What's in a name?

     Hero. Sub. Hoagie. Grinder.  Depending on where you live you probably recognize one of those terms as a large sandwich.  In New Orleans they have the Po'boy, a sandwich as diverse as the city it symbolizes.  It is defined more by the bread than by the contents, which can vary from sausage, fried seafood, ham, roast beef or even just french fries.  But the bread has to be a customized French loaf, preferably from Gendusa's, Leidenheimer's or Binder's, three of the local bakeries.  It is customized in that the ends are not gently tapered as you will find in a traditional loaf of French bread.  Instead it is blunt so that every part of the loaf can contain the same amount of filling.  And they are long, very long.  Loaves are baked in a forty inch bread pan and then cut in half to make the sandwich.

     But how did this New Orleans sandwich get it's name?  The story goes back to the turn of the 20th Century when brothers Bennie & Clovis Martin left their home in Raceland, LA to look for work in The Crescent City.  They both found jobs working as streetcar conductors.  Being frugal, they saved their money and eventually opened their own business in the French Market in 1922.  It was called the Martin Brothers' Coffee Stand and Restaurant.  And many of their fellow union members frequented the place before or after their shifts.

     Then in 1929 there was a very contentious strike and the streetcar motormen and conductors were out of work for 4 months with no income.  So to show their support for their fellow street railway employees union members the brothers sent a letter to the union president offering to feed without charge any member of Division 194 of their union for the duration of the strike.

     Whenever one of the striking members would aproach the restaurant one of the staff would shout back to the kitchen, "Here comes another poor boy!" And a sandwich on a long roll was prepared using primarily gravy and spare bits of roast beef.  Eventually the term came to refer to the sandwich and not the person eating it.  For a more detailed history and a brief video click on po-boy history.

     After the strike had ended the Po'boy remained on the menu.  During the Great Depression it became a filling meal that helped many New Orleanians survive, eating the famously oversized sandwich.  At that time they cost only 15 cents.

     Today there are sandwich shops all over New Orleans that have a lengthy list of Po'boy varieties.  The fillings can be plain or "dressed" with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and pickles.  The list seems endless and is only limited by one's imagination.