Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck, Owner Doug Povich Licensing Red Hook's Brand with Trucks in DC and VA - Closed

[hillvalley]

Very disappointing lobster roll yesterday at Eastern Market. I got it Maine style. The meat was watery and a little fishy, kind of like the weather we were having. Definitely not worth the $15 I shelled out.

[ChiantiandFava]

Very disappointing lobster roll yesterday at Eastern Market. I got it Maine style. The meat was watery and a little fishy, kind of like the weather we were having. Definitely not worth the $15 I shelled out.

Phew. Debated but ended up getting the sausage, tomato, onion dangerous pie. Rich crust was the best part. The lady got the lamb and rice from that kabob truck I haven't seen before. That was delicious.

[goldenticket]

Guess the thread title needs to be updated to "and Arlington" - spotted the Lobster Truck in Ballston at lunch today. Hope they make their way to Courthouse sometime soon!

[Joe H]

Guess the thread title needs to be updated to "and Arlington" - spotted the Lobster Truck in Ballston at lunch today. Hope they make their way to Courthouse sometime soon!

They have at least two trucks. We stopped at one at Connecticut and Van Ness a week or two ago which surprisingly was not doing much business. I wonder if it moved? Even though the lobster roll was $15 it was well worth it. UDC may not have been a good location.

[Pool Boy]

I saw a lobster tuck on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda (southbound side on the south side of Bethesda). Not sure if it was this one. Of course, I'd already had lunch. Foiled again!

[dcs]

Hope they make their way to Courthouse sometime soon!

Today be that day, according to their Tweet.

[monavano]

Do they go to Arlington?

[FunnyJohn]

Do they go to Arlington?

I saw them a few days ago tooling down Rt. 50 in that direction, but they may have just as easily been heading to DC. I think they have been in Ballston on at least one or two occasions.

[bookluvingbabe]

Do they go to Arlington?

They post their schedule on facebook.

[monavano]

They post their schedule on facebook.

Thank you! and what a coincidence, looky here..

Red Hook Lobster Pound DC

Friday #lobsterlunch plans = Courthouse Metro and Navy Yard Metro! Starting around 11:30am! And Saturday CU at H Street Festival too!

49 minutes ago via Twitter · Like · Comment · @LobstertruckDC on Twitte

Mr. MV works in Courthouse and I want him to pick up lobster rolls for me.

[darkstar965]

Fresh, frozen, farm raised, grass fed, locally sourced, organic...sigh, so many buzzwords.

The only thing that really matters to me is how something tastes when it's set in front of me.

Ha! Can't disagree with the part of your statement I quoted above. Disclosure: I took out the 2nd part about Red Hook being your fave because Freddy's is mine but that's "good people will disagree" stuff.

More to the point, while I'd guess most of us care most about taste, I care also about authenticity and honesty.

The former is that something I eat and enjoy is what it claims to be because only then do I have the right benchmark from which to compare. For example, if I'd never had truly fresh lobster, I wouldn't know whether I'd prefer it to perfectly fine frozen I might get more regularly. And, in my experience-to my palate-authentic (or more "real," as Pollan would say) is usually what I prefer.I think important to know what 'experts" or "purists" most prize and only then I'm comfortable diverging if I choose. It's then an informed decision.

The latter point-honesty-is just about my own sense of fair play. Though, like you, I care intensely about what's on the plate-and will even excuse substandard service if the food rocks my world-I have a very hard time with anyone who lies to me. So, fine to use frozen lobster but don't then market it as non-frozen. If I ask the question, answer me honestly. Don't tell me it came out of the water this morning if it really was pulled from the freezer last night. Then I can just buy and enjoy the roll if I choose without the distraction of feeling as if a charlatan is processing my credit card and misrepresenting other stuff that might impact the value I perceive.

[DonRocks]

Not to be snarky or disrespectful, but people aren't traveling to Maine for these rolls. In many cases they're walking outside their office because its something different than the Cosi's or Corner Bakery's that dot the city.

In my opinion, frozen, sous-vide, or whatever method is used I would much rather support a small business like them than the majority of other choices available for lunchtime fare.

Fresh, frozen, farm raised, grass fed, locally sourced, organic...sigh, so many buzzwords.

The only thing that really matters to me is how something tastes when it's set in front of me.

And to me the Red Hook lobster rolls are the tastiest I've eaten in the area...the Maine roll that is, their Conn. roll isn't as good.

Ha! Can't disagree with the part of your statement I quoted above. Disclosure: I took out the 2nd part about Red Hook being your fave because Freddy's is mine but that's "good people will disagree" stuff.

More to the point, while I'd guess most of us care most about taste, I care also about authenticity and honesty.

The former is that something I eat and enjoy is what it claims to be because only then do I have the right benchmark from which to compare. For example, if I'd never had truly fresh lobster, I wouldn't know whether I'd prefer it to perfectly fine frozen I might get more regularly. And, in my experience-to my palate-authentic (or more "real," as Pollan would say) is usually what I prefer.I think important to know what 'experts" or "purists" most prize and only then I'm comfortable diverging if I choose. It's then an informed decision.

The latter point-honesty-is just about my own sense of fair play. Though, like you, I care intensely about what's on the plate-and will even excuse substandard service if the food rocks my world-I have a very hard time with anyone who lies to me. So, fine to use frozen lobster but don't then market it as non-frozen. If I ask the question, answer me honestly. Don't tell me it came out of the water this morning if it really was pulled from the freezer last night. Then I can just buy and enjoy the roll if I choose without the distraction of feeling as if a charlatan is processing my credit card and misrepresenting other stuff that might impact the value I perceive.

[You know what? Until I have absolute concrete proof (and I mean first-hand) that Red Hook doesn't use fresh lobster, I'm going to delete my statement. This implies that it may indeed be fresh, i.e., refrigerated, but never frozen. (Thing is, I'm running out the door, and don't really have time to do a bunch of research, but I don't want this conversation to run amok over potentially incorrect information generated by me.)]

(For the record, I think of "really good frozen lobster rolls" the way I think of "really good milkshakes made with bulk ice cream" (i.e., ice cream made with corn syrup (which is why I won't buy the home made ice cream at Swiss Bakery despite liking the taste of the shakes at Shake Shack)). Thoughts on "taste" as an arbiter of quality here.)

[Cuddlyone]

[You know what? Until I have absolute concrete proof (and I mean first-hand) that Red Hook doesn't use fresh lobster, I'm going to delete my statement. This implies that it may indeed be fresh, i.e., refrigerated, but never frozen. (Thing is, I'm running out the door, and don't really have time to do a bunch of research, but I don't want this conversation to run amok over potentially incorrect information generated by me.)]

(For the record, I think of "really good frozen lobster rolls" the way I think of "really good milkshakes made with bulk ice cream" (i.e., ice cream made with corn syrup (which is why I won't buy the home made ice cream at Swiss Bakery despite liking the taste of the shakes at Shake Shack)). Thoughts on "taste" as an arbiter of quality here.)

Ok, if the lobster roll at Red Hook or BGR was made of chemicals, but tasted good, fine, I see DR's point. But if the lobster was cooked yesterday or last week, who cares? Let's get on with it and enjoy ourselves.

[mtureck]

So, are the lobster rolls good lately? Generous?

I had one yesterday...after posting on this thread I was lucky enough for them to show up right near my office!

I think they are as good as ever. I prefer the Maine roll to the Connecticut, which I think is overly buttered and makes the roll too soggy.

As for generous, they're about the same size as Freddy's and BGRs...which isn't really enough to fill me up, but it makes a nice snack. A $15 snack, sadly.

[Heather]

The Lobster Truck is in Bethesda today. I got the "Chowdah" (I hate that affectation) meal with a shrimp sandwich (lobster usually leaves me cold). Chowder is meh: uses thickeners, potatoes have a weird texture and several of the plentiful clams were quite gritty. Shrimp sandwich is OK, a little overwhelmed by the tarragon in the dressing. I probably won't be back based on what $15 got me.

[dcs]

The Lobster Truck is in Bethesda today. I got the "Chowdah" (I hate that affectation) meal with a shrimp sandwich (lobster usually leaves me cold). Chowder is meh: uses thickeners, potatoes have a weird texture and several of the plentiful clams were quite gritty. Shrimp sandwich is OK, a little overwhelmed by the tarragon in the dressing. I probably won't be back based on what $15 got me.

I agree generally about the chowder I got today. The potatoes were... mealy. Not all of them, but enough to be a problem. If I had to guess, I would say they were once frozen. The clams were not overcooked, which was good. I only noticed a tad of grit. The Maine lobster roll was fine; like hamburgers, they can only ascend to certain height and then they level off. At twenty two United States dollars for the pair, the price was a bit dear.

[Pat]

Closed permanently, per Jessica Sidman and Washingtonian.

[Bob Wells]

I remember the Red Hook mania back in the day. As a regular Maine visitor, I long vowed to never eat a lobster roll outside the 207. I've broken down a couple times (Lobster Maine-ia in Chantilly and Mason's in Reston; both are perfectly fine) but something about the way this truck got hyped just put me off. Oh well.