Luck And Lobster Rolls: How A Specialty Menu Put A Long Island Chef On The Foodie Map

EAST ISLIP, NY – Long Island chef Michael Landesberg "never thought he'd be so lucky."

Landesberg is the executive chef and managing partner of Jackson Hall American Bar & Grille in East Islip, a community staple that serves up good food, good vibes and gives back to the community.

In addition to an extensive menu offering new American fare with a seafood flair, Landesberg is known for his lobster rolls—eight of them, to be exact, with carefully curated recipes created by the chef himself.

"It's what we're known for," Landesberg told Patch.

What's become a carefully crafted labor of love for the chef began about three years ago and has been steadily evolving ever since.

After encountering a series of overpriced lobster rolls he "wasn't impressed" with, Landesberg decided he'd take matters into his own hands.

"You know what? I'm going to make a lobster roll that will blow this away," Landesberg thought to himself one day.

For a chef with nearly 40 years in the industry, "blowing away" other lobster rolls means "packing out" his rolls with a half pound of knuckle, tail and claw meat.

He started out with two traditional rolls—the New England roll, served chilled, and the Connecticut roll, poached with butter on a toasted roll.

From there, the menu continued to grow, with Landesberg regularly finding inspiration by asking himself, "What can I do to make it next level?"

Taking it to the next level seems to come naturally with Landesberg's true love for sharing food with others.

"I enjoy it. I'm passionate about it and I'm obsessed with quality," he said.

He added that when it comes to building the menu and recipes, he "brainstorms how to be different and creative," which is clearly a mission accomplished, judging by the selection on Jackson Hall's special lobster roll menu.

In addition to those first two rolls, the lobster roll menu now offers the Surf & Turf Roll, made with filet mignon they butcher themselves; Jackson Hall's Long Island Roll, made with cajun honey butter; The Fenza Spicy Crunchy Roll, with spicey mayo and tempura; the Maryland Lobster & Crab Roll, 'nuff said; the Bacon Habanero Lobster Roll, poached with a butter bacon sauce; and the new California Lobster & Crab Roll, ala the sushi world's California roll.

That lineup leaves no mystery why Landesberg and the Jackson Hall crew serve between 500 and 1,000 lobster rolls daily (all year long), or why the restaurant is consistently busy, often with out-of-towners who've come from other states just to try the famous lobster rolls.

"It's actually pretty wild. I've never seen anything like it," Landesberg said.

And famous is no exaggeration. Since Landesberg started building the specialty menu, he's been featured by numerous national and regional news outlets, had a clip of the lobster rolls go "legit viral" with 5 million views and received a 9.7 rating from respected food critic Rob Madden, the highest rating he's ever bestowed upon a dish.

Along the way, the lobster rolls have "taken on a life of their own," he said.

Landesberg said that while the lobster roll glory is fun, flattering and helps keep the restaurant going, it's his loyal customers, the "real" people who come from near and far to enjoy dishes that are truly made with love.

"Their support means the most. They're the ones supporting us," Landesberg said. "And when the people are happy, it allows me to pay it forward."

Landesberg is also a breast cancer survivor who endured a mastectomy, known for his philanthropy and giving back to various causes, including cancer charities, animal shelters and local youth sports teams.

After all of that, life—and lobster—couldn't be better for Landesberg.

"I never in a million years expected it to get to the point where it's gotten to. Never."