The New Orleans sandwich, an airy Leidenheimer French loaf split, packed with fried shrimp, oysters, roast beef debris or hot sausage, dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickle and mayonnaise.
The po-boy was invented in 1929 by Bennie and Clovis Martin, former streetcar conductors who ran a French Market sandwich shop. When the Carmen Strike paralysed the streetcars, the Martin brothers fed striking conductors free sandwiches on a special long French loaf they had Leidenheimer Bakery develop. They called the workers poor boys; the sandwich kept the name. By 1940 the po-boy had spread to every counter in the city. The two canonical forms (fried seafood and roast beef debris) emerged by the 1950s. Dressed means lettuce, tomato, pickle, mayo. Domilise's, Parkway, Mahony's and Liuzza's are the modern cathedrals.
5 editor picks for Po-boy in New Orleans, ranked by editorial score. All New Orleans signature dishes · Po-boy across every city.
Domilise's Po-Boys ★ 4.6
uptown · 5240 Annunciation St, New Orleans, LA 70115
Domilise's in New Orleans is the 1918 family-run po-boy counter on Annunciation Street at Belle Castle Uptown, with fried shrimp and oyster po-boys on Leidenheimer bread.
Killer Poboys at Erin Rose ★ 4.6
811 Conti St, New Orleans, LA 70112
Killer Poboys in New Orleans is the back-of-Erin-Rose Conti Street po-boy counter, with chef-driven internationally-inspired po-boys including the seared shrimp on house-baked bread.
Parkway Bakery and Tavern ★ 4.5
mid-city · 538 Hagan Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119
Parkway in New Orleans is the 1911 Mid-City po-boy room on Hagan Avenue near Bayou St John, a German-built corner shop with roast beef debris and a screened back patio.
Liuzza's by the Track ★ 4.5
faubourg-st-john · 1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119
Liuzza's by the Track in New Orleans is the Bayou St John lunch counter near the Fair Grounds that invented the BBQ shrimp po-boy, still the room's anchor dish today.
Mother's Restaurant ★ 4.2
central-business-district · 401 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Mother's in New Orleans is the 1938 CBD lunch counter at Poydras and Tchoupitoulas, home of the Ferdi Special po-boy with ham, roast beef and debris served from a cafeteria line.