A sign has been up on the door of 1205 19th Street for months advertising the arrival of the New Orleans Po’ Boy Shop, but it looks like co-owners Cam McNair and Justin Snyder will be rolling out their Big Easy–inspired eatery as soon as early April, according to Snyder. We checked in with the former Franklin’s manager about developments and when we can expect NOLA specialties like house-roasted beef po’ boys with traditional “debris gravy.”
The tiny shop will have just 15 seats—one for each variety of po’ boy on the menu. “Standing and leaning is the best way to go at Po’ Boy,” says Snyder, who’s still in the process of tweaking the menu with McNair, a New Orleans native whose résumé includes stints at the city’s classic greats, like Mr. B’s Bistro and Commander’s Palace. An additional 24 seats will be available when McNair and Snyder open the outdoor patio.
Sourcing just the right bread is the last major project while construction is underway, and the guys are testing Leidenheimer rolls—which you’ll find at New Orleans’s best po’ boy spots—against local products. They’re also working on the “Because We Can” board, a rotating lineup of special sandwiches such as a fried green tomato po’ boy with pancetta-tomato gravy and duck confit. Expect to wash it all down with Southern-style sweet tea, as there’s no alcohol license in the works.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
