A text message from my roommate about a recent trip to Crabby Jack’s birthed several thought bubbles about my favorite po-boys in the city “over by the river, under the lake.” In order to come up with a proper list, I had to get a proper set of guidelines. I came up with one: Must be served on New Orleans style french bread. That’s it.
5. Roast Beef – Tracey’s (formerly Parasol’s) -There are a lot of great roast beef po-boys in Nola, but this one stands out for its consistency. Not too messy, but not too dry. Meaty. Delicious.
4. Pulled Pork with Purple Cabbage Cole Slaw – Boucherie -I’ve actually never had this in the restaurant, but seek it out at any festival where the purple truck is found. There’s something magical about this mixture of pork and cabbage.
3. Fried Green Tomato with Shrimp Remoulade – Crabby Jack’s – This one is just plays on the heartstrings. I feel like my mom fried green tomatoes a lot when we were kids, so I have a pretty strong affinity for them. I love the combo of the hot, crispy tomatoes and the cold shrimp remoulade.
2. The Ray Ray – Sammy’s - OH MY. I’m not sure where to begin or end, but I’ll just say this: It’s big, it’s filling, and there is NO WAY you’re eating this in one sitting (unless you’re Jonathan Parrish during Mardi Gras)*. Two fried chicken breasts, grilled ham, and melted swiss. Fully dressed, of course. Served on a full length loaf of french bread. The Ray-Ray actually tastes as good as the novelty of the gigantic po-boy. *Note: JPar is notorious for his love of fried chicken and ability to eat a lot of it.
1. Shrimp Po-boy – Parkway Bakery and Tavern -It ain’t flashy, but I don’t care. Some people might say it’s hard to mess up and shrimp po-boy and others might even say they’re all the same. But the people who say these things have obviously never been to Parkway Bakery. Parkway’s batter is top-notch and they don’t over do it. The shrimp is big, fresh, and lightly breaded. Fully dressed with a whole mess of Crystal Hot Sauce and I’m in heaven.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some of my other favorites that didn’t quite make the list:
Oyster Loaf – Casamento’s (Served on texas toast. Otherwise, it’d be on the list).
Hot Sausage Patty Po-boy – Sammy’s Deli
Slow Roasted Duck – Crabby Jack’s
Roast Beef Po-boy – Parkway Bakery
