What sounds like an oxymoron, fancy po’boy, is actually a sandwich served at the newly opened PoBoy Shop located at 8421 Westchester Drive in Preston Center. The sandwich shop is the creation of Evan Meagher whose Evan’s Meat Market butcher shop has become a staple for carnivores who crave premium protein and hand-crafted side dishes.
The PoBoy Shop offers seven pre-set po’boys. Perhaps the most traditional are Fried Shrimp and the Debris, which is typically roast beef and its jus. PoBoy Shop’s Debris tastes more like a beef barbecue sandwich; the beef is lean and smokey and mushes right into that glorious, tender bread.
The Dirty Cajun includes boudin, made at Evan’s butcher shop and some of the best I’ve ever tasted, with jalapeños and pepper jack. Diners can create their own perfect po’boys with cold cuts Meagher makes in-house, and all the fixin’s. These aren’t ya mama’s po’boys. Meagher says they honor the tradition of the sandwich while putting a modern spin on it. And, they’re fancy.
Sides include potato salad, coleslaw, bagged chips, and three versions of fries. Any sandwich can be modified to become a salad including the Muffuletta, which is described as “the second most famous Cajun sandwich” but it’s actually Sicilian. Like the Po’boy, the muffuletta was created in New Orleans which is a Creole, not Cajun, city. The two food cultures have very different origins, flavors, and traditions.
Beverage offerings are sodas made with Louisiana cane sugar, Swamp Water with cucumber, mint, and simple syrup, and Tazo black iced tea, which is a refreshing premium tea.
Po’boys originated in New Orleans in the early 1900s nearly 200 years after Lord Sandwich invented a meal consisting of stuff shoved between two slices of bread. Since then, the nomenclature of sandwiches has evolved to allow sandwiches of different temperatures and construction to be stuffed with regional ingredients, pronounced in regional dialects, and even made with different, often loose, definitions of bread, such as tortillas and lettuce, to gain wide adoption and the fame and fortune that comes with it. The genome is sandwich and the species include Club, Hoagie, Sub, Wrap, Pinwheel, and of course, the Po’boy.
The Associated Press declares the correct spelling of the celebrated sandwich is “Po’boy,” the New Orleans-accented pronunciation of “poor boy,” for whom the sandwiches were originally made due to the simplicity and low-cost ingredients. Other acceptable spellings include Po-boy, Poboy, Peaux Boy if you’re feeling bilingual, and Po Bouy if you’re feeling nautical. Meagher spells his shop PoBoy, also acceptable, of course.
The PoBoy Shop is a stylish addition to the neighborhood. The Katie Kime New Orleans wallpaper is elegant and whimsical. The beautiful wood tables set against green leather benches and tufted tweed backs is a light, lovely setting, and definitely the nicest po’boy shop I’ve ever seen. And, as a Louisiana gal, I’ve seen a few. It’s a tight space but there are a few tables and chairs inside and out. The shop also provides catering.
The PoBoy Shop in Preston Center is open daily 10:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
8421 Westchester Drive, Dallas, TX 75225 469-387-9561
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