La La Lobster

By Diana Cercone

If you think you can only find great lobster rolls in New England, I have good news. La La Lobster in Yardley is serving lobster rolls so fresh and sweet they rival the best found at lobster shacks dotting New England’s coastline. One taste is all you need. Tuck into your second succulent bite and, though hundreds of miles away, you’ll think you can smell its salty Atlantic air and see lobster cages brimming with these tasty (and some say, aphrodisiacal) beauties being hauled onto boats and heading your way.

La La Lobster is the brainchild of co-owner Nicole Rabena who has loved lobsters since she was a teenager growing up in Chester County, and her dad, a pilot, would bring back lobsters from his trips to Maine for the family to dive into.

Nicole, who has 20 years’ experience in the restaurant business, came up with the idea of  hand making fresh lobster rolls and selling them in our area. O.K., it was really Nicole’s son, Cole, now 21, who gave his mom the idea. (You can see her full confession in a video on La La Lobster’s website: www.lalalobster.com.)

It’s a bright afternoon when I meet with Frederick Rabena, Nicole’s husband and co-owner, at their restaurant La La Lobster, now located behind their original take-out lobster shack on S. Main Street. (More on this later.)

The nautical themed front room serves as their take-out shop. Walk through to the inviting restaurant and it’s akin to sitting in the lobster shack of your dreams, complete with picnic tables, lobster nets and candle-lit lanterns. But it’s La La Lobster’s menu that confirms you’re not dreaming—just ready to chow down on all things lobster. Even lobster French fries (totally addictive, just saying.)

Now part of the Rabena family and La La Lobster lore, Frederick says that it was the summer of 2020 and the family was down the shore when their son kept raving about a local restaurant’s lobster rolls. Their tastebuds and curiosities peaked, Nicole and Frederick went to taste for themselves. Nicole didn’t even get through her roll, he says, before declaring, “I can do better.”

Back in their Upper Makefield home, Nicole and Frederick turned their kitchen into a testing one. Trying out different recipes, tweaking some, creating others, they delighted their neighbors and friends who more than willingly acted as taste testers. In all, they went through 100 pounds of live lobsters.

Though the origin of the lobster roll is given to a restaurant in Milford, CT, dating to 1927, it was chef and cookbook author Jasper White, who, at his Boston restaurant, Summer Shack, put lobster rolls on the culinary map in the 1980s. Adhering to White’s culinary rule on lobster rolls that ”Nothing you add should overpower the lobster, but act as a nuanced magnifier of its flavor,”

Nicole and Frederick created four of their own incomparable styles: La Classic, generous chunks of lobster gently bathed in warm lemon butter; La Salad, the lobster is folded with celery, red onion, fresh dill and their own seasoned mayo; La Spicy, lobster dressed in their house-made tangy chipotle aioli; and La Hawaiian, which melds fresh mango salsa with the lobster. Each 4 oz. lobster roll is loaded with a proprietary blend of sweet lobster meat from wild-caught lobsters. (For an extra charge, you can add two more ounces of lobster. Not necessary, but if you’re a lobster lover like me, I recommend going for the gold.)

Their testing didn’t stop there. They even tested the rolls. After numerous tastings of different ones, from side-split hot dog rolls to the split-top New England style, they finally chose ones with a split-top for its taste and texture. And then they ratcheted the taste up a few notches. Like White, they butter and toast the rolls before piling on the lobster. A total game changing move.

With everything in place, from recipes to rolls to small-owned lobster purveyors in Maine and Boston and to local, seasonally sourced produce onboard, Nicole and Frederick made the bold move to open La La Lobster in October of 2020 despite the height of the pandemic.

Says Frederick, “It was amazing. Opening day we went through three hundred pounds of lobster. The take-out line was down the block.” And La La Lobster’s popularity hasn’t let up since. So much so Nicole and Frederick expanded the menu. It now includes everything from a La La Lobster Bowl (lobster on a bed of brown rice, avocado, sweet corn, diced tomato and cheddar cheese) to Lobster Mac-n-Cheese, and to Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Lobster Dip, an ambrosial mix of lobster, sweet corn and cheddar cheese. Then there’s the La La Monstah Roll. With a whopping one pound of succulent lobster, it’s truly a lobster lover’s idea of heaven. Aside from the bounty of lobster, those hearty enough to order one are rewarded with a T-shirt proudly proclaiming “I’m a Monstah.”

I ask Frederick if there are many takers. “We sell a lot,” he says. “Our regular Monstah customers just say, ‘Ah, I got enough T-shirts. Just give me the lobster roll.’”

Rounding out La La Lobster’s seafood menu are those featuring shrimp and crab meat, as well as clam chowder and lobster bisque.

The Rabenas know their customers well. And know not all of them are seafood lovers. For their meat loving customers, Frederick says, they wanted to create a steak sandwich. “But we didn’t want to go the cheesesteak route,” he says. “There are enough of cheesesteak places.” And they wanted to create a steak sandwich that would complement their lobster menu. Something classic and classy.

And that’s when they created their Surf-n-Turf sandwich. With a nod to fine dining, and to  their commitment to making high-end, luxury foods like lobster and filet mignon affordable, Nicole and Frederick paired the two. They more than succeed in combining this traditional pairing. Decadently delicious, it pairs a one-half pound filet mignon with a quarter pound of lobster tail and claw meat tucked into a toasted brioche. A smear of their secret sauce inside subtly elevates the flavors of both the steak and lobster. Whoever first created surf-n-turf, whether at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle or at a restaurant four years later in Massachusetts, he would surely approve of La La Lobster’s Surf-n-Turf.

Twice a year to honor National Lobster Day, La La Lobster celebrates with their Lobster Meal. Serving up a 1 & 1/2 lb. steamed lobster, 2 colossal shrimp, lobster fries, coleslaw and corn on the corn, the meal comes complete with a bib. (Mark your calendars for this year’s dates: June 15th and September 25th.)

Nicole and Frederick are not shy when it comes to bold moves. Another was to no longer be a BYOB. Instead, they opened a small batch, hand crafted distillery (yardleydistillery.com), now located at their original La La Lobster shack on S. Main. Bottles of their spirits, including rum, vodka and limoncello as well as local wines and beers, are available for purchase in La La Lobster’s take-out section or to enjoy when dining in the restaurant.

La La Lobster is truly a family affair. Working alongside their parents are Cole, who in the summer manages their Cape May lobster shack, and Bella, 19, who, along with taking culinary classes at Bucks County Technical School, happily mans her shifts in Yardley.

Each has their own favorite lobster offering. Be sure to ask them when you stop in. And mine? I’m still savoring my way through the menu. But La La Lobster’s Classic will always be my go-to favorite.

La La Lobster is located at 35 S. Main Street, Yardley; 267-399-9224; lalalobster.com. Hours are Tues.–Sat. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Other locations include Princeton, Cape May and Doylestown.

Diana Cercone is an area freelance writer who specializes in food, art and travel.