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The name for New Orleans' most famous sandwich, the po-boy, harkens back to its humble, scrappy origins. That heritage must have given the po-boy some special resilience because, as New Orleans rebuilds from Hurricane Katrina, po-boys are among the most prevalent of local culinary traditions to make it back to the restaurant scene.
Visitors to the French Quarter will find a wide variety of po-boys purveyors serving these classic French bread sandwiches, but first a short history lesson will set the scene.As with most elements of New Orleans history, the origin of the po-boy has competing versions flavored over the years by creative storytellers and self-appointed authorities of dubious veracity. But the most widely accepted story holds that the sandwich was invented by Clovis and Benjamin Martin, brothers and former streetcar drivers who opened a restaurant on St. Claude Avenue in the 1920s. When streetcar drivers went on strike in 1929, the brothers took up their cause and created an inexpensive sandwich of gravy and spare bits of roast beef on French bread they would serve the unemployed workers out of the rear of their restaurant. When a worker came to get one, the cry would go up in the kitchen that "here comes another poor boy!," and the name was transferred to the sandwich, eventually becoming "po-boy" in common usage.Hot roast beef po-boys dripping with gravy are the close relatives of these originals, but po-boys now come in any variety sandwich makers can dream up. Fried seafood are the most popular versions, drawing on the abundant local resources of the Gulf and bayous, but hot or smoked sausage, ham and cheese and hamburger are also common. The most unusual is probably the French fry po-boy, which simply pairs French fries, gravy and condiments within the French bread loaf. These are always the most inexpensive sandwich at restaurants that serve them. With all po-boys, remember that "dressed" means a topping of shredded lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise and pickles.The variety of po-boys is matched only by the wide variety of places to get one in New Orleans. In the French Quarter alone, options range from simple deli counters to dining rooms operated by some of the biggest names in the local culinary scene.This profile was edited with
