A Po-boy Even A Vegetarian Can Love

This week I got some flack from other NOLA Tweeters when I criticized the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival for not having many veggie options. According to the menu published online there will be one veggie-friendly po-boy on offer at the festival this weekend. Compare that to the nine vendors offering their version (or versions) of the roast beef po-boy.

So today I’d like to sing the praises of a vegetarian po-boy that is as uniquely New Orleans as anything else on offer at the Po-Boy Fest: the French fry po-boy. I know you natives will stop me right here and yell “French fry po-boys aren’t vegetarian! They’re covered in roast beef gravy!” Yes. I know. That’s the traditional way to make a French fry po-boy. But it’s been my experience that most places will ask if you want gravy or not even bother unless you specifically ask for it. Chalk it up to cost-cutting, I guess.

French fry po-boy from Vert Marte

By now I’ve had many French fry po-boys throughout the city, and I have to say that my favorite is from Verti Marte, the dingy little deli on the Downtown end of the Quarter. Perhaps it’s because it was where I first made the acquaintance of the French fry po-boy, thanks to a tip from a vegan co-worker. But there is something else that sets Verti Marte’s French fry po-boys apart from the others that I’ve had: the French fries! Instead of the shoe-string style fries, Verti Marte uses the more substantial, thick-cut steak fries. This makes for a more substantial sandwich that is easier to eat because you don’t have to worry about dropping skinny little fries all over the place.

It’s no wonder I love French fry po-boys. They remind me very much of the style of cheese fries I spent my youth eating in various diners throughout New Jersey. By which I mean the style that melts real cheese on top of the fries rather than serving fries drowned in a mysterious orange cheese-product sauce. Back in NJ I got/get my cheese fries with mozzarella melted on top, while here in NOLA I go for the classic cheddar as I find it goes better with the traditional mayo, lettuce, and tomato one gets with a po-boy.

Let me be perfectly clear about something: French fry po-boys are a sometimes food. I only ever eat them when I’m entertaining visitors or after consuming many alcoholic beverages on Decatur St. The human body is not built to withstand such an assault of carbs and grease on a regular basis. But if you think a French fry po-boy is artery-curdling, you should have seen the mac ’n cheese po-boy they used to serve at the short-lived Nighthawk diner on Franklin Ave. in the Marigny.