Roast Beef Round-up

When Tom did the business all by himself, one of the popular things he wrote was a “dozen best” of…fill in the blank. Now that I have taken over the business, I am in awe of so much of what Tom did, but especially this, because finding twelve of anything is daunting.

I have since developed an appreciation of the classics of our regional cuisine. Last newsletter we started the first of a two-part piece on roast beef poor boys, focusing less on declaring “the best” and more on a description of each and how they differ, leaving you to decide which to try based on your own preferences.

The ones we covered last time were Mahony’s, Parkway, DiMartino’s, Bear’s, Cafe Navarre, and Short Stop. This time we feature Parran’s, Mandeville Seafood, R & O’s, World Deli,  Johnny’s, and Rocky & Carlo’s.

The first of this bunch that we tried was Parran’s, but that wasn’t even necessary because we are so familiar with it. Parran’s was an advertiser on The Food Show for many years, and we became ardent fans back then. Just for a refresher we dropped in and picked up another one. We forgot how good it was. Parran’s is the Metairie Parkway, the poor boy king. It was another one where the meat was a combination of slices and debris. The gravy was pretty perfect and had a great roast beef flavor. There was plenty of meat and dressings, and this was a very good sandwich overall.

Another sandwich with a real roast beef flavor can be found on the north shore at Mandeville Seafood. It is sliced thin and plentiful, with a darker color and a moderate but not overwhelming amount of gravy. Fresh dressings aplenty, this is a tasty sandwich.

The R & O poor boy is a little different than the others in a lot of ways. First, it is really dark and has a really assertive and unusual roast beef flavor, but it tastes unusually good and is better with each bite. The meat is debris style and the bread, like DiMartino’s, is not French bread but more Italian with the seeded loaf. And R & O’s toasts the bread, unlike most others. This one has a very devoted following. While we may not share that sentiment, we get it.

Rocky & Carlo’s has never been a favorite of Tom’s, and I went with that opinion until I actually had a chance to try a lot of their food at a party about a year ago. I was astonished at how good the roast beef poor boy was, along with so many other things that are very popular with locals who will make the trek out to Chalmette because it is such an iconic place.

The roast beef poor boy is large, yes, but it is very good. Plenty of meat piled high on a large piece of French bread, with lots of lettuce, tomato, and pickle, this sandwich is worth the travel. It turns out most of the other food here is worth the extra effort as well. Good roast beef flavor in the meat, thinly sliced.

There were a few others that people suggested I try. One person emailed to say he used to make poor boy sandwiches and I should try Central Po-Boys, on Central Avenue in the space that for so many years was the excellent Alonso’s neighborhood joint. It never did work out for us to do that, because Central Po-Boys was always closed when we could make it there.

My brother likes Guy’s on Magazine, and we did make it there. It seems Guy is the only one making everything, and his wife is maybe the one at the register. Don’t go in a hurry here. It was fine but nothing special, and definitely not worth the wait.

And it came out on the show that Fiorella’s is now occupying the space that was once the legendary Teddy's near the lakefront. Teddy’s was the place that made a poor boy out of an entire loaf of French bread. I had never had a roast beef poor boy from there, and we tried to do that, but Fiorella’s is closed on Saturday as well.

I got another tip that we should try the World Deli in Metairie. This is an intriguing little place that has a lot of fans. I don’t think of a deli as being a roast beef joint, but this place has everything. I had never been inside, but I’m glad I went because it’s quite cute. There are two rooms and various items for purchase line one wall in the main room. There is video poker here, which alarmed me.

We were also surprised at how much we liked this poor boy. What sets it apart is the toasted bread, which we feel should be step one in making any sandwich, or using French bread in any application, period. It was full of meat and dressings and combined with the toasted bread this was a favorite.

As a finale, we did finally make it to the legendary Johnny’s in the French Quarter. An old boyfriend of mine was an enthusiastic fan of the place, and it was Tom’s favorite as well. This one is by far the most difficult to experience. It is in the Quarter and there is no place to park. Also, they only take cash. The first time we made it there to pick up a sandwich, I was directed to an ATM. I feel like this should be mentioned when ordering.

Johnny’s is actually an adorable little joint in a tiny space on the edge of the Quarter on St. Louis two doors off Decatur. Red and white checkered tablecloths make it look Italian rather than like a sandwich place. When Johnny passed away over a decade ago, his son-in-law took it over.

The very smell of Johnny’s roast beef poor boy gets your attention. It is intense. The meat is featherlike and tender. There is a lot of it. If this sandwich was made on bread that was toasted it would have no peer. But the bread is not toasted and you sort of have to tear it. That said, I can see why it is the stuff of legend.

All the little differences in the particulars of this classic sandwich don't add up to much. Perhaps that is why they can be found anywhere. There is no such thing in our experience as a bad roast beef poor boy sandwich. All of these elements in all of these sandwiches add up to something really delicious. It's no wonder the roast beef poor boy is a cornerstone of the flavors of New Orleans.