There are some ingredients so flavorful and perfect on their own, all you can hope to do is showcase them in the manner they deserve. Combine them with too many other ingredients, and you risk drowning out that perfect note. Lewis Rossman, of Sam’s ChowderMobile, believes lobster is one of those ingredients. “We’re not really into cloying flavors or mayonnaises,” says Lewis about their signature lobster roll. “It’s all about really fresh tasting, moist lobster in its purest form with melted butter. That, for me, is really the best.”

Lewis started his culinary career with the realization that he didn’t want to be a doctor. Growing up in a family of doctors on the East Coast, Lewis spent some time in med school before striking out to San Francisco and trading his scrubs for a chef’s hat. What follows is an impressive career in fine-dining establishments, such as Acquerellllo, Kokkari, and Cetrella, before opening up Sam’s Chowder House with culinary entrepreneur Paul Shenkman in 2006. “When we opened the chowder house,” Lewis recalls. “My goal was to take the best of the East Coast—lobster rolls, chowder, fish n’ chips—and marry that with the best of the West Coast—cioppinos, Dungeness Crab, and Ahi Poke from Hawaii. It’s been a great success.” 

Sam’s Chowder House was such a success, Lewis and Paul started their fleet of food trucks as a way to bring their fresh, simple seafood to more people. Sam’s ChowderMobile plays all the greatest hits of the restaurant including lobster rolls, New England clam chowder, fish n’ chips, and calamari, as well as a few dishes unique only to the food truck, such as the popcorn shrimp po’ boy.

Like the restaurant, Sam’s ChowderMobile serves their lobster rolls “naked:” fresh knuckle and claw meat with melted butter and a little bit of celery served on an artisan roll. It sounds simple enough, but the response has been phenomenal. The Today Show has named their lobster roll as one of the Top 5 Best Sandwiches in the country, and Lewis feels confident claiming—between Sam’s Chowder House and the three ChowderMobiles—they sell more lobster rolls than anyone else in the US. Not surprising when you’re combining fresh, quality ingredients and fine-dining sensibilities with the best seafood flavors of both coasts.

Written by Terri Phillips

Shrimp Po’ Boy

Fish and Chips

Sam’s ChowderMobile - San Francisco, CA
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