The lobster trucks come to Chicago’s suburbs — and Cousins is the winner

Food trucks have been hot for years but in my Chicago suburb, Evanston, early restrictions limited them largely to one Mexican food truck that shows up at all the the local festivals, and which always seemed a bit overpriced to me.

But that changed dramatically in recent weeks when not one, but two food trucks featuring classic East Coast lobster rolls came to town. Full disclosure, I love lobster. My wife and I honeymooned in Maine back in 2007, primarily for the lobster, which we had several times a day at the rock bottom prices it sells for there.

Yet, getting lobster in the Midwest can be of a hit or miss proposition. The ubiquitous Red Lobster, for example, has the blandest lobster I ever tasted. We never go there. More likely, we buy our own and boil or grill it at home.

So I was really excited to see two lobster trucks posting on Facebook about their planned stops here in Evanston. Neither was cheap, $25 from Happy Lobster, $23 for a lobster roll from Cousins, but I tried them both and a clear winner emerged — Cousins Maine Lobster.

The other, Happy Lobster, didn’t really serve a traditional Maine lobster roll. It used a hamburger bun-type bun. A real lobster roll uses a hot dog bun-like split roll, toasted. Anyone from New England, or anyone who grew up in New York and went to Nedick’s knows what those are.

You can see the difference in the photos below:

Cousins also had just the right hint of mayo, although that too is a departure from traditional rolls which can have lobster meat swimming in mayo.

The staff at Cousins also was much friendly. Setting up in a local microbrewery parking lot, they were giving out shirts, hats and other freebies and talking to people as they walked up.

Happy Lobster’s truck parked at a local hospital during lunchtime and, although it encouraged online ordering ahead, did not have my order ready when I showed up on time. Several of its customers were forced to stand around in the rain waiting for their orders.

Is lobster heart-healthy? It is high in cholesterol content, once thought to be harmful, but thinking has changed on that. It also is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which these days are considered heart-healthy.

So if you see a Cousin’s truck coming to your town, give it a try, I highly recommend it.