Five Good Po'boys

Click to read Home of the Po'Boy by Rick Bragg

➊ Fried Shrimp Po’Boy
Domilise’s Po-Boy and Bar
From the outside, Dot Domilise’s neighborhood joint looks like your great aunt’s rumpus room. Looks like that from the inside, too, where a tiny kitchen serves po’boys for a dozen tables and an informal bar. Regulars arrive well before noon to avoid the inevitable line and snag an impromptu audience with the always-charming Ms. Dot. 504-899-9126

➋ Judge Bosetta
Johnny’s Po-Boys
One of the few dedicated po’boy joints in the French Quarter, Johnny’s does a brisk breakfast and lunch trade with hotel workers, tourists, and off-shift cops. The Judge Bosetta, named after a local jurist, is a foot-long sandwich of three meats—ground beef and Italian and hot sausages—smushed together in a well-marbled griddle-crisped patty that changes flavors with every mouthful. johnnyspoboy.com

➌ Root Beer Glazed Chisesi’s Ham & Cheese
Mahony’s Po-Boy Shop
Founded in 2008, this new jack Uptown establishment can’t claim historic street cred, but Mahony’s speaks to the old-school with classics such as the Peacemaker (fried oysters, cheddar, and bacon). Owner Benjamin Wicks, a fine-dining veteran, bastes slow-roasted ham with Abita root beer, then slices it paper-thin for this outstanding adaptation of a cold-cut classic. mahonyspoboys.com

➍ Surf & Turf
Parkway Bakery & Tavern
This twice-revived landmark in the Mid-City neighborhood plays strong across the menu, from overstuffed seafood to classics such as griddle-cooked ham and house-corned beef. Many folks combine two genres by ordering the seafood/meat combination—shrimp ladled with a hit of beefy gravy. Why choose when you can have both? parkwaybakeryandtavernnola.com

➎French Fry Po’boy
R&O Restaurant
Tourists rarely make it out to this po’boy joint on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, where locals feast on outstanding fried seafood po’boys, extra crisp from the broiler. But R&O’s specialty is beef gravy—deep brown, savory, and studded with meaty shrapnel. When it’s ladled on the classic french fry po’boy, you’ll wonder why the meat-and-potatoes set hasn’t made this a culinary cause célèbre. 504-831-1248