The muffaletta might be the signature sandwich of Crescent City, but the po’ boy is the “shotgun house of New Orleans cuisine.”
The traditional Louisiana sub is said to have originated in 1929, when Bennie and Clovis Martin -- both of whom had been streetcar conductors and union members before opening the coffee shop that legend says became the birthplace of the po’ boy -- supported striking streetcar motormen and conductors with food.
"We fed those men free of charge until the strike ended,” Bennie was quoted. “Whenever we saw one of the striking men coming, one of us would say, ‘Here comes another poor boy.’”