A friend's recent party at
Tracey's on the Irish Channel side of Magazine at Third Street got me thinking about po-boys.If you don't know what a po-boy is, then you've never been to New Orleans. They're the hero-like sandwiches slathered with mayonnaise, and crammed with meat, fried Gulf oysters or shrimp on crusty French bread. No one can say for certain how "po-boys" got their name, but the Po-Boy Preservation Society has as good
an explanation as anyone. Everyone in New Orleans has their favorite po-boy shop, but I think Tracey's might sell the best ones. Their kitchen is staffed with refugees from the famed Parasols -- which at one time enjoyed a reputation for making the best po-boys in town before changing hands in 2010. I'm not sure what happened, but all I can say is that Tracey's roast beef po-boy, steeped in it own gravy, is not to be believed. Order one and see.
The great roast beef debate between Tracey's and Parkway will always be as fervent as religion and politics. The Food Network competition on the matter did little other than show the difference in preparations, as no one around here will be accepting Guy freakin Feiere's judgment call on a New Orleans classic. Both should be sampled many times before a personal favorite is established and you gotta try the "Surf and turf" where they hide a bed of perfectly fried shrimp under the glorious roast beef gravy.
ReplyDelete