Po Boy Fest

The Po Boy Fest still has some kinks to iron out, but all in all this festival has a permanent place on my calendar. Lindsay and I headed over there yesterday around 2 and we were both astonished to see just how many people had turned out. All along Oak Street from Carrollton to Joliet the thoroughfare was crammed full of people, po boys, and parading.

The lines for each po boy purveyor were quite significant however they moved very rapidly. At times the street gets very crowded making movement in any direction almost impossible. However, these are only minor problems. We stated with a banh mi from banh mi sao. We chose the combo which included shredded beef and vietnamese style meatballs. This was topped with an assortment of fresh and pickeld veggies, a liberal dosing of spicy mayo, and some cilantro. Delicious, fresh, vibrant and light this po boy earned high marks.

Next, a hot sausage po boy and an italian sausage with peppers and onions from Sammie's in Gentilly. The former once again relied on a spiced up mayonnaise with astonishing results while the latter delivered what amounted to a large, savory mess wrapped up in flaky bread. Both sandwiches made me put Sammie's on my list of po boy shops to try. We also sampled a killer stuffed shrimp. I had one bite and really enjoyed it. I turned my back to grab a napkin and lindsay had devoured the rest of it. You snooze, you lose.

Then, a barbecue roast beef po boy and a roast beef po boy from Parkway. You know my feelings about Parkway's roast beef, well they were once again confirmed. Tender, rich strands of roast beef, impossibly light bread, and a thick gravy make for me at least the standard by which all other roast beef po boys are judged. The barbeucue roast beef was a little too sweet for me.

Twice while we were there a second line strolled down Oak St. Trailing behind the 8 piece brass band were legions of marching second liners. Only instead of waving handkerchiefs in the air, the paraders held aloft loaves of French Bread. Its times like this when living anywhere else beisdes New Orleans makes no sense to me.