To have and to hold
Why the Capital Region can’t get enough of sandwiches
How many times, over the course of your life, have you held a sandwich? In childhood, your sticky kid paws gripped a requisite lunch box PB&J, grape jelly weeping through the craters of squishy white bread. And then there was the grilled cheese, manna for picky eaters in both homes and restaurants.
As a young adult, you manhandled fried-oyster po-boys at The Chimes. You feasted like a budget-conscious boss on pressed subs from Inga’s and Am Mart, their butcher-paper wrap feeling like a lunchtime birthday present. At some point, you constructed a sandwich with Calvin’s Bocage Market’s impossibly creamy chicken salad. And, as your palate evolved, sandwiches became elevated riffs made with Baton Rouge’s ever-expanding boutique ingredients and bougie breads.
Sandwiches, it’s fair to say, are like culinary tree rings. Timeless and convenient, they show us who we are and who we’ve been. In south Louisiana, they say a lot about us, unfolding with assertive flavors and powerful traditions. So, hail to the sandwich, its past and its future. Here’s how to enjoy its infinite possibilities in the Capital Region.
Slice of life
The art of the muffuletta at Cannatella Grocery
The meltdown
Taking a bite out of Fork N Spoon’s gooey breakfast sandwich offerings
Poor things
The po-boys at Rocco’s nod to the sandwich’s history
So happy together
Dubbed ‘the Vietnamese po-boy,’ the banh mi has its own kinship with Louisiana sandwiches
Bread winners
9 more sandwiches to love
Prep school
Mix and match local ingredients to make a great sandwich at home
Sandwich lore
We asked 225 readers to share some favorite storied sandwiches from around the Capital Region.
—As told to Olivia Deffes
Quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.
“The Joe’s Special, served at the Library restaurant on Chimes Street, with sliced roast beef, olive mix and mayo on a muffuletta bun. Sounds weird but tasted great. … The Library cooked its roast beef in-house, and it was delicious. Miss that place.”
—Emilie Smart
“The muffulettas at Anthony’s Italian Deli. Being from New Orleans, this is the next-best sandwich outside Central Grocery. Brings back all the good memories.”
—Andrea Duroncelet
“I really miss The Caterie’s Cheeseburger in Paradise. It’s a shame that the place burned down.”
—John Johnston
“Inga’s. It was consistent when my husband and I were in college, and a decade later it’s still the best.”
—Caroline Byrne
“The Italian Lover at Anthony’s Italian Deli is a family favorite of three generations. Everything about it is delicious.”
—Leslie Leonard
Home goods
Locals wax on why there’s nothing like a homemade sandwich
—As told to Olivia Deffes
Quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.
“I’m 72. My father was a native New Orleanian and never missed Mardi Gras. We’d leave Denham Springs early on Tuesday morning, drive the back way through Port Vincent to Sorrento, then Airline Highway to the St. Charles Avenue parade route. We brought a cooler. My mother’s pimento cheese sandwiches on white bread, wrapped in wax paper, were by far the best. To this day, when I eat a pimento cheese sandwich, it’s like being at a parade.”
—Joe Sanders
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup takes me back to those very cold Louisiana winters in the early ’50s. Icicles drape from the roof; the fireplace is ablaze, and my family is enjoying the warmth of the meal and fireplace. Nostalgia at its best.”
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—Yvonne Caballero
This article was originally published in the October 2024 issue of 225 Magazine.