"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across New Orleans to find the best po'boy in the city. They'll be visiting four locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."
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00:00Four amazing po'boy sandwich places here in New Orleans.
00:03First one we're starting off, Parkway Bakery and Tavern.
00:07Here's my criteria, here's what I'm thinking.
00:09So every place we're definitely getting a shrimp po'boy,
00:11and we're getting a roast beef po'boy.
00:13Those are like the classic.
00:14Here's what's great about the shrimp.
00:15We are right off the Gulf of Mexico,
00:17so they're pulling the shrimp,
00:18day of, out of that Gulf, frying it.
00:22Oh, just a perfection, right?
00:24And of course the roast beef, slow cooked,
00:26just dripping with its juices, so delicious.
00:30Now we're gonna get them dressed.
00:31Here's what that traditionally means.
00:32Lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickles.
00:34But every place you're going today
00:36kinda does dress their own way.
00:37Sometimes they add a hot sauce, they add a ketchup.
00:39So we'll be getting addressed how they dress it
00:41at each place we go to.
00:42Sounds great.
00:43Everything comes out of French bread.
00:44They bake here in this city.
00:47Pillow in the inside, crunchy on the outside.
00:49The French roll, the po'boy roll,
00:51is maybe the perfect vessel to eat a sandwich.
00:54You hungry?
00:55I'm very hungry, yeah.
00:56All right, let's eat.
00:59Oh, dude.
01:04I hope you don't mind, I got the smalls.
01:06Uh-huh, yeah.
01:07And what are you having?
01:08A couple of dads, all right.
01:12So you open this up, right?
01:13Oh man, this is a weighty sandwich, man.
01:15Yep, this roast beef right here,
01:17this, they sell a lot of roast beef here, buddy.
01:19They sell 400 pounds, or almost a ton,
01:23of roast beef a week.
01:24Goodness me.
01:25Okay, I gotta get in here.
01:26Yeah, same.
01:27Pick up the shrimp on it.
01:30It's absolutely incredible.
01:31Mm-hmm.
01:33Here's why this roast beef is incredible.
01:34They slow cook it for like overnight,
01:36almost 12 hours, right?
01:38And even though when it comes out,
01:40just pretty much falling apart,
01:41we've seen with a barbecue,
01:42how tender that meat can be.
01:43Mm-hmm.
01:44They don't slice it then.
01:45Then they let it cool off.
01:47All that juice stays inside the meat.
01:49Yeah.
01:50So they finally slice it at room temperature
01:52or cool temperature.
01:53It is the most flavorful roast beef
01:57you could possibly imagine.
01:58Mm-hmm.
02:00How's the shrimp?
02:01Fantastic.
02:02Yeah?
02:03Yeah, they cook so well.
02:04The breading, so nice and crispy on the outside.
02:07Shrimp inside, juicy, tender.
02:09What I tell about this bread,
02:10I mean, this is like, on the outside,
02:12it's really hard and crispy,
02:13but the inside, pillowy.
02:15Super fluffy.
02:16Absolutely falls apart.
02:17I've heard several locals say this,
02:19but I'm not a bread scientist,
02:21also known as a baker,
02:22but they say that the intense humidity of the city
02:26lends itself to make the po'boy style roll,
02:30and that's why you can only make it here.
02:32Anywhere else in the country,
02:33you just can't get it right.
02:34Damn.
02:35I'm also not a bread scientist,
02:36but it is very humid here.
02:36Baker, they're called.
02:37Baker.
02:38There you go.
02:39But I know when you are proving your bread,
02:42when it's rising,
02:43the humidity does have a bit of a factor in it.
02:44How do you like that?
02:45Yeah, so it's gonna help it rise,
02:47gonna get nice and light and airy in there.
02:49I really do think it is like the perfect texture
02:52for the sandwich as well.
02:53These are big sandwiches.
02:54There's a lot going on in here.
02:55There's sauce, there's juice,
02:57but honestly, having that sponginess on the inside
03:00really does just let it kind of soak everything up,
03:01hold its shape surprisingly well, actually.
03:04Really tasty.
03:05Can I try a little bit of that?
03:06Of course you may.
03:07They do toast their bread here.
03:08Not every place does that,
03:09but they do do it here.
03:10Okay, now the bread we talked about this before,
03:12they do two types of bread here.
03:14The main one, which we're gonna be having,
03:15I think, at almost every single place,
03:17see how good is that,
03:18is, I'm gonna pronounce this wrong, Leidenheimer,
03:21but they also use gendusa.
03:23When they started making po'boys originally,
03:25it was more of like just a big,
03:26kind of oddly-shaped hunk of bread.
03:29Eventually, gendusa designed these long,
03:31almost 36-inch long rolls or whatever,
03:35and then when they had them in there,
03:35they cut them to order small or large.
03:38Right.
03:39This roast beef is ridiculous, by the way.
03:41It's almost more like a beef stew
03:44in terms of how juicy and tender it is,
03:47and you really get a flavor from the kind of juices,
03:50the gravy that it kind of creates for itself.
03:52That's fantastic.
03:55Crystals on the sandwich.
03:57Crystals on the beef.
04:01Like I say, I'm not the biggest fan
04:03of tomato in sandwiches, often,
04:05but don't really mind it in here.
04:07I think everything has been considered
04:09to a point where they're like, yeah, you know,
04:11over the years, we've refined this down
04:12to a point where people are like, this is a po'boy,
04:14this is what we want from a sandwich,
04:16and I can see why.
04:17Now, you're probably wondering
04:18why it is called the po'boy,
04:20which is an abbreviation or a slang
04:22for the term poor boy.
04:24Sure.
04:25The most preferred form of transportation
04:27in the city of New Orleans was streetcar,
04:29but during the Great Depression,
04:31they weren't getting paid,
04:32so the streetcar workers went on strike.
04:34Two brothers, the Martin brothers,
04:36Clovis and Benny, former streetcar drivers,
04:39had a bakery and a shop,
04:40saw this and were like, you know what?
04:41When this strike is going on,
04:43we're gonna feed our guys, make sure they eat every day,
04:45so when they would come in
04:47and show their streetcar driver pass,
04:49they'd be like, here comes a poor boy,
04:51make him a sandwich.
04:52Okay, rude?
04:54To be fair, I would take quite a lot of abuse
04:56if it meant that I got a free sandwich.
04:57It's a pretty good trade-off, I think.
04:58I would be pretty stoked about getting the sandwich.
05:00I'd be like, all right.
05:01Hey, call me whatever you want, buddy.
05:04If it's free.
05:05Yeah, this absolutely fantastic sandwich.
05:08You can tell, this is like a sandwich of the people, right?
05:13It's just something that was just designed to be delicious,
05:15something that you'd come and grab every day at lunch.
05:18I mean, they serve so many people here.
05:21They could sit 300,
05:22and he estimates them to be like 1,000 people a day.
05:25Wow.
05:25That's so many sandwiches.
05:26Yeah.
05:27I can tell that you and I are gonna have trouble
05:28pacing ourselves today.
05:29We're in sandwich heaven today.
05:31Yeah, but save some room?
05:33Yeah, save some room.
05:34I got a couple more spots I wanna show you.
05:35Okay, cool, let's go.
05:36Let's go.
05:38All right, we're on our way
05:39to the Magazine Street area of New Orleans
05:43for the next two po'boy spots.
05:46First stop, we're hitting up Guy's.
05:49Guy's.
05:49One thing I do need to work on
05:50is my pronunciation of New Orleans,
05:52because I keep saying New Orleans.
05:54New Orleans.
05:55It's very much New Orleans.
05:56New Orleans.
05:57I will work on that,
05:57but I'm excited for the next po'boy.
05:59Yeah, this is considered one of the best in the city.
06:02My man Marvin is on the grill.
06:04This is his joint.
06:06He makes every sandwich.
06:07He has said in multiple interviews,
06:09he estimates that he has made one million po'boys.
06:14Okay, if you made a million po'boys,
06:16you probably know what you're doing.
06:18Guy's seems like a cool spot.
06:19It's like a smaller place,
06:20bit more of like a local neighborhood type of joint.
06:22Neighborhood joint, yes.
06:23I feel like the people who are in there
06:25are in there a lot.
06:26This is their spot.
06:27A couple of times a week,
06:28they're in there for lunch,
06:29hopefully for a delicious po'boy.
06:30Yes, hopefully.
06:31We're gonna get the roast beef.
06:33Gonna get the shrimp.
06:34Maybe something fun.
06:35Yeah, and I would also quite like a cold beverage, please.
06:38Yeah, what do you want?
06:40Maybe a Gatorade of some kind.
06:41I'm not getting you,
06:42they're not gonna have Gatorade.
06:43I swear I saw Powerade in there.
06:46Did you see that in there?
06:46I'm pretty sure I saw Powerade.
06:47There's no way there's Powerade in there.
06:48If there's a blue Powerade,
06:49get me a blue Powerade.
06:50All right, well, fine,
06:51but I'm not gonna bring you a blue Powerade or Gatorade
06:54because they definitely don't have them.
06:56Famous last words.
06:56Yeah, you'll see.
07:01How many days are you gonna be in New Orleans?
07:03We're here till Sunday.
07:04Till Sunday?
07:05Till Sunday, sir.
07:06Well, our goal is to put five pounds on you by Sunday.
07:10Is that right?
07:12Pretty generous with the shrimp there, I see.
07:13You know, I've never advertised a day in my life.
07:18Because you know why?
07:19I put that 10% advertising budget right there.
07:24Right there, look at that.
07:25That's right.
07:26Do I need to advertise that?
07:27Who wants, who don't want that?
07:32L.A.
07:32Ooh, that's a heavy sandwich.
07:34Hear that thud?
07:35I'm gonna make sure.
07:36Oh, man, I'm gonna make sure this happens.
07:39This is amazing and generous and looks delicious.
07:41Thank you so much.
07:42Hey.
07:43Thank you, everyone. Enjoy it.
07:44I appreciate it.
07:45It will.
07:46Now let's go.
07:47Your blue beverage.
07:47There we go.
07:48Beautiful.
07:49Thank you so much.
07:50Wow, that's alarmingly blue.
07:51To us watching him make these sandwiches,
07:53we are in trouble.
07:54Okay.
07:55It's also starting to rain,
07:55so I might have to pull this in.
07:56Yeah, you wanna pull it in?
07:57Just slightly.
07:58Before we even go, I gotta take a picture.
07:59Dude, Zaps runs the chip game in New Orleans,
08:04and I am here for it.
08:04Are they a New Orleans company?
08:06Yeah, I believe so.
08:07I mean, they've got the New Orleans Keto-style voodoo.
08:10Voodoo chips.
08:11Dude, Zaps' chips are incredible.
08:11Yeah?
08:12Yeah, you're gonna love these crisps.
08:13Okay, thank you for putting it in terms.
08:15I can understand.
08:16Okay, I got your blue beverage.
08:17Which one's this?
08:18This is the roast beef, all dressed again.
08:20Oh, all dressed.
08:21Lettuce, tomato, mayo, and pickles.
08:24Yeah, ton of roast beef.
08:25Not skimping on the beef.
08:25Do not skimp.
08:26No, he was very generous in there.
08:28Let's go.
08:29Cheers, man.
08:30Fantastic sandwich.
08:31That's so good, right?
08:32It's more like the deli-style slices,
08:35but he was graving it up.
08:37I think that's the key there.
08:38Compared to like a Parkway,
08:39where it was more like a,
08:41almost like a beef stew sandwich, which is delicious.
08:43This is more that kind of familiar deli-style.
08:45Yeah, that gravy and the mayo, plenty of moisture in there.
08:48Yeah.
08:49And a lot of flavor.
08:50Right?
08:51The mayo really adds something, doesn't it?
08:53It was kind of like, I don't know,
08:55berry-like, but it's got a lot of flavor to it.
08:58I was kind of like, I don't know, bearish on the mayo.
09:01I'm like, ah, come on, this isn't gonna be dripping in mayo.
09:03He was slathering it on there.
09:04And like, it has a sweetness to it
09:07that cuts through the intensity of the beef,
09:09of the flavor of the beef there.
09:10So like those two things together, real nice.
09:12Yeah, I think one thing about this,
09:14the ratio of all the fillings, to me, is pretty perfect.
09:17Yes.
09:18The meat is like the main event for sure.
09:21But you have enough of the lettuce, the tomato.
09:23That's really good.
09:24It's big too.
09:25I can't imagine a person eating one of these.
09:27He was even telling me in there
09:28that we're walking out of here five pounds heavier.
09:31So get ready.
09:32All right, there's a shrimpy guy.
09:33And notice this is dressed a little bit differently.
09:36I pulled out a shrimp
09:37and it's got what looks to be ketchup on there.
09:38Very astute observation, my friend.
09:41When he does the seafood, he does dress it.
09:43He adds hot sauce and ketchup.
09:52That's the best one.
09:53That's so good.
09:55I'm wowed by how good this is.
09:56Shrimp, man.
09:57The taste of the shrimp, it's just so flavorful.
10:01It's so juicy.
10:02You know this was swimming around in the ocean hours ago.
10:05Mere hours ago.
10:06Mere hours ago.
10:07So juicy.
10:08Yeah, I mean, you can just see the seasoning
10:09in there as well.
10:10A lot of black pepper going on.
10:12It's salty, it's juicy.
10:13It's everything I want from a fried shrimp.
10:15And it's in a sandwich with a bunch of other tasty stuff.
10:18How's your blue drink?
10:19Our blue drink is delicious.
10:20It tastes like I was right.
10:22Yeah.
10:23Mr. Athlete over here, gotta get his electrolytes.
10:27One thing I will say,
10:28don't think the bread is toasted here.
10:30I don't believe it is.
10:30It definitely has a spongier, softer texture to it.
10:33Still got that kind of crackly bit on the outside,
10:35which I like.
10:36Yes.
10:37I think personally I might prefer
10:38the texture of the untoasted bread.
10:40Interesting.
10:40Although I will say it may have helped
10:42with some of these structural issues
10:44because I bit into that and it just kind of fell apart.
10:46Yeah, I don't think toasting would have made a difference.
10:49I think he's putting in a alarming amount of toppings
10:54and protein into these sandwiches.
10:56I think it has more to do with that.
10:57I think overall I would rather have a generously filled
10:59and messy sandwich than a skimpy but neat sandwich.
11:05It's great, right?
11:05Mm-hmm.
11:06Oh, my chip's wet.
11:07We are getting rained on.
11:10Okay.
11:10That New Orleans summer weather, huh?
11:12Yeah.
11:13Whose bright idea was it to organize this
11:15for hurricane season?
11:16Someone who doesn't live in this country.
11:17Yeah, I think it was mine.
11:19My bad.
11:19Want to run inside?
11:21Yeah.
11:22Okay.
11:23You got that?
11:23Yep.
11:24Why don't you grab the drinks and the-
11:25Grab some drinks and chips.
11:26Yep.
11:27This thing has a sun.
11:32It's a bit wet outside,
11:33but luckily we have one more sandwich
11:37and this is the Cajun.
11:39A Cajun plus Asian equals this sandwich.
11:42And that's a scientist back there, an artiste.
11:44And this is sandwiches' latest creation.
11:46So I saw him making it and I was like,
11:48oh man, we are in trouble.
11:50All right, I'm going in.
11:51You know, my favorite thing about this sandwich
11:52is that it only got slightly rained on as well.
11:56Look how much chicken is in there, dude.
11:58Oh, wow.
11:59That's incredible.
12:00One of those things where like,
12:01you know coming here,
12:02the po'boy's gonna be amazing.
12:03You know the shrimp's gonna be amazing.
12:05The roast beef's gonna be amazing.
12:06Amazion.
12:07Amazing.
12:08Amazion Cajun.
12:09So do you want to risk it?
12:10But I will say, if this is in the menu,
12:12when you come in, get this.
12:14The chicken is cooked perfectly.
12:15The sauce is undeniable.
12:18It's like a honey soy garlic type of vibe going on.
12:20And with the jalapenos, gives it a bit of a kick.
12:22Bit of heat.
12:23And it's all him back there,
12:24so you know it's just like his creative mind at work.
12:27Putting the Cajun to the side.
12:28Out of the shrimp and the beef,
12:30which way are you leading so far?
12:32Definitely shrimp.
12:33Really?
12:34Shrimp seems to be my favorite one.
12:35I do like the beef, but to me, po'boy is shrimp.
12:38I wish I lived by here.
12:39I wish this was my hangout.
12:40This place, clearly an institution.
12:43Clearly famous for a reason.
12:44Yeah, I think if I lived by here,
12:46I would end up looking like a Snorlax.
12:48So I probably couldn't go every day.
12:49Yes.
12:50But, I ate too many po'boys.
12:52All right.
12:53The rain is starting to die down.
12:54No, it isn't.
12:55Want to go to-
12:56That's a lie.
12:57Want to go to two more po'boy places?
12:59Yeah, that sounds great.
13:00We might get a little wet on the way.
13:02But hey, nothing but some po'boys, right, Jakes?
13:05Let's go.
13:07It is hurricane weather season here in New Orleans.
13:10Got a bit disrupted by the wet.
13:13It's all good, though.
13:14We're in a nice, dry automobile
13:15on our way to the next location, Damolici's.
13:20We really needed this rain, though.
13:22We really needed it.
13:24Why did we need this?
13:25Yeah, these plants are eating good today.
13:27Oh, man.
13:28How you feeling?
13:29We're too deep.
13:30We're halfway through.
13:31Yeah, not too bad.
13:32Trying to be restrained.
13:32It's difficult because the food is all delicious.
13:34Yeah, everything's been amazing.
13:36Every po'boy that we've tried so far,
13:37I could quite easily have just put away all by myself.
13:40Jesus, man.
13:43Although God clearly does not want me to do that.
13:45Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:46All right, all right, all right, we're done.
13:47Yeah.
13:48And we're here.
13:49And there we are.
13:49All right, we're making a dash.
13:50All right, go.
13:53Go, po'boys.
13:54Po'boys.
13:55Fuck.
14:01It's raining.
14:02It's a bit rainy.
14:03We made it through the rain.
14:05Yeah.
14:06Damolici's.
14:06And they are considered some of the best po'boys in town.
14:10Anthony Bourdain came through here in 2008.
14:12And also the Travel Channel in 2010
14:15had a show called Food Wars.
14:17Interesting.
14:18Sounds familiar.
14:19And this was the winner of the best po'boy.
14:21They pitted them against Parkway.
14:23Okay.
14:24And said this is better.
14:25All right.
14:26That was a really good po'boy.
14:26Interesting, it was.
14:28This feels like a family operation, family joint.
14:31Every place we've been to has been like a neighborhood.
14:33Yeah, I really like that actually.
14:35Again, it kind of speaks to the fact that like
14:36this is very much a food of the people.
14:38Something that people actually do eat
14:40if they live in New Orleans.
14:41It's not just like a touristy gimmick thing.
14:43But Damolici's is some of the best in New Orleans.
14:45Yeah, some say the best.
14:46Okay.
14:47Shrimp.
14:48Yes.
14:49Roast beef.
14:50Yes.
14:50I'd say one of the dangerously blue drinks they have.
14:54Oh yeah.
14:55So a flash flood warning aside,
14:57these look pretty good.
14:58Yeah, these look really great.
14:59Definitely got the roast beef.
15:00And of course, got the shrimp.
15:02Now, you're gonna love what I gotta tell you
15:03about the sandwiches.
15:04They are dressed,
15:05but one thing you will not find on these sandwiches
15:07tomato.
15:09Miss Dot, who ran the show here for a while,
15:12didn't like them,
15:12didn't think they were necessary in the sandwiches.
15:13So she banned them.
15:14She sounds like a wise lady.
15:16Yeah, thank you.
15:16Look, I've not been taking them out.
15:18If they're in a sandwich,
15:19I will usually eat them,
15:20but I just wouldn't add them out of choice.
15:22Yeah.
15:23I just don't think on average,
15:23tomatoes add enough to a sandwich.
15:25Yeah.
15:26They're like a bit wet, a bit slimy.
15:27You're adding moisture in there.
15:29So I'm glad to see them being skipped here.
15:32Do you want to start with the roast beef?
15:33Yeah, this looks great.
15:34Shall we?
15:35I'm gonna cut into thirds.
15:36Yeah, interesting.
15:38Bite-sized pieces.
15:39That's a big sandwich.
15:40Also, yeah, the crew can actually have a piece
15:42that we haven't bitten into,
15:43which is nice for them.
15:45Cheers, my guy.
15:46With the mustard.
15:47Oh, wow.
15:50Oh, man.
15:52That is so good.
15:53The mustard really makes it.
15:55So beefy.
15:56You've got that like gravy with it.
15:58Yeah.
15:58The mustard and the pickles
16:00provide so much needed acidity
16:04and sourness to that.
16:05Because the beef sandwiches we've had so far
16:07have been rich, as roast beef can often be.
16:10But yeah, this one is like,
16:11in terms of the balance,
16:13they've really nailed this.
16:14All the roast beef we've had is really good,
16:16but pairing it with the mustard that they've done here,
16:18it just elevates the flavor in a way that,
16:21wow, just didn't get it in a lot of the other spots.
16:22In the UK, when we have roast beef,
16:24a lot of people will have horseradish with it,
16:26which actually shares a lot of flavor compounds,
16:29the things that actually make up the flavor,
16:31with mustard.
16:32Yeah.
16:33A little bit of heat to them, you know?
16:36But it's more like,
16:36it's not heat-spiced,
16:37more like you eat like a tang.
16:38It really cuts through and just gives you all that flavor.
16:41It's fantastic.
16:42But we still got the lettuce in there,
16:43still got some mayo in there.
16:44I don't know.
16:45Yeah, something about this sandwich so far.
16:47It's very good.
16:48This is up there, man.
16:49It's right up there.
16:50Bit of shrimp.
16:50Yes, sir.
16:51Shrimp time.
16:52Shrimpy boy.
16:53Trust, no tomato,
16:55but they did add their own hot sauce on here.
16:57Let's go.
16:59Even just looking at this,
17:00the color of the shrimp is really exciting to me.
17:03Really looks like a popcorn shrimp, you know?
17:07The shrimp themselves are on the smaller side.
17:09Yeah, but I kind of like that
17:10because they're getting more in a bite.
17:11Mm-hmm.
17:14This starts out as a liquid batter.
17:16Eventually they put it in the corn flour.
17:17Mm-hmm.
17:18I can tell.
17:19It's so crispy on the outside.
17:20Trapping all that juice in there.
17:21What they're doing here
17:22because they're so close to the water,
17:24they're really just letting the shrimp,
17:26the flavor of this fresh shrimp,
17:27do all the talking, right?
17:29The freshness of the shrimp,
17:30it's almost like buttery,
17:33which again, I think is why it works so well
17:33with a little bit of hot sauce,
17:35a little bit of pickle.
17:36I know you're not the biggest pickle guy,
17:37but I have to say,
17:39of all the sandwiches that we've had,
17:41visually, this one looked a little more simple, right?
17:45And that right away,
17:46I was like, oh, what do we have here?
17:48But man, oh man.
17:50Both these sandwiches are incredible.
17:53They are so delicious.
17:55Every element of it is so well taken care of
17:57and considered.
17:58Ugh, I can't stop picking it up.
17:59I know.
18:00I'm gonna eat it all day.
18:02And I'm like, man,
18:03I really want to finish this sandwich, so.
18:04Yeah.
18:05This one was the sleeper hit.
18:06This is the like,
18:06don't judge a book by its cover sandwich.
18:08Absolutely.
18:09This roast beef.
18:09Actually, I think this roast beef is my one.
18:12This may be one of the best that we've had.
18:16Jesus Christ.
18:17It's okay, you're not a dog.
18:18Don't worry about it.
18:19It's just lightning.
18:20Har, har, har, har.
18:21It's just with whatever.
18:22Like you're from London.
18:23You're acting like you've never heard this before.
18:25We get rain.
18:26We do not get this all the time.
18:27Really?
18:28Yeah.
18:28Thunderstorm's less common.
18:29I'm surprised I found that first roast beef we had.
18:31Nobody can tap this,
18:32just the way they slow roast it and stuff,
18:34but the mustard on there is a secret weapon.
18:37Yeah.
18:38Very interesting turn of events.
18:40Lots to ponder.
18:41Lots to consider.
18:42Well, we got one more spot to go.
18:46So let's head out there now.
18:47Sure.
18:48Maybe wait for the rain to stop a little bit.
18:49I don't think it's gonna stop anytime soon.
18:51All right, let's go get wet.
18:52Let's go.
18:53I have a technique for this.
18:54Okay.
18:55So I get into the water,
18:56so it's like as efficient as possible.
18:57What's the technique?
18:58We'll watch.
18:59Ready?
19:00I'm watching.
19:02Okay.
19:04Yeah, I mean,
19:07whatever works.
19:09Perfect.
19:11I'm my guy, last stop of the Po'boy tour,
19:14and we're heading to the heart of New Orleans,
19:18the French Quarter.
19:19The French Quarter.
19:20We've been there a few times since we've gotten here.
19:22We have.
19:23Although mostly we've just been drinking there
19:25rather than eating.
19:26Yeah.
19:27You're not gonna believe this.
19:27They also have food.
19:29Hey, what a coincidence.
19:29Including Po'boys, especially killer Po'boys,
19:33which is what we're going to right now.
19:35This place, they don't play with the classics.
19:37They're doing all new fun stuff.
19:39This is like the new spot.
19:42We've been hitting the traditional spots.
19:44These are the guys we're like,
19:45we're having fun with it.
19:46We're doing it our way.
19:47Nice.
19:48I gotta be honest,
19:49these Po'boys are starting to catch up with me.
19:50Yeah.
19:51Yeah.
19:52It's the last leg.
19:53Last leg of the Po'bo'to.
19:56Po'boy tour.
19:58Look, every place we went,
19:59tradition this, tradition that.
20:01These guys are doing something a little bit differently,
20:03kind of giving a modern twist to the classic Po'boy.
20:06And I'm here for it.
20:08Right?
20:09Yes.
20:10I'm quite excited to experience something
20:11a little bit different.
20:11See how far you can push the boundaries of a Po'boy.
20:14The one in the menu that I saw online,
20:15I'm like, yes, seared shrimp Po'boy.
20:19Get that in my mouth now.
20:21I'm full and I'm dying to taste that sandwich.
20:23They're taking that shrimp,
20:24but they're like mixing the formula up slightly.
20:26Searing the shrimp?
20:28Not your average shrimp Po'boy.
20:29There you go, man.
20:30Who doesn't love seared shrimp?
20:31Okay, they sear the shrimp in a cast iron skillet,
20:33roll them in a little spice of coriander,
20:36salt, lime, and black pepper.
20:37Black pepper, are you kidding me?
20:39Let's go.
20:41Garlic mayo.
20:42Oh, it's a sriracha, fresh lime juice,
20:45and a secret ingredient.
20:48Louisiana shrimp that's been dried,
20:50turned into powder,
20:51and mixed in with the rest of the sauce.
20:54Yo, dude.
20:56They've powdered shrimp.
20:58They found a way to turn shrimp into dust.
20:59Oh my God.
21:00That's not great.
21:01Yeah, a little inventiveness,
21:02a little new school thinking.
21:04Not everything has to be tradition.
21:06Sometimes shrimp can be powder and that's fine.
21:09Oh, I bet this food is gonna be ridiculous.
21:11Yeah, I'm really excited.
21:12This sounds great.
21:13But the question is,
21:14are we judging it against classic Po'boy,
21:16or just in general?
21:18Are we going classic versus new?
21:19That's always like the tough line to throttle.
21:22It's a tricky one.
21:23I think we'll have to get the food,
21:24and we'll have to see if we think it's still
21:26within the realms of what a Po'boy is,
21:28or if they've pushed the boundaries a little too far.
21:31We'll have to be the judges of that, Joe.
21:32That's what the show's all about.
21:34Cheers, my man.
21:35Oh yeah, cheers.
21:36To an excellent day of eating Po'boys.
21:37Yes.
21:39Hey.
21:40So here we got our chorizo.
21:41Oh, yes.
21:42Our seared shrimp.
21:43Yes, sir.
21:44Oh, man.
21:45And our beef debris.
21:47Thank you so much.
21:48Thank you so much, sir.
21:49Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
21:51Okay, okay.
21:52Visually, very different to the other ones we've had today.
21:55A lot of color on these things,
21:56especially with the chorizo and this red cabbage, I think,
21:59right?
22:00Yep.
22:01I also see what they've done with the bread.
22:01It definitely does strike me more
22:03as like a banh mi-style bread
22:04compared to the pretty classic, consistent loaves
22:07that we've had today.
22:08I mean, I've been thinking about this seared shrimp
22:10for days now, so I want to finally dig in here.
22:15So what are we getting here?
22:16We've got the seared shrimp.
22:17I'm seeing a shredded carrot.
22:18Definitely more banh mi vibes on this one.
22:20Yeah, like pickled sort of slaw vibe,
22:22the coriander in there.
22:23Man, all right, I've got to try this.
22:25Cheers.
22:31Obviously, the shrimp here are seared
22:33as opposed to being like battered and fried
22:35like some of the other ones we've had.
22:36It's actually really clever to assemble it
22:37the way they have, because with the crunchy bread,
22:40with the sort of pickled veg that you have in there,
22:42you've got the carrot, there's like some daikon in there,
22:44some cucumber as well.
22:45You still get a lot of crunch that you might miss out on
22:48from not having a batter.
22:50The shrimp is so juicy, it's really good.
22:53The way that it's seared and the flavors on there,
22:55it just has that more like almost the shrimp
22:58you'd have at a scampi, you know what I mean?
23:00Yeah.
23:01The beefy boy they got here,
23:02they don't call this standard roast beef,
23:04although it looks like it is shredded, yes it is.
23:06They call this one the beef debris.
23:07Beef debris, and I got to say,
23:09I don't think I've ever seen a sandwich
23:11with pickled green beans on it.
23:13No.
23:14Banana peppers made it.
23:15Your old friend, banana peppers.
23:17Yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:17Don't know how much you love those.
23:19The beef does look pretty damn good though.
23:25So this is very interesting.
23:27Mr. Question, do you know what jardiniere is?
23:30Yeah, like the Italian chopped pickle salad thing.
23:32This has flavor profiles and consistency remnants
23:36of like a jardiniere, right?
23:39You're from Chicago?
23:40Yes.
23:41A million miles away from like an Italian beef sandwich?
23:44No, that's what I'm saying.
23:45It's like, it's kind of close.
23:46Yeah.
23:47So in a weird way, even though it isn't jardiniere,
23:49it almost feels like this is a fusion
23:52that's reminiscent of an Italian Chicago beef.
23:55It doesn't taste like one.
23:56I don't want to mislead anyone,
23:58but it has like a really crunchy snap
24:00of the vinegary peppers,
24:01in this case, green beans and banana peppers
24:03with just incredibly rich, wet, saucy gravy
24:08of the roast beef we've been having here.
24:10Like the roast beef here is really similar
24:12to what we had at the first place at Parkway.
24:14I was going to say,
24:14this really reminds me of the Parkway beef
24:16in terms of it's almost more like a pot roast
24:18or like a stew.
24:19And you get that really concentrated beef flavor
24:22with the kind of fat all in there as well.
24:24Really intense flavor.
24:25I need a pepper combo.
24:26I already know this.
24:27This pepper green bean combo.
24:30You were like a little bit apprehensive
24:32about the green beans.
24:33Has that immediately won you over?
24:36It definitely won me over.
24:36I think it might have done, yeah.
24:37Now, I absolutely love chorizo.
24:40And him saying this is a chorizo po' boy,
24:42I feel like it's pretty far away from a po' boy.
24:44So I think this is a very bold direction,
24:47definitely going away from the traditional.
24:50Last one of the day.
24:51Okay, let's go.
24:52Cheers.
24:57Whoa.
24:59There's a lot going on there.
25:00It's a phenomenal sandwich.
25:01I didn't know where the pumpkin hummus was going to sit.
25:04Now pairing with the spiciness of the chorizo.
25:07Yeah.
25:08It's paired because like the pumpkin hummus
25:09kind of has this cool, creamy.
25:12Like earthy.
25:13Yeah.
25:14But it is just with the absolute like fattiness
25:17and richness of the chorizo together.
25:19Wow.
25:20Chorizo's got some heat as well.
25:21Plus there's extra jalapenos in there as well.
25:23Wow, this place is absolutely fantastic.
25:25I love the invention.
25:26Yeah.
25:27I love what they're doing.
25:28They definitely are killer.
25:29These are killer po' boys.
25:31All right, well, we have a decision to make.
25:34But instead of doing it here,
25:35why don't we walk on down to Cafe Du Monde,
25:38grab some beignets and debrief of the day.
25:42Yeah, regardless of how full I am,
25:43I always find room for a little something sweet.
25:45A little something sweet.
25:46A little something sweet.
25:47Yeah, same.
25:48All right, let's go.
25:51Hey, how you doing?
25:52Can I have two orders of beignets?
25:57Here we go, buddy.
25:58All right, got it.
26:00Beignets, baby.
26:04Have you ever had a beignet before?
26:05I have not, no.
26:06I saw that movie, Chef.
26:07Yeah.
26:08Big comfort movie, loved it.
26:09And they had them in that.
26:10And ever since then,
26:11I've really wanted to try a Cafe Du Monde beignet.
26:12So thank you to Food Tours
26:14for making my dreams come true.
26:15All right, why don't we share a beignet
26:17and then get down to it.
26:20And this poured the powdered sugar in there, right?
26:22They're not skimping on the powdered sugar.
26:23No, sir.
26:24That's for certain.
26:28They're really dense.
26:29They really are, yeah.
26:30I was expecting them to be lighter.
26:31Very tasty.
26:32I saw three, I'm like, come on, three?
26:34But I think, honestly, you can wait one.
26:36No.
26:37Po' Boys.
26:38Like LeBron James.
26:39Let's do it, Po' Boys.
26:40Starting off the day, went to Parkway.
26:42Yes.
26:43Institution of Po' Boys, right?
26:45At the scale that they're doing it,
26:47it's a miracle that the quality is still sky high.
26:50Yeah, I feel like as far as a traditional Po' Boy goes,
26:54doesn't get much more traditional than that.
26:55Sure.
26:56That is a New Orleans history in a bite right there.
26:58And for that, we went to Guys.
27:02Man, my man Marvin, what a character.
27:05He's just back there making every sandwich going to town.
27:08What I loved about it, I mean, the sandwiches were fantastic
27:10but clearly he is an artist, a sandwich artist,
27:13not to be confused with Subway employees.
27:15Of course.
27:16A true sandwich artist.
27:17Yeah, I feel like that one,
27:19maybe the best shrimp Po' Boy we had today.
27:22Not to give any broader decisions away
27:24but that one was phenomenal.
27:25Not skimping on any of the ingredients.
27:27That was packed full of shrimp.
27:29So tasty, so well seasoned, crispy.
27:31Hit all the kind of key areas
27:33that you want a Po' Boy to hit.
27:35Then it started raining.
27:36It did start.
27:37Things got a little hectic.
27:38It rained a lot.
27:38We made our way over before the flood came
27:40to Damalises and oh my God.
27:44Yeah, unassuming spot for, honestly,
27:47one thing that I think about Po' Boys
27:48is they are quite an unassuming food.
27:50It's like simple but elegant, just does the job.
27:53And I think Damalises kind of matched the vibe
27:55of the food it was serving, which I really, really loved.
27:57Food there was fantastic.
27:59Yep.
28:00That roast beef with the mustard, man,
28:03that was phenomenal.
28:04You can tell.
28:05What's French for moi?
28:07Le moi.
28:08Yes, there you go, very good.
28:13And finally, went to Killer Po' Boys.
28:15Their turning tradition on its head.
28:17Some of the things on the menu there,
28:19I don't think you would find
28:20on any other Po' Boy menus in New Orleans.
28:23The seared shrimp, definitely still a Po' Boy.
28:25Do you think, I mean, do you think,
28:26I mean, it had elements of a banh mi almost.
28:28I know, yeah.
28:29Even with that one, I was like,
28:30the only real similarity is the shrimp
28:33and a French-style bread.
28:34But beyond that, I was struggling to find similarities
28:37with any of the other sandwiches that we tried today.
28:39I will say, the big caveat to all of that
28:41is that every sandwich at Killer was delicious.
28:43Yeah, it was delicious.
28:44Yeah.
28:45Or was it a Po' Boy?
28:46Was it a Po' Boy.
28:47All right, well, we gotta pick our favorite.
28:49For me, I think my favorite was Domelisa's.
28:52Yeah.
28:53Yeah, I think it was that mustard.
28:54I think it was just the simple nature of the sandwiches,
28:59but I think they were done to perfection.
29:00Yeah.
29:01I think it's probably the best example of a Po' Boy.
29:04Guys is a close second.
29:05I mean, everything was fantastic.
29:06When we left Guys, I was like, wow, that's the one to beat.
29:08And then Domelisa's did it.
29:10Fair play, man.
29:12I was also split between two.
29:13I was split between Parkway and Domelisa's.
29:16Oh, okay.
29:17I think if it came down to one, I'm also going Domelisa's.
29:20Wow, look at us.
29:22I think it was exactly what I imagined a Po' Boy would be.
29:26Yeah.
29:27It delivered in every area.
29:29That beef one particularly was incredible
29:31because while, you know, Killer is innovating
29:33in its own way, Domelisa's has made like
29:35very subtle adjustments to the formula,
29:38but still just improved the sandwich,
29:40taking it to a whole new level.
29:42Just adding that little bit of mustard and that beef,
29:43no tomatoes, anywhere to be seen.
29:45Small tweaks, adding up to a big difference.
29:47I hate your tit for tomato, sliced tomato.
29:50That slightly tipped it.
29:51That's what clinched it, yep.
29:52All right.
29:53Well, we gotta get rest
29:56because tomorrow we got more food to eat.
29:59We do.
29:59Right now, I've got more food to eat.
30:01Oh, yeah.
30:01I'm gonna finish off these beignets.
30:03Oh, God, what is this nightmare?
30:06Oh, my God.
30:07This is Po'.
30:08Uh-huh.
30:09Po' explains what dressed is on a Po' bowl.
30:12Oh, because there's the ketchup on it, I see.
30:14There's lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup.
30:17Po''s ready for his seafood fiesta.
30:19That's great.