Since I love talking about food trucks (almost as much as I love eating at food trucks), and don't want to OD people on food truck posts, I figure it can be an on again, off again Friday tradition... starting this week :-)
The Red Hook Lobster truck rolled into the vicinity of my office today. As I mentioned during a previous post on Truckeroo, the Red Hook truck is known not only for their lobster rolls, but for their very long lines. It seems that whenever this truck shows up anywhere, they have a line of at least 30 people before they even take the first order. At its height, you can wait more than an hour for your food.
"Why would you wait an hour for a $15 lobster roll prepared in a truck," you might be wondering? Because, it's really good. You can get your rolls in either Maine style (a lemon mayo base), or Connecticut style (drawn in butter). Either way, it's good.
There were actually four trucks in the area today, Red Hook Lobster, Dangerously Delicious Pies (sweet and savory options), Yellow Vendor Truck (Bulgogi), and Fojol Bros - Benethiopia. Since Red Hook is a rare participant in our area, I decided I would drop by their truck for lunch, so I headed out before the line got too long.
As you can see by the photo, Dangerously Delicious Pies tried to tempt me away from Red Hook, but I was committed. But today, for what ever reason, I decided I was in the mood for their $8 shrimp roll rather than lobster. I got to the truck early and only had about a 10-15 minute wait in line. The person in front of my put in an order for 12 lobster rolls for a grand total of $200 with various drinks, I couldn't believe it. But that massive order still didn't slow them down much, they are a well oiled machine.
The truck itself is styled like a New England lobster trawler. They also have a selection beyond lobster and shrimp that includes crafted drinks, whoopie pies, and even chowder (I think during cooler weather only).
When my food came up I took one look at the shrimp and knew I had made the right choice.
Overall, the roll was flavorful and had a ton of shrimp on it. The same can be said for the lobsters each time I've had them in the past. Typically each roll has a lot of thick and tasty claw meat. $15 can feel a bit steep, but I think you get your money worth. Today, I had no trouble feeling like I had gotten my money's worth.
I like the Red Hook truck so much that I really can't pass them up when they come to our area. It's too bad they are in such high demand that they rarely roll around our area.
If you're a DC local, have you had Red Hook and what do you think? If you're not local, would you buy a lobster or shrimp roll from a street vendor truck? I know some people feel very uneasy about buying seafood from a street vendor.
