What do you get when you combine thousands of people with live music, alcohol, and some of the world’s messiest sandwiches?
Answer: The Oak Street Po-Boy Festival. And a lot of stained t-shirts.
For the fourth year, one of New Orleans’ small business districts has surpassed all expectations and drawn close to 40,000 people to its streets for a Po-Boy competition that has everyone wiping sauce off their mouths, and waiting for the winner to be announced.
The Food Channel was there, and our own Andy Ford talked with a number of the restaurateurs and chefs who created new Po Boys just for this event. We’ll be bringing you those stories and more – this is just, as we like to say, a taste. Just wait until you see Andy biting into one of the winning sandwiches and finding the jalapeno! Our congratulations goes out to Grand Isle and Chef Mark Falgoust, who won for the third year in a row – and with not one, but two of his sandwiches, the Boucherie (pork) and the Smoked Butter Fish Po-Boy.
View the video below to get a better feel for the fun!
For more information, visit poboyfest.com.
Here’s the complete of list of winners:
- Best of Show: G.W. Fins – Fried lobster po-boy
- Best Pork Po-Boy: Grand Isle Restaurant – Boucherie po-boy
- Best Specialty Seafood Po-Boy: Grand Isle Restaurant – Smoked fish po-boy
- Best Roast Beef Po-Boy: Sammy’s Deli on Elysian Fields – Garlic stuffed roast beef po-boy
- Best Specialty Non-Seafood Po-Boy: Sammy’s Deli on Elysian Fields – Fried chicken and Chisesi ham po-boy
- Best Shrimp Po-Boy: Redfish Grill – Grilled shrimp with blackened avocado po-boy
- People Choice Award: Coquette Restaurant – Homemade hot sausage po-boy
More to come all week, and you can follow The Food Channel crew on Twitter @foodchannel.
More from our New Orleans tour:
Emeril’s Carnivale du Vin Benefit Celebrates Wine, Food, and New Orleans
Tasting Gulf Seafood in The Big Easy
Pop-Up Restaurant Pops Up in New Orleans
It’s Not the Oil That’s Killing the Oysters
