Page 142 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2018

DINING food for all
Po-boy
A Coast Favorite
Fillin Station’s Po-boy Express Steak Bomb Biloxi Dip
Quave Brothers’ crab and cheese po-boy
Barq’s root beer with a cheese burger po-boy
story and photos by Julian Brunt
Hot Tips
Cooking Tip
The Mississippi Gulf Coast has a food culture all its own. Think Gulf Coast, and most folks dream of a steaming bowl of gumbo, Monday’s spicy red beans and rice, or perhaps even daube spaghetti, but for me, nothing beats a well- made — albeit humble — po-boy.
Quave Brothers,
D’Iberville (just opened)
Jia, Beau Rivage,
Biloxi (new chef, exciting menu)
Gollott’s,
Biloxi (Classic Biloxi)
Desporte’s Deli,
Biloxi
(More Than 100 Years in Business)
Henry’s Cafe and Bakery,
D’Iberville
(Great Bread, Great Pho)
Use homemade mayo on that po-boy. 1 cup oil, 1 egg, squirt of lemon, pinch of salt. Use an immersion blender and a cup just larger than
the head of the blender. 20 seconds and you are done.
This magnificent working class feast (almost any left over meat or seafood will do), found its way here from New Orleans, but don’t believe the often repeated myth that it came about because of a street car strike (oh, those poor boys). I assure you those austere French farmers have been slicing open a crusty baguette and filling it with cured meats and cheese for countless generations.
You can make the argument that our ancestors were pretty creative and began filling their baguettes with fried soft shell crabs, roast beef covered
in gravy (the French gave us the
daube recipe), and seafood of every description, and there is absolutely no doubt we were the first ones to enjoy
a good po-boy with a cold Barq’s root beer in a glass bottle. There is also some evidence that Rosetti’s in Biloxi was the first to press a po-boy (think pannini press).
Lord, I love a good po-boy. There are dozens of places that sell po-boys on the Coast, and there is no way to mention them all, but here are a few of my favorites.
Quave Brothers in D’Ibeville has a crab and cheese po-boy — used to be
called the Vancleave Special — that is 90 percent crab and delicious.
Po-boy Express in Ocean Springs has great po-boys, but their Steak Bomb that’s made with steak, lots of gravy, and fried shrimp is — I can’t resist it — the bomb.
The Fillin Station in Biloxi is another great po-boy place, but it would be hard to say which one is the best. The Biloxi Dip, a cup of gumbo and half a shrimp po-boy may be the best choice, as is the cheese burger version.
BB’s in Ocean Springs wins my vote for fried shrimp po-boy, but again, all of their po-boys are great.
Desporte’s Seafood in Biloxi has been making great po-boys for many years, but when I am in the mood for a fried oyster po-boy, this is the spot.
Pirates Cove in Pass Christian has been a Coast favorite for many years. The roast beef is famous, just make sure to ask for extra gravy, and extra napkins.
Taranto’s in Woolmarket is another Coast favorite, as is Bozo’s in Pascagoula.
Deepest apologies to all the places
I didn’t have room to list, but what a wonderful problem to have. Too many po-boy places? No way!
DEEP SOUTH CULINARY ADVENTURES
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