another winner, smooth, super-​rich and creamy without leaving a greasy or gloppy feeling on the tongue. The depth and combo of flavors were right on, with lots of lobster/​wine/​herbal intensity. There are no large chunks of meat in a bisque, so don’t order this soup expecting any.
We ordered the double play or pair of lobster rolls (one Maine, one naked), and both were very good, as good as on my last visit. Only bummer was the coleslaw, which definitely looked and tasted a bit old (not too old to eat, but it definitely could have been fresher) and had no dried blueberries in it this time.
All in all visiting the ShackMobile is an excellent way to feast on lobster at a good price. I understand what one Unilocaler means when she says she can’t justify spending $ 16 for a lobster roll from a truck, but getting that same roll from the actual restaurant in Redwood City would be over $ 20 after tax. In fact, for our two rolls, bisque, and mac and cheese, our «out the door» price was $ 52, compared to an after-​tax total of over $ 66 (before tip) at the restaurant. It’s basically over a 20% discount to eat at the truck, which in my opinion is a very fair deal that you should take advantage of if you love that crustaceany goodness.

Man… For my first time eating at the Shackmobile, it totally blew me away compared to my first experience with sam’s chowder house.
The prices for the lobster rolls and other items are a couple of bucks cheaper with the truck compared to the restaurant.(not sure why but that’s the way it is) I ordered the naked lobster roll for $ 16 and it was amazing! The lobster was fresh and the BREAD was so good and toasted. Nice crunch to it indeed. They put the butter on the side for you in order to have control on the amount that you want, which is ideal for everyone. IN addition to the roll, you get a side of chips, bag of mayo for the mayo lovers, and cole slaw. I dabbed a bit of mayo onto the sandwich for a bit of flavor and it turned out perfect… As I ate the roll, I poured on some of my butter… This totally beats Sam’s ALREADY!!!
As someone mentioned already, 1000x better than Sam’s. a must try for comparison! The amount of lobster may be a bit shy from Sam’s but who cares if everything else rocks even more!
Quick Service and friendly Staff
I CANT WAIT to splurge on lobster mac n cheese and their bisque now… sigh (need to save money)

I LOVE THE SHACKMOBILE!!!
I had the the Naked Lobster Roll last Monday at Edgewood Eats. It was sooooo frickin good!!! It was worth the $ 16. You must must MUST try this! It’s the best lobster roll ever. 1000x better than Sam’s mobile. (Read my Sam’s mobile review here:
) Shackmobile’s lobster was fresh, super stuffed in the roll, and was not drenched in butter (like how it was at Sam’s). The roll was grilled and crispy, just perfect! I love it!
My friend told me that Shackmobile has a restaurant in Redwood City and for a slight bigger roll you can get eat it at the restaurant for less than $ 20 (before tax and tip). Come out to Edgewood Eats and catch them for cheaper. They’ll be there again tonight! YUMMOZ!!!

I finally tried Old Port Lobster Shack’s lobster roll that I’ve had on my bookmarked list for a while. Instead of driving to Redwood City, I checked them out at Edgewood Eats in Palo Alto. I ordered the Naked Lobster Roll ($ 16) because I’m not particularly fond of mayonnaise. I ended up dabbing a little bit of the mayo and pouring a little bit of the melted butter on the lobster meat. Not too much though because I didn’t want to take away from the flavor of the lobster meat. This was actually my first lobster roll, and I’m in love! As a carb lover, the buttered and grilled roll itself was one of my favorite parts. I was also really amazed at the amount of huge chunks of lobster meat, which I think justifies their pricing.
Side note, anyone know why the lobster rolls are only $ 16 here versus the $ 18.75 at the restaurant? I mean, I’m not complaining or anything.

We stopped by again last night at Edgewood Eats and the ShackMobile was out again. Since my husband was craving lobster we stopped by and got a naked lobster roll while our friend got the Maine style one.
Our roll had large chunks of lobster, served with butter, service was fast and prompt. Lines were long at times but they’ve streamlined their process so the lines were going a lot faster now!
The lobster quality improved this time, they trimmed off the rubbery/​spongy claw tips so that it was mostly meat now!