Po' Boys: The Sandwich That Defines New Orleans

Dressed or Undressed, It Is Perfect Either Way

The po-boy is the sandwich that defines New Orleans — a long loaf of crusty French bread with a soft, pillowy interior, stuffed with anything from fried shrimp to roast beef to oysters to catfish to hot sausage, and served either "dressed" (with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and pickles) or "undressed" (just the filling and the bread). It is the city's answer to the submarine sandwich, the hoagie, and every other regional bread-and-filling combination, and it is superior to all of them because the bread is superior to all of theirs.

The po-boy was born during the 1929 streetcar strike, when Benny and Clovis Martin fed striking workers for free from their French Market restaurant. The sandwiches they served — long loaves of French bread filled with whatever was available — became known as "poor boys" after the brothers' habit of calling out "here comes another poor boy" each time a striker walked through the door. The name contracted to po-boy, and a culinary institution was born.

The Bread

Everything about the po-boy depends on the bread. New Orleans French bread is unlike French bread anywhere else — it has a thin, shattering crust and an interior so light and airy that it practically dissolves on contact. The bread is baked fresh daily by bakeries like Leidenheimer and Dong Phuong, and it does not travel well, which is why authentic po-boys are essentially impossible to get outside of the New Orleans area. The bread is the reason. Without it, you just have a sandwich.

The fillings are a matter of fierce personal preference. The fried shrimp po-boy is the classic tourist order, and for good reason — golden-fried Gulf shrimp piled into crispy bread is one of the great sandwiches on Earth. The roast beef po-boy, dripping with gravy, is the local's choice — messy, rich, and deeply satisfying. The oyster po-boy is a delicacy. The hot sausage po-boy is a workhorse. And the soft shell crab po-boy, available in season, is proof that God loves New Orleans and wants us to be happy.