Thursday, November 5, 2009

Johnny's Po' Boys in NOLA: Even Poor Boys Gotta Eat Well

Po' boy. There are several theories about the origin of the name (and the sandwich) but most of them agree that the name originates from "poor boy". Basically, it's a poor boy's lunch.

Nowadays, po' boy shops in New Orleans are ubiquitous and most po' boys are now filled with deep fried seafood such as shrimp, oysters, catfish etc.

Since a trip to New Orleans wouldn't be a NOLA trip at all without getting a po' boy, I insisted that my first lunch there be at Johnny's Po' Boy, a popular shop in the French Quarter. My po' boy staple: the Crawfish Po' Boy
Crispy batter, meaty and fresh crawfish, "dressed" with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, but nothing overwhelming.

Simply put, po' boys in Los Angeles don't hold a candle to this sub. If you come to NOLA without trying one, you'll regret it.

If you can't decide what to get, Johnny's Muffaleta (Muffuletta) sandwich may offer a solution. The muffuletta is a Sicilian bread, flat and round, and at Johnny's the muffaleta sandwich is stuffed with various fried seafood: catfish, oyster, crawfish, and what have you.

The gumbo was unremarkable and while good, you're bound to find better around town.

The bread pudding was typically heavy and sweet. This huge and satisfying piece cost about $2.50



Johnny's Po-Boys
511 St Louis St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 524-8129
Johnny's Po-Boys on Urbanspoon

7 comments:

weezermonkey

I love po boys. Obviously. ;)

Aaron

I found crawfish unremarkable. Sure it was awesome to have a heap in front of you, but little meat for so much work. I had a muffleta at a market but wasn't a big fan of olive spread. But on the whole, NOLA is an amazing place to eat

gourmetpigs

Aaron: That's true if they're still in the shell, but if someone else had de-shelled and deep fried them for you, then what's there to complain about, right? ;)

Weezermonkey: Obviously :) Who doesn't?

Wandering Chopsticks

When were you in Nawlins? This post came out of nowhere?

gourmetpigs

WC: It was umm.. 2008 sometime ... not *entirely* out of nowhere but definitely way backposted :P

Exile Kiss

Hi burumun,

Nice! Thanks for the review on this place. :) Sad and good to know that the Po' Boy was so good in NOLA. Hopefully we can get something that good in LA some day.

The Food Addicts

Wow I could totally use a po boy right now. Those pictures make me so hungry! It was great meeting you at the foodbuzz festival.

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