What is a New Orleans Po-Boy?

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Why is it called a po-boy?

The origins of iconic New Orleans sandwiches trace back to labor and working-class culture:

• 1929 Union Strike Origin: The most widely accepted story credits the Martin Brothers—former streetcar conductors turned grocers—with creating the po'boy in the 1929 street car drivers strike to provide a free meal to the striking workers ("poor boys"). Sandwiches like the po'boy and muffaletta quickly became staples for local dock, warehouse, and labor workers needing quick lunch breaks.

• 1800s "Peacemaker" Origin: An earlier story involves 19th-century husbands bringing home fried oysters stuffed into hollowed-out French bread, wrapped in newspaper, as a "peace offering" to appease wives after lingering at bars. Known as the "oyster loaf" or "Peacemaker" (La Médiatrice), this hearty meal helped keep the peace at home.

How do you order a po-boy?

• Size & Bread: Po'boys are typically 8 to 10 inches long, cut from a standard 32-inch French bread loaf.

• "Debris" & Gravy: Ordering roast beef with "debris" means it comes smothered in rich pan gravy.

• Authenticity: My favorite way to test the mettle of any po'boy shop is to try their roast beef. As unique as a fingerprint, the roast beef po'boy is a messy act of mouth bliss, chunks of simmered, seasoned beef sitting in a time-tested recipe of juices and seasonings.

• "Fully Dressed": The standard topping combination of ordering a po-boy "fully dressed" consists of lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise, best balanced with spicy hot sauce or Creole mustard.

Where are the best po-boys in New Orleans?

Traditionally an affordable, working-class staple, po'boys are best enjoyed at casual neighborhood joints, corner stores, dedicated po'boy shops or seafood spots—not upscale, sit-down restaurants. Innovative chefs are continuously evolving the classic sandwich with creative twists.

• Classic & Casual: Frady's One Stop, Verti Marte, Joey K's, Parasol's, Liuzza's, Domilise's, and Guy's

• Seafood: R&O's and The Blue Crab (Bucktown)

• Unique Twists & Banh Mi: Killer PoBoys and Banh Mi Boys

• Also, a great opportunity to try lots of creative po'boys is at one of New Orleans' many festivals like the Oak Street PoBoy Fest in Nov.

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