My Life in Meals

Cheeky Sandwiches

I was recently reminiscing about my two fabulous trips to New Orleans - a food lovers paradise. I planned my trip, both times, only around what and where I was going to be eating each meal.

One of my favorite spots in the french quarter area is Johnny’s Po-Boys. A local establishment open since the 1950’s, Johnny’s is the oldest family owned po’boy restaurant in the city of New Orleans. For those of you who have never had one, a po’boy is a traditional sub sandwich from Louisiana. It almost always consists of meat or seafood, usually fried, served on baguette-like Louisiana French bread. Johnny’s fried cat fish po’boy was “fully dressed” (meaning topped with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise), and was simply magnificent. The fish is flaky on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside, and the freshly baked bread and the “dressings” make this sub a perfect combo (pictured above).

One of my good friends recently told me about Cheeky Sandwiches, a tiny sandwich joint in the Lower East Side serving up New Orleans style sandwiches and treats. Going to places like this one are actually my favorite types of food finds: off the beaten path, cheap, and extraordinarily good at what they do.

When I say this place is a hole in the wall, I’m not kidding around. It’s eclectic decor and ambiance serve for a perfect fit in it’s Lower East Side surroundings. There are a few beaten up benches against the wall, and only two people working the restaurant, what seems to be the owner and his sous-chef/cashier. Word to the wise: they only take cash so come prepared and you won’t have to run to the shady ATM down the block like we did.

We ordered up two sandwiches, and while we waited snacked on Zapps Potato Chips, kettle-fried chips from New Orleans. Of course I had to try the Voodoo Flavor, a mixture of 5 secret cajun/creole spices. They were good, but I only wish they were a little bit spicier! I was hoping for something with a little more kick considering they were of the “voodoo variety”.

About 8-10 minutes later, our Fried Oyster & Shrimp Po’boy arrived, half oyster and half shrimp fully dressed with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup and Tabasco. I have had po’boys at other restaurants in New York, but this one really made me feel like I was back at Johnny’s in New Orleans. Besides for the shrimp and oysters being moist and plump inside their battered outer shell, the bread was what really reminded me of New Orleans. When I came home and did a little research, I found this article in the New York Times stating that the owner gets his bread shipped daily from his hometown in Louisiana. No wonder it tasted so good!

Next, we moved on to devour the Beef Sandwich, which consists of braised short-ribs topped wild arugula, cherry tomatoes, & horseradish sauce on challa bread. All I can say is WOW…. that’s one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten! Besides for the meat being perfectly seasoned and extremely tender, the arugula, cherry tomatoes and spicy horseradish really does this sandwich justice. Had they used regular lettuce, tomato and mayo like they had on the po’boy, it would have really made this sandwich feel like it was lacking something. The grilled challah bread was the perfect glue to hold this sandwich together.

We finished off our meal with an order of beignets, or a pastry made from deep-fried dough, much like a doughnut, and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. Probably one of the most famous and iconic places in New Orleans is Cafe du Monde, serving up only coffee and beignets to both tourists and locals alike. Cheeky’s version of beignets unfortunately didn’t quite live up to the ones at Cafe du Monde, but hey they were a good enough sweet ending to an amazing lunch packed with good ole N’awlins style flavors.