The suspense of the po’boy was killing. In the weeks leading up to our trip to New Orleans, Bill talked about the hype surrounding this mysterious sandwich and the weight that people put on their favorite po’boy shop. He even showed us a video of Domilise’s Po’Boys which showed one of the delicious looking sandwiches being made. I was hooked, I couldn’t wait to order my first po’ boy.
The opportunity came the first night we went into the city. We walked down Frenchman Street and found a welcoming club called Vaso where a brass band was playing inside. We sat down to order and as I read down the menu I came across po’boy sliders. My decision was easily made. I was so excited for my first po’boy, but I was soon disappointed when I realized that it was nowhere near close to a real po’ boy. I enjoyed the small sandwiches, but continued to long for the actual, full-sized sandwich.
A couple days later, Kendra, our group leader, introduced us to her favorite po’ boy shop, Parkway. Although I felt like I was somewhat betraying Bill by going to Parkway rather than Domilise’s, I was none the less very anxious. I grabbed a menu and started to read the many options of po’ boys. There was everything from fried shrimp to caprese (tomato, mozzarella, and basil) po’ boys. I definitely felt like a tourist in a sea of experienced po’ boy consumers. Kendra informed us that Barq’s from the bottle is a must with your sandwich and I have to agree that it was the perfect compliment.
After contemplating which one of the many choices I would purchase I went with the fried shrimp and of course I got it dressed with lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo. After each member of our group of 9 had their po’boy in hand we made our way over the bayou to enjoy our “first real po’boys”. I must say it was an experience I will remember for a while. The bayou was beautiful and the po’ boy was delicious! Not one of us was disappointed with our choice.
We were fortunate enough to visit Parkway once more before the trip was over and I’m pretty sure that most of us took the opportunity to try another type of sandwich. This time I tried the caprese since it seemed so different from the rest. It was much different from the fried shrimp but it was still delicious. Again no one was disappointed which shows that you can’t go wrong with any type of po’ boy. I must say that the wait was well worth it.
The good food of New Orleans definitely didn’t stop with the po’ boy. Another one of the group’s favorite New Orleans hot spots was Café Du Monde. The Café is known for their delicious coffee and beignets. I’m pretty sure that we sat down for a fresh batch of sugar coated pastries late at night about five times. By our last night there the waiter surely recognized us.
The day we left the city my group mate Gabby and I couldn’t resist one last chance to enjoy a po’ boy. Both of us had been craving a fried chicken po’ boy so we walked down Decatur until we found a restaurant that could satisfy our need. We left New Orleans in our van as we savored our last po’ boy — that is, until our next visit.
–Sam Docos–