As one might guess from its name, Da Lobsta (12 E. Cedar St. and 131 N. Clinton St., in the French Market; www.DaLobstaChicago.com) specializes in items featuring a certain crustacean.
Previously, when it came to lobster, the only options were to cook them at home (which this writer isn't doing any time soon) or eat at a pricey restaurant. However, Da Lobsta offers lobster rolls prepared in a variety of ways for the relatively low price of $12.95. (It also has blue crab ($10.95) and shrimp ($8.95) options of those same sandwiches.)
Owner J Wolf, 31, who is originally from Chicago, has visited the East Coast plenty of times, cultivating a love of lobster. However, he was also unexpectedly influenced by the West Coast (having lived in Los Angeles for a decade), thanks to a lobster food truck. "Sometimes I found myself driving an hour just to find it," he told Windy City Times.
When asked what lobster purists have to say, Wolf replied, "Especially in the beginning, we had a lot of people come in and make this whole [scene] about how they're from the East Coast. They said we were never going to impress them—and, I swear, 99 percent of them have gone out of here, giving us a big thumbs-up."
As for the rolls, there are many styles available, including traditional (with tarragon mayo and garlic butter), Asian (soy mayo, Asian slaw, Szechwan sauce and scallions), Mexican (salsa, Chihuahua cheese, avocado and lettuce) and even The Skinny (low-fat mayo, whole-wheat pita, garlic oil, celery, tomato and slaw). Regarding the concepts, Wolf said, "I was trying to come up with a way to differentiate myself from the other lobster places. I had never heard of anyone [preparing] lobster with ethnic varieties. I thought it'd be cool to introduce something like that."
However, there are other also soups (including clam chowder) and sides such as lobster mac-n-cheese, lobster grilled cheese and lobster-crab spinach dip—and that last item is just sinful. (The lone dessert selection is the whoopie pie, which the place had unfortunately run out of the day I visited, so you may have to satisfy your sweet tooth elsewhere.)
Wolf indicated that he wants to open other locations throughout the city and the country, creating a franchise. As for why he chose the Gold Coast location (which formerly housed Ashkenaz Deli), Wolf jokingly asked, "What better location to sell a $12.95 sandwich?" However, he also maintained that, given how much lobster meat comes in a sandwich, patrons are getting a bargain for their buck.
Da Lobsta recently celebrated its one-year anniversary in Chicago. However, judging by the food (and even the fact that people were trickling into the Gold Coast site even on one of those "polar express" days), the restaurant will probably (and hopefully) be around for years to come.
By the way: Regarding the name, Wolf told Windy City Times that "the connotation" is similar to "Da Bears" (what locals call The Chicago Bears) but added that "da" is a "fairly widely used expression on the East Coast."
