The Chowdermobile Rolls On…

Sam’s Chowder House is one of the many restaurants to jump on the street food bandwagon. Their “Chowdermobile” (@chowdermobile) travels to Brisbane, San Mateo, and Redwood City on a regular basis. I decided to give these guys a shot since I was in the mood for a nice bowl of chowder on a winter day.

Their menu is a truncated version of their restaurant’s. And like the restaurant, it’s also a bit overpriced. Between myself and my dining partner, we ordered their famous lobster roll, clam chowder, fried calamari, and fish tacos.

My fave dishes? The clam chowder would come in first and the fried calamari second.  Both were seasoned well and full of fresh seafood flavor.  I hate when calamari has too much breading or grainy cornmeal in the batter.  This was not the case here.  It was crispy and had great flavor to go with the perfectly fried calamari.

And the chowder wasn’t too thick, floury, or too rich with cream.  It had tons of fresh herbs, clams, potatoes, and great overall flavor.  If anything, it didn’t need the extra pinch of salt that was added.  It would’ve been perfect, otherwise.

The fish tacos weren’t anything to get excited about, however.  Though the fish was fresh, it was flavorless and the batter added nothing.  The tortillas were cold and bland.  A definite miss.

And surprisingly, I’m not a huge lobster fan, but the lobster roll did live up to it’s “Best Sandwich” reputation (it’s been rated as such by the folks at the Today Show).  They didn’t skimp on lobster meat and it was butter, tender and delish.

All in all, if you’re in the mood for this kind of fare, I’d definitely suggest you pay them a visit if they’re in your area.  However, be prepared to plunk down a pretty penny.  No one can eat just one fish taco and be satisfied.  So if you order just one small fish taco and a small bowl of chowder, that’ll set you back $10 for lunch.  Add an order of calamari and you’re talking $16 for lunch.  Definitely not, “street food-like” at all.

Sam’s Chowdermobile – Various locations (original restaurant located in HMB) – @chowdermobile on Twitter