Southern Fried Catfish Po' Boy

The po' boy is New Orleans in sandwich form. It started with the Martin brothers feeding striking streetcar workers in 1929, handing out free sandwiches to those poor boys walking the picket line. The name stuck, and so did the generosity. A real po' boy is never stingy.

At Lagniappe, we've served thousands of these sandwiches, and I'll tell you the secret: it's the bread. You need that New Orleans French bread with the shattering crust and the cotton-soft interior. Nothing else works the same way. The bread absorbs the remoulade without getting soggy, holds up to the crispy fish, and tears beautifully when you bite down.

Now the catfish. Farm-raised Louisiana catfish has clean, sweet flavor that takes seasoning like a dream. You season the fish, you season the buttermilk, you season the cornmeal. Three layers of flavor before it even hits the oil. My grandmother Evangeline taught me that food builds in stages. She was right about everything.

This sandwich is fast, satisfying, and honest. Forty-five minutes from standing in your kitchen to sitting down with something that tastes like a Friday afternoon on Magazine Street.