What's a New Orleans Kitchen Doing in the Loop?
Yeah, I knew better than to expect an authentic New Orleans style po-boy from a chain, even one billing itself as "New Orleans Kitchen." After all, their signature dish is called "Bourbon Chicken," which is not a dish I had ever tried or even heard of in the 40 years I lived in New Orleans.
And this po-boy wasn't bad, per se, it just wasn't a New Orleans-style po-boy.
First of all, it was served on a kind of submarine roll, not French bread--not even close! Nothing beats Leidenheimers French bread, and I wasn't expecting it. Nor was I expecting the foot-long dimensions of a real po-boy. This sandwich was about 6 to 8 inches long.
The shrimp themselves, although predictably on the small side, weren't terrible either, even though there were only about 8 or 9 on this sandwich. They were just heavily battered in a too-spicy batter. The fried shrimp on the best New Orleans po-boys aren't spiced up. The batter is generally very light, just flour and egg. Down home, we like to let the food speak for itself. It's wrong to think that New Orleans food is always heavily spicy.
The farthest this place went from authentic was in the lettuce on this sandwich: it was covered in a kind of spicy mustard salad dressing, with black olives instead of tomatoes.
This made me almost laugh out loud! In every New Orleans po-boy shop, you're asked if you want your sandwich "dressed," which is the local word for "with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayonnaise." So I can imagine some corporate Yankee-type thinking "dressed" means "salad dressing on your lettuce."
This lunch special came with 2 sides. I can never understand where this chain gets its ideas about New Orleans food from. I chose red beans and rice (which tasted like the red beans by grade-school cafeteria served) and green beans, which at least were fresh and not canned. But neither had anything authentically New Orleans about them.
Needless to say, the sandwich I ate looked nothing like this:
Now that's a real po-boy. Dressed! Look at how many shrimp are on it! If you want it "undressed," it's usually served with butter and lemon.
And this po-boy wasn't bad, per se, it just wasn't a New Orleans-style po-boy.
First of all, it was served on a kind of submarine roll, not French bread--not even close! Nothing beats Leidenheimers French bread, and I wasn't expecting it. Nor was I expecting the foot-long dimensions of a real po-boy. This sandwich was about 6 to 8 inches long.
The shrimp themselves, although predictably on the small side, weren't terrible either, even though there were only about 8 or 9 on this sandwich. They were just heavily battered in a too-spicy batter. The fried shrimp on the best New Orleans po-boys aren't spiced up. The batter is generally very light, just flour and egg. Down home, we like to let the food speak for itself. It's wrong to think that New Orleans food is always heavily spicy.
The farthest this place went from authentic was in the lettuce on this sandwich: it was covered in a kind of spicy mustard salad dressing, with black olives instead of tomatoes.
This made me almost laugh out loud! In every New Orleans po-boy shop, you're asked if you want your sandwich "dressed," which is the local word for "with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayonnaise." So I can imagine some corporate Yankee-type thinking "dressed" means "salad dressing on your lettuce."
This lunch special came with 2 sides. I can never understand where this chain gets its ideas about New Orleans food from. I chose red beans and rice (which tasted like the red beans by grade-school cafeteria served) and green beans, which at least were fresh and not canned. But neither had anything authentically New Orleans about them.
Needless to say, the sandwich I ate looked nothing like this:
Now that's a real po-boy. Dressed! Look at how many shrimp are on it! If you want it "undressed," it's usually served with butter and lemon.