Liuzza’s by the Track makes a roast beef po-boy that’s more like a sandwich
Liuzzas by the Track has earned its place among New Orleans best neighborhood restaurants with a menu thats tighter than the more sprawling norm of the genre. Its a po-boy joint whose kitchen has a flair for pot-cooking and whose long, alluring bar is where many spouses would have to go looking for their missing partners if it were open later.
Talk to Liuzzas by the Tracks fans and chances are they will mention one of three very popular house specialites: its restoratively brothy, invigoratingly spicy gumbo; its cardiologist-flouting barbecue shrimp po-boy; and a po-boy the menu calls Breathtaking Beef.
The B.B. has been oft-cited by readers whove weighed in on my quest for the best roast beef po-boys in the New Orleans area, a project that is approaching the halfway mark. Ive eaten the sandwich countless times myself, and its fame is understandable.
Liuzzas by the Track handles its beef with care. The slices are similar to what youd get at the carving station of a banquet, only not rare. The sandwich is dressed with fresh horseradish, which accounts for the breathtaking part. Horseradish is potent, but it also has a way of drawing out the subtle, natural minerality of the food its paired with. This is why you so often find horseradish where oysters and prime rib are served.
- Where it’s at: 1518 North Lopez St., 504.281.7888
- Claim to fame: Breathtaking Beef is one of several very popular house specialties. Its made with fresh horseradish. The regular roast beef is basically the same thing, minus the horseradish.
- Brett Andersons take: The absence of gravy deprives these otherwise solid sandwiches of one of the roast beef po-boys defining characteristics.
The meat is cut against the grain at a thickness that yields a soft-but-sturdy texture, resulting in a sandwich that requires more of your jaw and teeth to get a clean bite. In fact, the B.B. is clean in more ways than one: in its austere flavor and, due to the absence of gravy, the lack of juicy flotsam and jetsam roast beef sandwiches tend to leave behind.
Liuzzas by the Track also offers a regular roast beef po-boy, which is basically the B.B. minus the horseradish and still no discernible gravy.
The role of gravy on roast beef po-boys is a subject that can be debated as hotly as the play calling of our favorite football teams coaching staffs. But there should be general agreement that gravy is one of the things proper po-boy bread is another that make the roast beef po-boy a uniquely local dish.
Liuzzas by the Tracks roast beef po-boys are both very good. But they may remind you of the roast beef sandwiches you grew up on if you didnt grow up on roast beef po-boys.
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