11 hours Ago By [email protected] (Jay Wilson)
If you've ever been to Louisiana, you've likely had a po-boy. This famous sandwich is emblematic of the state, and is as strongly associated with New Orleans and Mardi Gras. The beauty of a po-boy is in its adaptability: While this sandwich is typically made with shrimp or crawfish , it can basically have anything inside it, from hot sausage to roast beef, and even a healthy handful of French fries.
Served in an inimitable baguette that's crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, it's a sandwich that virtually everyone knows. The question is, where did the po-boy come from, and why is it so famous in New Orleans specifically? As with many types of sandwiches, the history of the po-boy is unassuming but full of heart and emotion. This sandwich rose out of resistance, and became a crucial form of sustenance for working-class communities, before transforming into a meal that's simultaneously a gourmet treat and an everyday lunch.
Plus, over time, po-boys have gone way further than their Louisiana roots, cropping up in different states in their own forms. So how did it all begin, and what's the future for these bready delights? Let's take a trip down memory lane. Po-boys were in New Orleans before they had a name The name "po-boy" is so distinctive and identifiable that you'd assume that the sandwich was called this from day one.
However, it took quite a long time before what we know to be a po-boy today was named as such. We usually assume po-boys to be a 20th-century invention, but they officially started their New Orleans story in the 1800s — and may have even been around before then. Po-boys were originally known as "oyster loaves," and they were exactly what they sound like: Oysters that were dredged in flour, fried, and then stuffed into a piece of bread.
The recipe for oyster loaves first appeared in the 1700s in Eliza Smith's "The Compleat Housewife" — also the very first cookbook published in the United States. They then made their way to New Orleans, where they were first mentioned in a newspaper in 1851. You can see how these sandwiches are a kind of ancestry of the po-boy, with their fried seafood filling and doughy exterior.
You can also see how they made their way to New Orleans and took off there, thanks to the city's long history with oyster farming. It wasn't until the 1900s, though, that the oyster loaf transformed into the po-boy, and established an identity that would last to this day. The po-boy was invented during a strike It's surprising how often food is born out of resistance, and how political and economic events can shape the appearance of our menus.
If you need any proof of this occurring, look no further than the po-boy. This iconic sandwich's name, and therefore its identity, was born during a New Orleans streetcar strike which took place in 1929. After contract negotiations for streetcar conductors and motormen broke down, more than 1,000 people went on strike.
This would go on to last for months and result in the destruction of streetcars around the city. As the strike action wore on, many New Orleans locals pitched in to support the workers on the picket lines. These locals included the Martin brothers, Bennie and Clovis, who were streetcar conductors themselves before they opened their Martin Brothers Coffee Stand and Restaurant in 1922.
The legend goes that the Martin brothers would give away free sandwiches to the striking workers, as a hearty meal to keep them fed while they fought for their rights. As for the name? Apparently, whenever one of the workers came into their restaurant, someone would shout from the kitchen, "Here comes another poor boy!" An inimitable name for a sandwich was created, and it's been called that ever since. The sandwich propped up the community during the Great Depression The po-boy was born out of economic strife, and when the country plunged into even more dire circumstances, it was there for people.
This sandwich was a mainstay during the Great Depression. The streetcar strike that saw the sandwich's creation turned out to be a sign of the times, at the start of a longer, nationwide struggle. All the same, the po-boys that were given out during that time helped the Martin brothers gain new customers, who came back for their bread and meat repeatedly during the 1930s.
Part of the appeal of the po-boy during this time was the size of the sandwich itself. A 15-inch standard po-boy would cost only 10 cents, while a 20-inch half-loaf sandwich was 15 cents. For comparison's sake, that's almost twice the size of a footlong sub from Subway — and it would cost you just $2.
85 when adjusted for inflation. Not bad, right? Especially for a sandwich that was practically bulging with ingredients. For folks who were even more strapped for cash, the Martin brothers also offered a lettuce and tomato sandwich, which was on their menu for free.
Talk about generosity in a time of need. Po-boys started in one location — but they soon spread through New Orleans Anyone who knows the story of the po-boy knows the Martin Brothers' name. Bennie and Clovis Martin originally moved to New Orleans in the mid-1910s, and after working as streetcar conductors they started a coffee joint and eatery, where po-boys became their specialty.
They remained that way for decades, until the siblings closed their Martin Brothers Coffee Stand and Restaurant in 1972. However, what was started at the Martin brothers' restaurant soon became a citywide sensation. Other restaurants began selling the po-boy, clearly inspired by the success that Bennie and Clovis had achieved with it.
Perhaps the earliest competitor was Parkway Bakery and Tavern, which began selling po-boys in the same year that the Martin brothers did. It's a restaurant that exists to this day, despite damage from Hurricane Katrina and new owners taking over operations. Other places like Casamento's, Mother's Restaurant, and Johnny's Po-Boys have also become well-known for their take on the sandwich, and each has have a unique spin on it.
Mother's, for instance, puts out a roast beef po-boy with slices of ham, while Johnny's has dozens of different fillings for its subs. Honestly, you're spoilt for choice in New Orleans these days. The po-boy's development was informed by New Orleans bread The po-boy isn't just made with any old loaf.
Part of the sandwich's appeal is its unique bready vehicle, which has just the right balance of a light interior with a crunchy crust. This bread is known as "French bread" in New Orleans, and a lot of people who are uninitiated with it simply call it a baguette. However, it's distinct from the French baguette that's common in the country today, and is instead more similar to the 18th-century style of bread produced in France.
It seems like this bread style made its way to the United States, and particularly to New Orleans, with an influx of European migrants. German and Austrian bakers, well-versed in this style of French bread, began to dominate New Orleans' bakery scene around the mid-1800s. One of them, George Leidenheimer, started the Leidenheimer Baking Co.
which still produces French bread for po-boys to this very day. Over time, the bread gained more and more popularity in the city, and it married with American-style fried oysters and other seafood. People then included some other fillings, and shoved it all into a sandwich.
It's the particular balance of airiness to crunchiness that makes French bread so appealing for a po-boy, adding texture without breaking down or overwhelming what's inside. Po-boys have been adapted as time has gone on No recipe is set in stone for good: As time passes by, recipes and the ingredients that make them change and adapt to modern times. This is exactly what's happened with the po-boy.
This sandwich has seen a huge amount of adaptation throughout its nearly century-long existence, most specifically with regard to its fillings. Po-boys have grown to incorporate pretty much anything people want in them, moving from a fried oyster or roast beef sandwich to something that can have everything from Caprese salad to burger patties inside it. At Johnny's Po-Boys, one of the most famous po-boy restaurants in the city, you can grab one filled with crab cakes, alligator sausage, ham and eggs, catfish, or even a veal cutlet.
The possibilities truly are endless. The size of the po-boy has also shifted as time goes on. While the Martin Brothers Coffee Stand and Restaurant version could stretch to up to 20 inches, nowadays they tend to be significantly smaller.
They're usually either 6 or 12 inches long in most places, although if you're lucky you might still find one of those supersized ones people were enjoying back in the 1930s. As the sandwich has developed, so have the ingredients – but seafood's remained a mainstay While roast beef po-boys were one of the earliest forms, this sandwich is perhaps best known for having a seafood filling. These days, though, oyster po-boys are slightly less common.
You're more likely to find ones that are filled with breaded, fried shrimp, although crayfish and crab are also frequently stuffed into these sandwiches. Seafood is so popular in po-boys because of where the sandwich grew up. Louisiana has a huge seafood industry, creating over $2.
4 billion yearly for the state. It's only natural that over time, a lot of that seafood has made its way to New Orleans and surrounding settlements, and informed its food. Putting seafood in po-boys also keeps them slightly lighter, and gives you a good amount of lean protein too.
Shrimp, for example, is naturally low in fat while high in protein, and rich in phosphorus, magnesium, copper, and zinc. Having said this, heavily breaded shrimp is naturally going to change the nutritional balance a bit — but no one's fooling themselves that this is a healthy sandwich, are they? Houston eventually developed its own take on the po-boy The po-boy is primarily known as a Louisianan food, but like anything that's delicious, it hasn't stayed there alone. Over time, other areas and states have adopted the po-boy, and put their own spin on the famous sandwich.
One of these states is Texas, where Houston's po-boy has become the unofficial little brother of the New Orleans version. The Houston po-boy originated in the early 1960s, when Louisiana-born Jalal Antone opened a shop in the city. A child of Syrian immigrants, Antone originally wanted his store to sell food that spoke to his community, but he was persuaded to go for something a little more local.
Antone combined that wisdom with an impulse to bring something new to the city, and started serving up po-boys. Pretty soon, Antone was dishing up po-boys by the dozen. He made them Houston-style by filling them with chow-chow, a Texan vegetable relish that gave them a tangy, barbecue-infused flavor.
The po-boy took off in the region, and during the 1970s and 1980s, it was everywhere, with other restaurants also starting to make them. Unfortunately, in the '90s, Antone's business underwent a fractious change, with the po-boy side of things being franchised. This led to a quick deterioration in their quality, and the shine came off their appeal in the region.
Nonetheless, you can still find po-boys in Houston everywhere, with dozens of joints serving their own take. The history of the po-boy has been disputed By this point, you probably know the story: The Martin brothers started a restaurant selling po-boys in 1929, and in doing so they were the first people to put a name to the sandwich that would take over Louisiana. However, that might not be the entire truth, if some people are to be believed.
Historians have established that the po-boy may have actually been around as early as the 1910s when jazz clarinetist Sidney Bechet had a meal with none other than Louis Armstrong after a New Orleans gig. Bechet described grabbing "poor boys" with Armstrong, stating that they were sandwiches made of a half-loaf of bread stuffed with ham. Now, we don't know about you, but that sounds a lot like the earliest form of a po-boy to us.
It is worth noting, though, that Bechet spent many years traveling in and out of the city after that — and he made the claim that he ate the "poor boy" with Armstrong decades later. He could well have been misremembering things. Or maybe the Martin brothers sneakily grabbed the name and made it their own.
Over the years, people have figured out how to keep their po-boys from falling apart You know the most annoying thing about a po-boy? Eating it. These sandwiches are far from small, and they're frequently stuffed with relatively saucy fillings that can make the bread way softer — and we all know what happens when bread gets soft. Yep, that's right, folks: Your po-boy is about to fall apart.
However, over the years, there's been a lot of thought invested in how to make the perfect po-boy and stop it from crumbling into a soggy mess in your hands, with your ingredients falling everywhere. The key is in the layering. "On the bottom [piece of] untoasted bread, spread the sauce then add the fried shrimp," says chef Michelle Wallace of Houston-based b'tween sandwich co .
The sauce helps the shrimp make its footprint in the bread. It's more likely to stay in place." You have to be careful with the amount of sauce you add, too, as too much will start to soak the bread.
Additionally, make sure that you're not overloading your po-boy with wet fillings like moist pulled pork or roast beef. It may be tempting to do so, but you'll want to balance things out with dry ingredients so that your sandwich doesn't turn into soup. Po-boys are popular enough to have their own festival Po-boys are celebrated throughout New Orleans and beyond, so it's probably not a huge shock that the city does what it can to promote them.
One of the ways it does this is through its annual po-boy festival. Oak Street Po-Boy Festival is a yearly festival that's been around since 2007, and sees dozens of food vendors descend on NOLA in praise of the humble sandwich. It's hardly a niche affair: Roughly 50,000 people turn up every fall to eat, drink, and be merry.
Plus, it's not just all about the sandwiches. Oak Street Po-Boy Festival is a full-scale affair, with live music, a Kids Zone, and an opening parade (we're imagining a host of sandwich-shaped floats drifting down the street, and we're here for it). There's even a po-boy contest, where various sandwiches from around the city are judged by a host of celebrity guests, like locally well-known food critic Ian McNulty.
Hey, if it's an excuse to eat plenty of po-boys, we'll be there every year! Po-boys have intersected with another famous baguette sandwich Po-boys have a distinctive identity all of their own, but look a little closer and you'll start to see the similarities to one other well-known baguette sandwich: The banh mi. This Vietnamese sandwich shares a lot with the po-boy, with the bread used to make them evolving in similar ways. Po-boy and banh mi baguettes are both French in origin, and both styles began with traditional European baking techniques and evolved to respond to their respective climates.
Although different, both po-boy and banh mi baguettes have a lightness and crispiness to them that holds the wet ingredients inside each sandwich well. Both sandwiches have also been a cornerstone of working-class communities, providing relatively cheap sustenance in a filling form. Although po-boys are a little bit bolder and meatier, both banh mi and po-boys generally contain a variety of ingredients that hit different flavor points.
Seeing the similarities, some Louisiana food vendors have started to offer a mash-up of the two sandwiches — and although these tend more towards a po-boy style than a banh mi one, it's an acknowledgment of their closeness and their adaptability as sandwiches. The po-boy is now a staple of New Orleans tourism Why are you headed to New Orleans? Is it for the weather, for the scenery, for Mardi Gras — or for the po-boys? Well, if it's for the latter, it'd make a lot of sense. Po-boys are now big business for the city, with people flocking there every year to try out some choice local sandwiches.
Scour the internet, and you'll find plenty of web pages devoted to where to find the best po-boy in NOLA, which can often be found as part of self-guided walking tours or adventures around the city. In the French Quarter, you'll find Killer Po'boys, which mixes up its sandwich by throwing in tangy pickled green beans and banana peppers to accompany the savory roast beef. For another popular choice, if you're in the Garden District, you'll find Parasol's, which serves up classic po-boys with a serious amount of adaptability.
These are just starting points, though — there's a po-boy on virtually every street corner, and if you're anything like us, you'll make it a mission to try them all..
