Lafayette Poboy Shops – The Big 4

(LAFAYETTE, La) - If you grew up in Louisiana, you probably have strong opinions about po'boys. The bread has to be right (I'm looking at you, Langlinais). The ratio of filling to dressing has to be right. And no matter how hungry you are, you already know where you're going before you leave the house. For everyone coming to Lafayette, allow us to make some introductions.

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Before we get into the list, a little backstory, because the poboy earned its name the old-fashioned way, in case your poboy history is a little rusty.

History of the Poboy Sandwich

The sandwich traces its roots to Bennie and Clovis Martin, brothers who left their home in Raceland, Louisiana, in the mid-1910s and eventually opened Martin Brothers' Coffee Stand and Restaurant in New Orleans' French Market in 1922, according to New Orleans Historical. In 1929, when Electric Street Railway employees went on strike, the Martin brothers pledged to feed the striking workers for free. Whenever a striker walked through the door, Benny would reportedly call out to Clovis, "Here comes another poor boy!" The name stuck, and by the 1970s, the City of New Orleans officially recognized the Martins as the originators of the poor boy sandwich.

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Poboys in Lafayette

Lafayette has no shortage of places to get a great poboy, but a handful of spots have stood the test of time and earned their place in the regular rotation. While there are plenty of restaurants that have poboys on the menu, some establishments have really leaned into the sandwich as the key item on their menus. Here are four that Lafayette residents know by heart.

*Once again, we've got restaurants offering amazing poboys on their menu, but we're narrowing down to restaurants whose primary focus is the sandwich itself*