Ate a few sandwiches (and a hot dog) on a trip to New Orleans:
##Muffulettas
Central Grocery
Italian grocery store in the French Quarter where muffulettas were invented. I got a half muffuletta for the plane ride home (picture is of a quarter sandwich). They are pre-made and it was pretty quick to get one to go at the register. It also travelled well. By the time I was eating it a few hours later, the olive oil from the olive salad had soaked a little bit more into the chewy bread, but it wasn’t soggy. The bread held up well. Pretty good sandwich and a good amount of cured meats and cheese. It’s basically an Italian sub with olive salad on a round, dense roll.
Cochon Butcher
Ate Cochon Butcher’s muffuletta here on my way to the WW2 museum, which is just a few blocks away. Casual service, you order at the counter and get a number.
It’s a large sandwich and only comes in full size, a bit smaller though than a full muffuletta from Central Grocery which could probably feed 4 people. I managed to put Cochon Butcher’s muffuletta away by myself with some effort. Soft, slightly warm seeded bread. Good assortment of salty cured meats (also warm) and cheese, and the olive salad was also nice and flavorful. In comparison to Central Grocery’s its bread is softer and less dense, and the meats higher quality. Not sure which one I liked better.
##Po’ Boys
Domelise’s
Had a late lunch at Domelise’s. Had a half and half shrimp/oyster po boy, dressed, and a Barq’s root beer. The half and half is only available in large size, which is huge - about the size of 2 normal sandwiches. Portion sizes are very generous (I’ve found this to be the case throughout New Orleans). It was constructed so that half of the sandwich had shrimp, and the other half oyster. A little bit of crystal hot sauce was sprinkled on top of the fillings.
Despite the size I didn’t get overly full off of it, maybe due to the bread (Leidenheimer roll I think), which is quite light and airy inside with a crispy crust. The fried shrimp and fried oyster fillings were very good and fried perfectly golden. Very good sandwich.
Parkway Bakery and Tavern
Went here for lunch. On the day I went they were offering special thanksgiving po boys with turkey and stuffing. I ended up getting a fried shrimp po boy and the roast beef with gravy from here.
Golden Fried Shrimp Po Boy
Really good. Shrimp were fried perfectly and there was a good amount of mayo. I think I give it a slight edge over Domelise’s (small sample size of 1 sandwich from each place though).
Home-Cooked Hot Roast Beef with Gravy Po Boy
I might not be a fan of their roast beef debris po boys. Maybe I just got a bad one. The roast beef in my sandwich was a little stringy and in somewhat thick chunks, similar in texture to beef stew. The gravy also was a little bland, maybe could have used some salt.
Killer PoBoys
Went to Killer PoBoys in the French Quarter for lunch. They also have a window at the back of the Erin Rose bar a few blocks away. They sell non-traditional po’boys and even have a vegan option. Had the glazed pork belly po’boy. Topped with an aioli cabbage slaw. I liked it. The glaze was sweet and pork rich and fatty, but balanced by the slightly sour lime slaw and garlicky spread.
And a Hot Dog
Dat Dog
Went into the Dat Dog on Magazine St. to have an afternoon snack after taking a walking tour of the Garden District. Pretty quiet in the afternoon. Nice space with a large open air patio, and a bar.
I had the crawfish sausage, with chef’s choice toppings. It was really good. Had a soft, pillowy bun that was a little sweet. I believe the sausage is made of pork with crawfish, and it was juicy and fatty with good snap. It was nice to be able to have the chef choose the toppings as I often get the wrong things or weird combinations that don’t work when left to my own choices. Had jalapeños, bbq sauce, some sort of yellow sauce that maybe had some mayo in it, tomatoes, and a lot of bacon bits. They did a good job dressing it.