As owner of a New Orleans
Restaurant/poboy shop (The French Market & Tavern), it's important
to me to be as authentic as possible. While discussing our red beans
& rice with my lead chef, I realized he had never been to New
Orleans. This was a problem that needed to be remedied sans haste. On
our drive down, I got the idea to eat our way thru my beloved
hometown, poboy by poboy. It was decided we would eat 12 poboys in 24
hours. A lofty goal indeed, but we felt up to the task. We're just the
guys to do it.
We decided to make the entire trip about the poboy - specifically the
roast beef poboy. We talked to owners, cooks, busboys, &
dishwashers. Each stop, we ate a delicious poboy and some red beans (ok,
and a cocktail or 2). Below are the sights and sounds of our sojourn,
which I am proud to say was a smashing success. I truly believe the 10
lbs I gained on this trip was well worth it... Enjoy!
Poboy #1 - First Stop was The
Boucherie Que Crawl at The Wolf Den, In the Warehouse District. It was
close to the hotel and we needed to start eating pronto. We ordered a
couple of cocktails and a BBQ shrimp poboy - It was unreal. It was
served on a local Vietnamese roll and tons of flavorful creole sauce.
Very unique.
Poboy # 2 - Felix shrimp poboy
It was time for Felix - If you go to New Orleens (I hate it
when people pronounce it that way) you outta go see Felix for
ERSTAHS....Not Acme, Felix. Acme will have a line for days but I'll take
Felix every time.
We downed a couple of Abitas, a dozen raw oysters and a shrimp poboy. I don't visit NOLA without visiting Felix!
At this point, we may or may not have gotten distracted for a couple of hours after Felix....Details are sketchy.
While trying to keep clear of these guys....
At some point we went to Snake & Jake's Christmas Tree Lounge - One of the coolest bars in the country.
And the Milan Lounge - home of the 4 oz pour
Investing in the local economy...
Just before righting the ship we happened upon Tropical Isle - Oho my....
Not remotely hungry at this point, we forged ahead. A beautiful stroll
past Touchdown Jesus brought us to our next conquest...
Poboy # 3 - Pierre Maspero's where we had a Couchon de Lait poboy, which was outstanding. The RB&R were A+
We grabbed another shrimp poboy at Vieux Carre Wings and slipped into
the Dungeon, NOLA's coolest metal bar with the best jukebox ever.
Poboy # 4 - shrimp @ Vieux Carre Wings
We strolled by Antoine's, (since 1840) one of my all time favorites in NOLA - Apparently closes before 4am :-(
But Cafe Du Monde was open, even if it looked like a hurricane had blown thru.
For those counting, that's 4 poboys in the first 1/2 day, we've got our work cut out for us...
Next, we hopped the streetcar to "The Grocery" poboy shop for a
"smashed" roast beef poboy. Possibly one of the best poboys of the trip.
Think poboy meets panini, with gravy.
Poboy # 5 - Smashed Roast Beef at Grocery
5 down, 7 to go......starting to walk with a slight limp we pressed on.
It was now time for the Alpha and Omega of Roast Beef - Parasols. There
has been an ownership change and the previous owner moved down the
street and opened up his own joint. I have always loved Parasols roast
beef. I get mine with Ham, RB & Swiss - Dressed - Extra Mayo!
Poboy # 6 - Roast Beef @ Parasols
Half way there, our next poboy is 2 blocks away. Tracey's (the old
Parasols owner) opened up on Magazine. Very good food, we had the shrimp
and the roast beef.
Poboy # 7 - roast beef & shrimp @ Tracey's
If I had to make a choice, I would probably give Parasols the nod over
Tracey's, but both were delicious and among the best in the city.
There's just something about Parasols "diveyness" that appeals to me.
We strolled down Magazine to stalk Fleurty Girl buy some T-Shirts at the coolest T-Shirt shop on the planet.
7 down - My chef showing signs of wear I'm built for this type of
mission. Next stop is a spot called Corporation. I lived in NOLA for 26
years and had never been there. It's in The Warehouse District near the
convention center. They talked me into another "smashed" roast beef, and
it was absolutely delicious. I wanted to eat 2 but had to save room for
4 more poboys.
Poboy # 8 - smashed roast beef @ Corporation
8 footlong poboys is alot of bread, along with alot of Abita, Dixie, vodka and who knows what else.
Poboy # 9 - Cooter Brown's soft shell poboy
We killed another dozen raw and a few Dixies.
3 poboys to go and we (read I) am still going strong.
Poboy # 10 - Verdi Marte for the All That Jazz poboy, the granddaddy of them all.
"A medley of grilled Ham, Turkey, Shrimp, with American and Swiss cheese combined with grilled Tomatoes and Mushrooms on grilled French bread with WOW sauce. French Only.".
Verti Mart delivers, virtually anything, anytime. Awesome hole-in-the-wall that is a staple of any NOLA visit.
Poboy # 11 - Radasta Grocery ham, RB & swiss
My 2nd to last poboy
was a favorite of mine from back in the day, Radasta Grocery in Old
Metry, a great neighborhood grocery/poboy shop. I got the Ham, RB &
Swiss with mayo, a bag of Zapps, A Hubig and a Barqs. Great people, and
excellent poboys.
One Poboy to go and I'm injured...Not mortally, but have now developed a
severe limp/waddle. It just so happens that my dad is having a crawfish
boil in St. Rose.....of course I drop in and pay my respects whilst
demolishing 4 lbs of Belle River's finest....
I saved the best poboy for last. I grew up in St. Rose down the street
from St. Rose Tavern. When I was a kid I used to love ringing the bell
to get "buzzed" in. Patsy still running the place. I never realized how
outstanding the roast beef was as a kid, but I'm here to tell you it's
the best in the city.
(St. Rose Tavern photos courtesy of The Times Picayune) my phone was dead!
Poboy # 12 - Patsy Pugene's roast beef @ St. Rose Tavern
Yeah...It's really that big. Crispy Leidenheimer, tons of gravy, dressed. Absolutely delicious!
To recap - 12 poboys in 36 hours. An amazing experience. Lots learned.
There were plenty of other spots I wanted to share with my Chef, such as
Domilise's , Parkway Bakery, R&O, Casamento's, Pascal's Manale,
Come Back Inn, Mandina's, Crabby Jack's, Liuzza's, Mahoney's and finally
Ernst Cafe for a catfish (how are you out of french bread Ernst???)
Originally the goal was 24, which got whittled down to 18
then 12 when reality set in. It was a great way to share my New
Orleans. Red beans & rice at The French Market has never been
better, nor has the Roast Beef!
Thanks for reading,
Laissez les bons temps rouler...
Rick Weaver
www.frenchmarkettavern.com
