Finding The Best Po'Boys In New Orleans | Food Tours | Insider Food - en

Joe: Four amazing po'boy sandwich places here in New Orleans.

First one, we're starting off, Parkway Bakery & Tavern. Here's my criteria. Here's what I'm thinking.

So, at every place, we're definitely getting a shrimp po'boy and we're getting a roast beef po'boy.

Those are the classic. Here's what's great about the shrimp.

We are right off the Gulf of Mexico, so they're pulling the shrimp day of

out of that Gulf, frying it. Oh, just to perfection, right?

And of course the roast beef, slow-cooked, just dripping with its juices, so delicious.

Now, we're going to get them dressed. Here's what that traditionally means:

lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickles. But every place we're going today

kind of does dress their own way. Sometimes they add a hot sauce, they add a ketchup.

So we'll be getting it dressed how they dress it at each place we go to.

Sounds great. Everything comes on a French bread

they bake here in this city. Pillowy in the inside, crunchy on the outside.

The French roll, the po'boy roll, is maybe the perfect vessel to eat a sandwich.

You hungry? I'm very hungry, yeah.

Harry: Let's do it. Joe: All right. We'll start to eat.

Dude. I hope you don't mind. I got the smalls. Uh-huh, yeah. And what are you having?

A couple of dads, all right. Let's open this up, right?

This is a weighty sandwich, man. Yep. This roast beef right here.

They sell a lot of roast beef here, buddy. They sell 400 pounds, or almost a ton,

of roast beef a week. Harry: Goodness me.

OK, I gotta get in here. Harry: Yeah, same. I got the shrimp one.

Joe: It's absolutely incredible. Harry: Mm-hmm.

Here's why this roast beef is incredible. They slow cook it for overnight,

almost 12 hours, right? And you know when it comes out,

just pretty much falling apart. We've seen with the barbecue

how tender that meat could be. They don't slice it then. Then they let it cool off.

All that juice stays inside the meat. So they finally slice it

at room temperature or a cool temperature. It is just the most flavorful roast beef

you could possibly imagine. Harry: Mm-hmm.

How's that shrimp? Fantastic.

Joe: Yeah? Yeah, they're cooked so well.

The breading, so nice and crispy on the outside, shrimp inside, juicy, tender.

What'd I tell you about this bread? I mean, this is like, on the outside, it's really hard and crispy,

but the inside, pillowy. Harry: Super fluffy. Joe: Absolutely falling apart.

I've heard several locals say this, but I'm not a bread scientist, also known as a baker.

But they say that the intense humidity of the city lends itself to make the po'boy-style roll,

and that's why you can only make it here, and anywhere else in the country just can't get it right.

Damn. I'm also not a bread scientist, but it is very humid here.

Joe: Baker, they're called. Harry: Baker. Joe: There you go.

But I know when you are proofing your bread, when it's rising, the humidity does have

a bit of a factor in it. Joe: How do you like that?

Harry: Yeah, so it's going to help it rise, going to get nice and light and airy in there.

I really do think it is the perfect texture for the sandwich as well.

Like, these are big sandwiches. There's a lot going on in here.

There's sauce, there's juice. But honestly, having that sponginess on the inside

really does just let it kind of soak everything up, hold its shape surprisingly well actually. Really tasty.

Joe: Can I try a little bit of that? Harry: Of course you may.

Joe: They do toast the bread here. Do it light. Not every place does that, but they do do it here.

OK. Now, the bread, we talked about this before. They do two types of bread here.

The main one, which we're going to be having, I think, at almost every single place.

See, how good is that? Harry: Oh, man. Is, I'm going to pronounce this wrong, Leidenheimer,

but they also use Gendusa. When they started making po'boys originally,

it was more of like just a big, kind of oddly shaped hunk of bread.

Eventually, Gendusa designed these long, almost 36-inch-long rolls or whatever.

And then when they have them in there, they cut them to order, small or large.

Right. This roast beef is ridiculous, by the way. It's almost more like a beef stew

in terms of how juicy and tender it is. And you really get a flavor from the kind of juices,

the gravy that it kind of creates for itself. That's fantastic.

Joe: Crystal's on the sandwich. Crystal's on the beat.

Harry: Like I say, I'm not the biggest fan of tomato in sandwiches often, but don't really mind it in here.

I think everything has been considered to a point where they're like, yeah, you know,

over the years, we've refined this down to a point where people are like, "This is a po'boy.

This is what we want from a sandwich." And I can see why.

Joe: Now, you're probably wondering why it is called the po'boy,

which is an abbreviation or a slang for the term "poor boy." Harry: Sure. Joe: All right.

The most preferred form of transportation in the city of New Orleans was streetcar.

But during the Great Depression, they weren't getting paid. So the streetcar workers went on strike.

Two brothers, the Martin brothers, Clovis and Bennie, former streetcar drivers, had a bakery in a shop,

saw this, and were like, "You know what, when this strike is going on, we're going to feed our guys,

make sure they eat every day." So when they would come in

and show their streetcar driver pass, they'd be like, "Here comes a poor boy. Make him a sandwich."

OK. Rude. To be fair, I would take quite a lot of abuse

if it meant that I got a free sandwich. It's a pretty good trade-off, I think.

I would've been pretty stoked about getting the sandwich. I'd be like, "All right.

Hey, if this is free, call me whatever you want, buddy." If it's free.

Joe: Yeah. This absolutely fantastic sandwich. You can tell this is, like, a sandwich

of the people, right? It's just something that was just designed to be delicious.

Something that you'd come and grab every day at lunch. I mean, they serve so many people here.

They can sit 300, and he estimates something like 1,000 people a day.

Wow. That's so many sandwiches.

Yeah. I can tell that you and I are going to have trouble pacing ourselves today.

Joe: We're in sandwich heaven today. Harry: Yeah. But save some room.

Yeah, save some room. I got a couple more spots I want to show you.

OK, let's go. Let's go.

All right, we're on our way to the Magazine Street area of New Orleans

for the next two po'boy spots. First stop, we're hitting up Guy's.

Guy's. One thing I do need to work on is my pronunciation

of New Orleans because I keep saying "New Or-leens." "New Or-luhns."

It's very much "New Or-luhns." "New Or-luhns."

I will work on that. But I'm excited for the next po'boy.

Joe: Yeah. This is considered one of the best in the city.

My man Marvin is on the grill. This is his joint. He makes every sandwich.

He has said in multiple interviews, he estimates that he has made 1 million po'boys.

OK. If you've made a million po'boys, you probably know what you're doing.

Guy's seems like a cool spot. It's a smaller place. A bit more of your local neighborhood type of joint.

Joe: Neighborhood joint, yes. Harry: I feel like the people who are in there

are in there a lot. This is their spot. A couple of times a week, they're in there for lunch.

Hopefully for a delicious po'boy. Joe: Yes, hopefully. We're going to get the roast beef.

Going to get the shrimp. Maybe something fun. Harry: Yeah. And I would also quite like

a cold beverage, please. Joe: Yeah, what do you want?

Anything cold. Maybe a Gatorade of some kind. I'm not getting you — they're not going to have Gatorade.

I swear I saw Powerade in there. Did you see that in there?

I'm pretty sure I saw Powerade. There's no way there's Powerade in there.

If there's a blue Powerade, get me a blue Powerade. Well, fine.

But I'm not going to bring you a blue Powerade or Gatorade because they definitely don't have them.

Harry: Famous last words. Joe: Yeah, you'll see. Marvin: How many days are you going to be in New Orleans?

We're here till Sunday. Marvin: Till Sunday? Joe: Till Sunday, sir.

Marvin: Well, our goal is to put 5 pounds on you by Sunday. Joe: Is that right?

Pretty generous with the shrimp there, I see. Marvin: You know, I've never advertised

a day in my life. Because you know why?

I put that 10% advertising budget right there. Right there, look at that.

Do I need to advertise that? Who don't want that?

LA. Joe: Ooh, that's a heavy sandwich.

Hear that thud? Marvin: Told you. I'm going to make sure.

Joe: Oh, man, I'm in so much trouble. Is that us? Employee: That is you.

Joe: This is amazing and generous and looks delicious. Thank you so much.

Marvin: Hey, enjoy it. Joe: Thank you, everyone. I appreciate it. We will.

Let's go. Your blue beverage. Harry: There we go.

Beautiful. Thank you so much. Wow, that's alarmingly blue.

So, I was watching him make these sandwiches. We are in trouble.

OK. It's also starting to rain, so I might have to pull this in.

Joe: Yeah, you want to pull it in? Harry: Ever so slightly.

Joe: Before we even go, I gotta take a picture. Dude, Zapp's runs the chip game in New Orleans,

and I am here for it. Are they a New Orleans company?

Yeah, I believe so. I mean, they've got the New Orleans kettle-style voodoo.

Dude, Zapp's chips are incredible. Harry: Yeah?

Yeah. You're going to love these crisps. OK. Thank you for putting it in terms I can understand.

OK. I got your blue beverage. Which one is this? Harry: This is the roast beef. All dressed again.

Joe: All dressed. Lettuce, tomato, mayo, and pickles. Yeah. Ton of roast beef.

Harry: Not skimping on the beef. No, he was very generous in there.

Let's go. Harry: Cheers, man. Fantastic sandwich. That is so good, right?

It's more like the deli-style slices, but he was gravying it up.

I feel like that's the key there. Compared to a Parkway, where it was more like a,

almost like a beef stew sandwich, which is delicious, this is more that kind of familiar deli style.

You have that gravy and the mayo, plenty of moisture in there. And a lot of flavor.

The mayo really adds something, doesn't it? I was kind of like, I don't know, bearish on the mayo.

I'm like, "Ah, come on, this is going to be dripping in mayo."

He was slathering it on there. And it has a sweetness to it

that cuts through the intensity of the beef, of the flavor of the beef there.

So those two things together, real nice. Yeah, I think one thing about this,

the ratio of all the fillings to me is pretty perfect. Yes.

The meat is the main event, for sure. But you have enough of the lettuce and tomato.

That's really good. It's big, too. I can't imagine a person eating one of these.

He was even telling me in there that we're walking out of here 5 pounds heavier.

So get ready. All right, there's a shrimpy guy. And notice this is dressed a little bit differently?

Mm-hmm. I pulled out a shrimp, and it's got what looks to be ketchup on there.

Very astute observation, my friend. When he does the seafood, he does dress it.

He adds hot sauce and ketchup. Harry: Mm-hmm.

That's the best one. That's so good. I'm wowed by how good this is.

That shrimp, man. The taste of the shrimp, it's just so flavorful.

It's so juicy. You know this was swimming around in the ocean hours ago.

Harry: Mere hours ago. Joe: Mere hours ago. Harry: So juicy. Joe: Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, you can just see the seasoning in there as well. A lot of black pepper going on.

It's salty, it's juicy. It's everything I want from a fried shrimp,

and it's in a sandwich with a bunch of other tasty stuff. How's your blue drink?

Oh, blue drink is delicious. It tastes like I was right. Yeah.

Mr. Athlete over here, he gotta get his electrolytes. Harry: One thing I will say,

I don't think the bread is toasted here. I don't believe it is.

It definitely has a spongier, softer texture to it. Still got that kind of crackly bit on the outside,

which I like. Joe: Yes. I think personally I might prefer the texture

of the untoasted bread. Interesting.

Although I will say, it may have helped with some of these structural issues,

because I bit into that and it just kind of fell apart. Yeah. I don't think toasting would've made a difference.

I think he's putting in a alarming amount of toppings

and protein into these sandwiches. I think it has more to do with that.

I think overall, I would rather have a generously filled and messy sandwich than a skimpy but neat sandwich.

It's great, right? Harry: Mm-hmm.

My chips are wet. We are getting rained on.

OK. That New Orleans summer weather, huh?

Yeah. Whose bright idea was it to organize this

for hurricane season? Someone who doesn't live in this country.

Harry: Yeah, I think it was mine. My bad. Joe: Want to run inside?

Yeah. Joe: OK.

Harry: You got that? Joe: Yep. Why don't you grab the drinks and the —

Harry: Grab some drinks and chips. Joe: Yep.

It's a bit wet outside, but luckily we have one more sandwich,

and this is the K-Asian. Cajun plus Asian equals this sandwich,

and that's a scientist back there, an artiste. And this sandwich is his latest creation.

So I saw him making it and I was like, "Oh, man, we are in trouble."

All right, I'm going in. Harry: Yeah, my favorite thing about this sandwich

is that it only got slightly rained on as well. Look how much chicken is in there, dude.

Joe: Oh, wow. That's incredible. It's one of those things where, like,

you know coming here the po'boy's going to be amazing. You know the shrimp's going to be amazing.

The roast beef's going to be amasian. "Amasian." Amazing.

Amasian K-Asian. So do you want to risk it?

But I will say if this is on the menu when you come in, get this.

The chicken is cooked perfectly. The sauce is undeniable. Harry: It's, like, a honey soy garlic

type of vibe going on. And with the jalapeños gives it a bit of a kick.

Harry: Bit of heat. Joe: And it's all him back there, so you know it's just

his creative mind at work. Harry: Putting the K-Asian to the side,

out of the shrimp and the beef, which way are you leaning so far?

Joe: Definitely shrimp. Harry: Really? Shrimp. Shrimp's been my favorite one.

I think I am too. I do like the beef, but to me po'boy is shrimp.

Mm-hmm. I wish I lived by here. I wish this was my hangout.

Yeah. This place, clearly an institution.

Clearly famous for a reason. Yeah. I think if I lived by here,

I would end up looking like a Snorlax. So probably couldn't go every day.

Joe: Just, "I had too many po'boys." All right, the rain is starting the die down.

No, it isn't. Want to go to — That's a lie.

Want to go to two more po'boy places? Yeah, that sounds great.

We might get a little wet on the way, but hey, nothing that some po'boys won't fix.

Let's go. It is hurricane weather season here in New Orleans.

Got a bit disrupted by the wet. It's all good, though. We're in a nice dry automobile

on our way to the next location, Domilise's. We really needed this rain, though.

We really needed it. Boy, did we need this.

Yeah, those plants are eating good today. Oh, man. How you feeling? We're two deep.

We're halfway through. Yeah, not too bad. Trying to be restrained.

It's difficult because the food is all delicious. Yeah, everything's been amazing.

Every po'boy that we've tried so far, I could quite easily have just put away all by myself.

Yeah. [thunder roars] Jesus, man!

Although God clearly does not want me to do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, all right, all right,

we're done. And we're here.

Harry: And here we are. All right, we're making a dash.

Go! [thunder roars] Go, po'boys!

Po'boys! It's raining.

It's a bit rainy. We made it through the rain.

Joe: Yep. Harry: Domilise's. And they are considered some of the best po'boys in town.

Anthony Bourdain came through here in 2008, and also the Travel Channel in 2010

had a show called "Food Wars." Interesting. Sounds familiar.

And this was the winner of the best po'boy. They pitted them against Parkway.

They said this was better. All right.

That was a really good po'boy. Interesting. It was.

Joe: This feels like a family operation, family joint. Every place we've been to has been like a neighborhood spot.

Harry: Yeah. I really like that, actually. Again, it kind of speaks to the fact that

this is very much a food of the people, something that people actually do eat

if they live in New Orleans. It's not just a touristy gimmick thing.

But Domilise's is some of the best in New Orleans. Joe: Yeah, some say the best.

Harry: OK. Joe: Shrimp? Harry: Yes.

Joe: Roast beef? Harry: Yes. Joe: I'll see what dangerously blue drinks they have.

Oh, yeah. Harry: Ooh! So, flash-flood warning aside, these look pretty good.

Yeah, these look really great. Definitely got the roast beef, and of course got the shrimp.

Now, you're going to love what I got to tell you about these sandwiches. Harry: Go on.

They are dressed, but one thing you will not find on these sandwiches dressed, tomato.

Miss Dot, who ran the show here for a while, didn't like them. Didn't think they were necessary

in the sandwiches, so she banned them. She sounds like a wise lady.

Yeah. Thank you. Look, I've not been taking them out.

If they're in a sandwich, I will usually eat them, but I just wouldn't add them out of choice.

I just don't think on average, tomatoes add enough to a sandwich.

They're a bit wet, a bit slimy. You're adding moisture in there.

So I'm glad to see them being skipped here. Do you want to start with the roast beef?

Yeah, this looks great. Shall we? Joe: I love that they're cut into thirds.

Harry: Yeah, interesting. Bite-size pieces.

Joe: That's a big sandwich. Harry: Also, yeah, the crew can actually have a piece

that we haven't bitten into, which is nice for them. Joe: Mm. Harry: Cheers, my guy.

Joe: With the mustard. Oh, wow. Oh, man!

That is so good. Joe: The mustard really makes it.

Harry: So beefy. You've got that gravy with it. Joe: Yep.

Harry: The mustard and the pickles provide so much needed acidity and soundness to that.

Joe: Yep. Harry: Because the beef sandwiches we've had so far

have been rich, as roast beef can often be. But yeah, this one is, in terms of the balance,

they've really nailed this. Joe: All the roast beef we've had is really good,

but pairing it with the mustard, as they've done here, it just elevates the flavor in a way that, wow,

just didn't get at a lot of the other spots. In the UK, when we have roast beef,

a lot of people will have horseradish with it, which actually shares a lot of flavor compounds,

the things that actually make up the flavor, with mustard. Joe: Yeah.

Harry: A little bit of heat to them, you know? But it's more like, it's not heat spice,

more like heat like a tang. It really cuts through and just gives you all that flavor.

It's fantastic. But we still got the lettuce in there,

still got some mayo in there. I don't know. Yeah, something about this sandwich. So far ...

Joe: It's very good. This is up there, man. It's right up there.

Bit of shrimp? Yes, sir.

Harry: Shrimp time. Joe: Shrimpy boy. Dressed, no tomato.

But they did add their own hot sauce on here. Let's go.

Harry: Even just looking at this, the color of the shrimp is really exciting to me.

Really looks like, kind of like a popcorn shrimp, you know? The shrimp themselves are on the smaller side.

Joe: Yeah, but I kind of like that because you're getting more in a bite.

Mm-hmm. Joe: It starts out as a liquid batter.

Eventually they put it into corn flour. Harry: Mm-hmm. I can tell. It's so crispy on the outside.

Trapping all that juice in there. Joe: What they're doing here,

because they're so close to the water, they're really just letting the shrimp,

the flavor of this fresh shrimp do all the talking, right? The freshness of the shrimp is almost buttery,

which, again, I think is why it works so well with a little bit of hot sauce, a little bit of pickle.

I know you're not the biggest pickle guy, but. Joe: I have to say,

of all the sandwiches that we've had, visually, this one looked a little more simple, right?

And that, right away, I was like, "Oh, what do we have here?" But man, oh, man.

Both these sandwiches are incredible. They are so delicious. Every element of it is so well taken care of and considered.

Ugh, I can't stop picking at it. I know.

I mean, we've been eating all day, and I'm like, "Man, I really want to finish this sandwich." So.

Yeah. This one was the sleeper hit. This is the, like, don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover sandwich.

Joe: Absolutely. This roast beef — Harry: Actually, I think

this roast beef is my one. This may be

one of the best. Joe: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. [thunder roars]

Jesus Christ. It's OK, you're not a dog. Don't worry about it.

It's just lightning. [Harry barking]

It's like, whatever. Like, you're from London. You're acting like you've never heard this before.

We get rain. We do not get this all the time, though. Joe: Really? Harry: Yeah.

Thunderstorms, less common. I was surprised. After that first roast beef we had,

I was like, "Nobody can top this." Just the way they slow roast it and stuff,

but this, the mustard in there is a secret weapon. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Man.

Very interesting turn of events. Lots to ponder. Lots to consider.

Well, we got one more spot to go, so let's head out there now.

Sure. Maybe wait for the rain to stop a little bit? I don't think it's going to stop anytime soon.

All right, let's go get wet. Joe: Let's go.

I have a technique for this so I get into water so it's as efficient as possible.

What's the technique? Well, watch. Ready?

Harry: I'm watching. Joe: OK, watch. Harry: Yeah, I mean,

whatever works. Perfect.

My guy, last stop of the po'boy tour, and we're heading to the heart of New Orleans.

The French Quarter. The French Quarter.

We've been there a few times since we've gotten here. We have, although mostly we've just been drinking there

rather than eating. Yeah. You're not going to believe this:

They also have food. Hey, what a coincidence!

Including po'boys. Especially Killer PoBoys,

which is where we're going to right now. This place, they don't play with the classics.

They're doing all new fun stuff. This is, like, the new spot.

We've been hitting the traditional spots. These are the guys who are like,

"We're having fun with it. We're doing it our way." Harry: Nice.

I'm going to be honest. These po'boys are starting to catch up with me.

Joe: Yeah. Harry: Yeah. This is the last leg.

Last leg of the po' bo' to'. Po'boy tour.

Look, every place we went, tradition this, tradition that. These guys are doing something a little bit differently.

Kind of giving a modern twist to the classic po'boy, and I'm here for it, right?

Yes. I'm quite excited to experience something a little bit different.

See how far you can push the boundaries of a po'boy. The one on the menu that I saw online, I'm like, yes,

seared shrimp po'boy. Get that in my mouth now.

I'm full, and I'm dying to taste that sandwich. So, they're taking that shrimp,

but they're mixing the formula up slightly, you know? Joe: Searing the shrimp.

Not your average shrimp po'boy. There you go. Who doesn't love seared shrimp?

OK, they sear the shrimp in a cast-iron skillet. Roll them in a little spice, coriander, salt,

lime, and black pepper. Black pepper, are you kidding me? Let's go.

Garlic mayo. Oh, with the Sriracha, fresh lime juice,

and a secret ingredient, Louisiana shrimp that's been dried, turned into powder,

and mixed in with the rest of the sauce. Harry: What?

Yo, dude. They've powdered shrimp.

Joe: They've powdered shrimp. They found a way to turn shrimp to dust.

Oh, my God. That's so great.

Yeah, a little inventiveness. A little new-school thinking.

Not everything has to be tradition. No. Sometimes shrimp can be powder, and that's fine.

Oh, I bet this food is going to be ridiculous. Yeah, I'm really excited. That sounds great.

The question is, are we judging it against classic po'boy

or just in general? Are we going classic versus new?

That's always the tough, the tough line to throttle.

It's a tricky one. I think we'll have to get the food and we'll have to see if we think it's still

within the realms of what a po'boy is, or if they've pushed the boundaries a little too far.

We'll have to be the judges of that, Joe. Joe: That's what the show's all about.

Harry: Cheers, my man. Joe: Oh, yeah, cheers. To an excellent day of eating po'boys.

Yes. So, here we got our chorizo.

Harry: Oh, yes. Our seared shrimp.

Joe: Yes, sir. Harry: Oh, man. And our Beef Debris.

Whoo! Thank you so much. Joe: Thank you so much, sir.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Harry: Whoo! OK, OK.

Visually, very different to the other ones we've had today. Joe: A lot of color on these things,

especially with the chorizo and this red cabbage I think, right?

Harry: Yep. Joe: Yeah. Harry I also see what they've done with the bread.

It definitely does strike me more as a banh-mi-style bread compared to

the pretty classic consistent loaves that we've had today. I mean, I've been thinking about this seared shrimp

for days now, so I want to finally dig in here. Yeah.

So, what are we getting here? We got the seared shrimp. Joe: I'm seeing shredded carrot,

definitely more banh mi vibes on this one. Harry: Yeah. Like, pickled sort of slaw vibe.

The coriander in there. Man, all right, I gotta try this.

Cheers. Mm.

Obviously, the shrimp here are seared as opposed to being battered and fried,

like some of the other ones we've had. It's actually really clever to assemble it

the way they have, because with the crunchy bread, with the sort of pickled veg that you have in there,

you get the carrot, there's some daikon in there, some cucumber as well,

you still get a lot of crunch that you might miss out on from not having a batter.

The shrimp is so juicy. It's really good. Joe: The way that it's seared and the flavors on there,

it just has that more like, almost the shrimp you'd have in a scampi,

you know what I mean? Harry: Yeah. The beefy boy they got here,

they don't go the standard roast beef, although it looks like it is shredded. Yes, it is.

Harry: They call this one the Beef Debris. Joe: Beef Debris.

And I gotta say, I don't think I've ever seen a sandwich with pickled green beans on it.

Harry: No. Banana peppers made it.

Mm-hmm. Your old friend banana peppers. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Harry: I know how much you love those. The beef does look pretty damn good, though.

Joe: Mm. So, this is very interesting.

Let me ask you a question. Do you know what giardiniera is?

Yeah, like the Italian chopped pickle salad thing? Yep. Joe: This has flavor profiles

and consistency remnants of a giardiniera, right? Harry: You're from Chicago. Joe: Yes.

A million miles away from an Italian beef sandwich. Joe: No, that's what I'm saying.

It's like, it's kind of close. Harry: Yeah.

Joe: So in a weird way, even though it isn't giardiniera, it almost feels like this is a fusion

that's reminiscent of an Italian Chicago beef. Harry: Mm.

It doesn't taste like one. I don't want to mislead anyone. But it has, like,

the really crunchy snap of the vinegary peppers, in this case green beans and banana peppers,

with just incredibly rich, wet, saucy gravy of the roast beef we've been having here.

Like, the roast beef here is really similar to what we had at the first place, at Parkway.

I was going to say, this really reminds me of the Parkway beef in terms of

it's almost more like a pot roast or like a stew, and you get that really concentrated beef flavor

with the kind of fat all in there as well. Really intense flavor. I really like this.

This pepper-green-bean combo. You were a little bit apprehensive about the green beans.

Has that immediately won you over? It definitely won me over.

Think it might have done. Yeah. Joe: Now, I absolutely love chorizo.

And him saying this is chorizo po'boy, I feel like it's pretty far away from a po'boy,

so I think this is a very bold direction. Definitely going away from the traditional.

Last one of the day. Joe: OK, let's go. Harry: Cheers.

Whoa. There's a lot going on there.

Phenomenal sandwich. Mm-hmm.

Joe: I didn't know where the pumpkin hummus was going to sit.

Now pairing with the spiciness of the chorizo, it's paired because the pumpkin hummus

kind of has this cool, creamy — Harry: Earthy. Yeah. Joe: Yeah.

But just with the absolute fattiness and richness of the chorizo together, wow.

Chorizo's got some heat as well. Plus there's extra jalapeños in there as well.

Wow. This place is absolutely fantastic. I love the invention.

I love what they're doing. They definitely are killer. These are killer po'boys.

All right, well. We have a decision to make, but instead of doing it here,

why don't we walk on down to Café du Monde, grab some beignets, and debrief of the day.

Yeah. Regardless of how full I am, I always find room for a little something sweet.

Little something sweet. Little something sweet.

Joe: Yeah, same. Harry: All right, let's go. Joe: Hey, how you doing?

Can I have two orders of beignets? Harry: There we go, buddy.

Joe: All right. Got it. Beignets, baby.

Have you ever had a beignet before? I have not, no. I saw that movie "Chef."

Big comfort movie. Loved it. And they had them in that. And ever since then, I've really wanted to try

a Café du Monde beignet, so thank you to "Food Tours" for making my dreams come true.

All right. Why don't we share a beignet and then get down to it?

They just poured the powder sugar in there, right? They're not skimping on the powdered sugar.

Joe: No, sir. Harry: That's for certain. They're really dense.

They really are, yeah. I was expecting them to be lighter. Very tasty, but yeah.

They said three. I'm like, "Come on, three?" But I think honestly, you can only eat one.

Po'boys! Like we're LeBron James.

Let's go, po'boys. Starting off the day, went to Parkway.

Harry: Yes. Joe: Institution of po'boys, right?

At the scale that they're doing it, it's a miracle then the quality is still sky high.

Harry: Yeah, I feel like as far as a traditional po'boy goes,

it doesn't get much more traditional than that. That is a New Orleans

history in a bite right there. Then after that, we went to Guy's.

Man, my man Marvin, what a character. He's just back there making every sandwich, going to town.

What I loved about it, I mean, the sandwiches were fantastic,

but clearly he is an artist, a sandwich artist. Not to be confused with Subway employees.

Of course. He's a true sandwich artist.

Yeah. I feel like that one, maybe the best shrimp po'boy we had today.

Joe: Mm. Harry: Not to give any broader decisions away,

but that one was phenomenal. Not skimping on any of the ingredients.

That was packed full of shrimp. So tasty, so well seasoned, crispy,

hit all the kind of key areas that you want a po'boy to hit.

Then it started raining. Things got a little hectic.

Rained a lot. Joe: We made our way over before the flood came

to Domilise's, and oh, my God. Harry: Yeah. Unassuming spot for —

honestly, like, one thing that I think about po'boys is they are quite an unassuming food.

It's simple but elegant. Just does the job. And I think Domilise's kind of matched the vibe

of the food it was serving, which I really, really loved. Food there was fantastic.

That roast beef with the mustard. Ah, man, that was phenomenal.

What's French for "mwah"? Le mwah.

Yes, there you go. Very good. And finally, we went to Killer PoBoys.

They're turning tradition on its head. Harry: Some of the things on the menu there,

I don't think you would find on any other po'boy menus in New Orleans.

Joe: The seared shrimp, definitely still a po'boy. Do you think, I mean, it had elements of a banh mi, almost,

in those two, right? Harry: I know, yeah. Even with that one, I was like,

the only real similarity is the shrimp and a French-style bread.

But beyond that, I was struggling to find similarities with any of the other sandwiches that we tried today.

I will say the big caveat to all of that is that every sandwich at Killer was delicious.

Yeah, it was delicious. But was it a po'boy?

Was it a po'boy? Joe: All right, well, we gotta pick our favorite.

For me, I think my favorite was Domilise's. Harry: Yeah? Joe: Yeah.

I think it was that mustard. I think it was just the,

just simple nature of the sandwiches, but I think they were done to perfection.

I think it's probably the best example of a po'boy. Guy's is a close second.

I mean, everything was fantastic. When we left Guy's, I was like,

"Wow, that's the one to beat." And then Domilise's did it.

Fair play, man. I was also split between two.

I was split between Parkway and Domilise's. Joe: Oh, OK.

I think if it came down to one, I'm also going Domilise's. Joe: Wow! Look at us.

I think it was exactly what I imagined a po'boy would be. Joe: Yeah.

It delivered in every area. That beef one particularly was incredible

because while, you know, Killer is innovating in its own way,

Domilise's has made very subtle adjustments to the formula, but still just improved the sandwich,

taking it to a whole new level. Just adding that little bit of mustard and that beef.

No tomatoes anywhere to be seen. Small tweaks adding up to —

Our hatred for tomatoes, sliced tomato. That slightly tipped it.

Joe: That's what clinched it, yep. All right. Well, we gotta get rest because tomorrow,

we got more food to eat. We do. Right now, I've got more food to eat.

Finish off these beignets. What is this nightmare? Oh, my God.

This is Po. Po explains what dressed is on a po'boy.

Oh, because there's the ketchup on it, I see. There's lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup.

Po's ready for his seafood fiesta. Joe: That's great.