Radosta’s is a good neighborhood cafe, and if you never heard of it it's only because you don't live in the neighborhood. Aris Avenue doesn't connect directly to Metairie Road, nor can you get there easily from Veterans. (Best directions: two blocks in back of Nor-Joe's.) Poor boy sandwiches are the main stock in trade. Because the place started as a grocery store, it still serves some varieties of poor boys not often seen anymore. Like luncheon meat and liver cheese.
Radosta's story is a common one around New Orleans. It started in the 1970s as a neighborhood grocery store, and like many of those it sold poor boy sandwiches out of its deli. The sandwich business grew as fast as the corner-grocery one contracted, and over the years it became almost entirely a neighborhood cafe. (Although they still have some groceries on the few remaining shelves.)
It's easy to see Radosta's grocery-store past. Where shelves once were are now tables, topped with the usual condiments and rolls of paper towels. You order and the counter and wait for the people in the back to make it. Nice folks.
The roast beef is seriously good, and will appeal particularly to those who like their beef in integral slices rather than falling apart.
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