A Chat with Shark Tank’s Cousins Maine Lobster Truck

The Ryan Gosling of LA food trucks, Cousins Maine Lobster, pulls – the boys of Cousins Maine Lobster have cracked the Angelino food truck scene by bringing the best of Maine to California. Company and truck founders, Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis, are friendly down-home guys that embody the ideals of their company – tradition, family, sustainability, and of course, the best fresh lobster.

 

It might be easy to dismiss a seafood truck for the questionable freshness of its catch, or rather, its banality in a location that can easily acquire its own coastal fare, but these cousins are the exception.  Any Southern California native will shamelessly laugh at any Mainer who claims their state has the best tacos (although the truck does offer lobster tacos).  And most Mainers would laugh equally as hard at any Californian who claimed their state had the best lobster rolls… and it’s true, finding quality Maine lobster at an affordable price in Tinseltown is a tough undertaking.  The Cousins Maine Lobster truck makes such an endeavor easy and delicious.

 

It is not uncommon to see lines snaking around corners and pilling up in front of the truck. And for good reason. Their lobster is sustainably caught, A-grade fare from Portland (the other one).  The lobster is chilled to the proper temperature and customers are given more than adequate portions and good-sized lumps of lobster meat. No skimping here. Their thick, white bread buns also pair nicely with the density and buttery taste of the meat.  Customers often opt for the classic Maine (chilled meat) and Connecticut (warm meat) lobster rolls, but the menu offers items like New England clam chowder, Maine root soda, and shrimp as well.

 

Since Sabin and Jim struck a deal with Barbara Corcoran on Shark Tank for $55k and a 15% stake in the company, their sales quickly exploded to over $700k. Barbara took a gamble and has been seeing her investment pay off ever since.  Cousins Maine competed in Tasting Table’s Lobster Roll Rumble WEST and picked up the number 1 spot amongst professional chefs and 5-star restaurants from Newport Beach to San Francisco.  They claim the number 3 lobster roll in the nation and have been voted the 2012 and 2013 number 1 food truck in LA by the Los Angeles Hotlist.  Their award-winning lobster and other seafood-based dishes, such as scallops, crab cakes, and lobster pot pie can be shipped overnight, “shore to door,” from their online selection of Maine meals.

 

The passion Jim and Sabin have for bringing the best of their state to California is very evident, both in the food selection, and customer service.  I was provided the opportunity to speak with Jim and Sabin at First Fridays in Venice, but had to steal them away before Sabin started charming the crowd and talking up the customers in line.

 

 

 

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ROAMING HUNGER

How do you source your ingredients and keep the seafood fresh?

 

JIM AND SABIN

“We have our facility back in Portland, Maine right on the docks. We fly everything daily overnight, so then we get the fresh lobster meat over here… 99% of these trucks are cleaner than most restaurants and our guys take this very seriously… We ship all of our online products overnight as well.

 

 

ROAMING HUNGER

What is your most popular menu item?

 

JIM AND SABIN

“The Connecticut Lobster Roll – fresh Maine lobster meat sautéed in lemon butter inside our buns we fly in from Maine too.”

 

 

ROAMING HUNGER

In terms of your menu, do you prefer to stick to your guns with the lobster classics, or are there any specialty items customers can expect to see as well?

 

JIM AND SABIN

“We do some seasonal things, actually, we have Maine lobster ice cream – Maine lobster poached in butter, mixed in with a really rich vanilla bean ice cream – it’s a huge crowd favorite, but easier to get in the summer than winter… We’ll do some things where we’ll fly in fresh haddock, just for a day, which is a white fish from Maine, and we’ll do specials with the lobster too, like lobster grilled cheese and mac n’ cheese.”

 

 

ROAMING HUNGER

Earlier you mentioned, “each truck probably serves around 200 people a day, 6 days a week,” so I would imagine you cater many events as well. What type of events do you typically cater to?

 

JIM AND SABIN

“We’ve been inundated with catering lately – we’re opening a whole new catering division now. We can do in-home catering, so we can have chefs come and cook in your house and it creates a much more intimate setting. We’ve done beautiful things in homes in Beverley Hills and the nicest places you could ever think, and we do regular in-home informal BBQs out on the back deck too. And with the trucks we’ve done weddings, bar mitzvahs, business lunches, whatever it may be, big, small… a lot of people like to have the trucks because its more trendy and they’ve seen the truck on TV, but some people like to have the intimacy of just one or two people cooking for them.”

 

 

ROAMING HUNGER

Well, you boys are welcome to come cook in my kitchen any time.  Your business has been growing at an exceptional rate – are there any plans for expansion, and where can hungry customers usually find you parked?

 

JIM AND SABIN

“We have a third truck opening in about a week. Every day is a different location. The best way to find us is social media.  We have some regularity with our monthly events, like we are here [First Friday] in Venice every month.”

 

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