Po'Boys: A Way of Life

The dictionary says that the po'boy is "a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana. It almost always consists of meat or seafood, usually fried, served on baguette-like Louisiana French bread." However, a po'boy is much more than a sandwich. Some would say it's a way of life.

When writing about this history of the New Orleans po'boy, Michael Mizell-Nelson said "Poor boy sandwiches represent bedrock New Orleans. The shotgun house of New Orleans cuisine, Po-boys are familiar but satisfying. The sandwich is as diverse as the city it symbolizes. The crisp loaves have served as a culinary crossroads, encasing the most pedestrian and exotic of foods: shrimp, oyster, catfish, soft-shell crabs as well as French fries and ham and cheese. Comfort food in other cities seldom reaches such heights."

In New Orleans, po'boy shops are at every corner, on every street, and taste totally different than any sub sandwich you'll get in another city. There are the popular spots like Mid City Po'Boys, Avery's Po'boys, Mahoney's, Magazine Po'Boys, Parkway Po'Boys, Yang's Po'Boys, and Johnny's Po'Boys in the French Quarter; then there are lesser known but just as tasty joints scattered throughout the city- many times in residential neighborhoods.

So far, we've tried fried shrimp, buffalo shrimp, fried green tomato, buffalo alligator, soft shell crab, crawfish tail, hot sausage, and Abita Root Beer Ham Po'boys. Obviously we've got many left to try. No worries, there is even a Po'Boy Festival here in New Orleans. We're marking our calendars for November 24! Today, we ate at Parkway. The po'boys were delicious!