Dawnsinger

I am making a post, because I can.

Unfortunately the idea of a po’ boy festival never materialized in food-crazy New Orleans until a couple of weeks ago, so my wife and I were thrilled to attend the first annual Po’ Boy Preservation Festival on November 18. The fest to “save our sandwich” was held on Oak Street, a funky lane in the Carrollton neighborhood near Tulane. When I say the street is funky, what I’m really saying is that it’s small, narrow and just a little dirty (but isn’t everything in New Orleans).

Because this was the festival’s first year and I hadn’t seen that much publicity for it, I assumed the Po’ Boy Festival was going to be an uncrowded, low-key affair with maybe a few hundred people wandering in and out throughout the day. The lack of some of the city’s best-known po’ boy joints (Domilise’s: Where were you and your amazing oyster po’ boy?) from the festival guide also led me to believe turn-out might be low. I should have known, however, that where there are po’ boys, any po’ boys, hungry bellies are never far away. Add live music, free admission and 60 degree weather, and it’s a wonder the fire marshal wasn’t called in to clear us all out.

What can I say, but I am making a post, because I can.