2009 Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andrea Morris
504-210-1243
morrisa@peteramayer.com
New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation
Announces 2009 Festival Winners
NEW ORLEANS, La., (November 23, 2009) – On Sunday, November 22, 25,000+ New Orleanians came out once again to celebrate the city’s most famous sandwich on the newly renovated Oak Street corridor. The festival includes a judged competition for the best po-boys in seven categories. This year’s winners include:
Best in Show:
Grand Isle’s Shrimp Caminada
The po-boy was named in honor of Caminada, which is a fishing town west of Grand Isle that was wiped out in a terrible storm on October 2, 1893. The sandwich consists of shrimp, sautéed in a spicy citrus butter sauce topped with herb slaw. Grand Isle will soon be adding the sandwich to their menu.
People’s Choice:
New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Co.’s Shrimp-Zilla
“King of all Po-boys”, the sandwich consists of roast beef, fried shrimp and coleslaw.
Best Pork Po-Boy:
Dong Phuong Bakery’s Vietnamese Po-Boy
Featured on the cover of Gambit’s November 16 issue, the Banh Mi swept the crowds off their feet at this year’s festival. In Vietnamese, “banh mi” translates both as ‘bread’ and ‘the sandwich using that bread.’ Here in New Orleans, banh mi has become known as the ‘Vietnamese po-boy.’
Best Roast Beef Po-Boy:
Gattuso’s Neighborhood Bar & Restaurant Roast Beef Po-Boy
Best Shrimp Po-Boy:
Boucherie’s Barbecued Shrimp Po-boy
Best Special Seafood Po-Boy:
Acme Oyster House’s Fried Oyster Po-Boy
Best Special Non-Seafood Po-Boy:
Mahoney’s Po-Boy Shop’s Fried Chicken Livers & Coleslaw Po-Boy
This year’s judge’s panel consisted of 26 judges. Some of those represented include Todd Price, freelancer for Gambit and Times-Picayune; Lorin Gaudin, food reporter for WDSU; Camille Whitworth, report/anchor for WDSU; David Darah, President, Riley Foods; Johnny Blancher, Chef/Owner Ye Olde College Inn; and Robert Pexton, New Orleans Magazine.
The New Orleans Annual Po-Boy Preservation Festival is a free public street festival, which started in 2007. The festival features po-boy offerings from some of the city’s most famous restaurants, two stages with live music, arts and crafts, and a children’s area with games and prizes. It also includes panel discussions covering the history of the po-boy. Proceeds from the festival go towards the Oak Street Association’s work to promote, preserve and revitalize Carrollton’s historic Oak Street neighborhood and commercial corridor. For more information please visit the official Web site at www.poboyfest.com.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Gary Michael Smith
504-866-7816
gsmith@datasync.com
July 24, 2009
New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival Slated for November
Successful Celebration to be Larger than Previous Years
Thousands of New Orleanians will celebrate the city’s most famous sandwich—on November 22, 2009 as they head for Oak Street for the third annual New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival. The Festival will be held from 11 to 6 P.M. that Sunday in a 7-block section of Oak Street between Carrollton Avenue and Eagle Street with the Carrollton and Oak intersection being accessible by streetcar.
This festival was founded as a celebration of the storied sandwich and the role it has played in New Orleans’ culinary culture. The festival also highlights the ongoing revitalization of the Oak Street business corridor, which was designated a National Main Street in 2006 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a Louisiana Main Street by the Department of Historic Preservation, which authorizes the program.
Proceeds from the festival go toward the Oak Street Association’s work to promote, preserve, and revitalize Carrollton’s historic Oak Street neighborhood and commercial corridor. A portion of proceeds will be used to fund grants for neighborhood organizations in the Carrollton area.
This year will feature a “newly renovated Oak Street” reminiscent of an upscale pedestrian plaza. This $6-plus million project included entire street paving, new curbs, sidewalks, benches, and bike racks. Granite cobblestones from the original Oak Street streetcar foundation were reused in each intersection. And Oak Street infrastructure improvements include new sewer and water lines, storm drains, and fire hydrants.
The first two New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festivals were held in 2007 and 2008 and featured po-boy offerings from some of the city’s most famous restaurants. Festival judges, including Tom Fitzmorris of “The Food Show,” presented the “Golden Loaf Awards” for the best tasting po-boys. This free public street festival had more than 15,000 attendees in 2008 and covered five commercial street blocks of Oak Street. This year, the festival has grown with the addition of two more blocks on Oak Street and an artists’ village on Leonidas Street. As with last year there will be two stages with live music, arts and crafts, a children’s section with games and prizes, panel discussions covering the history of the po-boy and, of course, the best tasting po-boys in New Orleans. For more information, visit www.poboyfest.com.
History of the Po-boy
Po-boy sandwiches represent bedrock New Orleans. The sandwich is as diverse as the city it symbolizes. The crisp loaves have served as a culinary crossroads, encasing the most pedestrian and exotic of foods: shrimp, oyster, catfish, soft-shell crabs as well as French fries and ham and cheese. As with many culinary innovations, many legends surround the po-boy and its origins. However, documentary evidence confirms stories about one particular restaurant were right. Bennie and Clovis Martin left their Raceland, LA, home in the mid-1910s for New Orleans. Both worked as streetcar conductors until they opened Martin Brothers’ Coffee Stand and Restaurant in the French Market in 1922.
Following increasingly heated contract negotiations, the streetcar motormen and conductors went on strike July 1, 1929. The survival of the carmen’s union and 1,100 jobs was in question. When the company attempted to run the cars on July 5 using “strike breakers,” more than 10,000 New Orleanians gathered downtown and watched strike supporters disable and then burn the first car operated by a strike breaker.
The many support letters included one from the Martin Brothers promising, “Our meal is free to any members of Division 194.” Their letter concluded: “We are with you till hell freezes, and when it does, we will furnish blankets to keep you warm.” In order to maintain their promise, the Martins provided large sandwiches to the strikers. Bennie Martin said, “We fed those men free of charge until the strike ended. Whenever we saw one of the striking men coming, one of us would say, ‘Here comes another poor boy.’”
In 1931, the Martin’s restaurant relocated to the 2000 block of St. Claude Avenue—just two blocks from Gendusa Bakery. As the Depression worsened, many New Orleanians enjoyed the opportunity to feed themselves or their families using the famously oversized poor boy sandwiches—a culinary tradition that has remained today.
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To download the press release and other related files please see our 'Brand' page
