Once again, the Oak Street Po-Boy Fest turned its namesake street into a playground of different po-boy possibilities on Nov. 19, with classics served alongside some wild flights of local culinary imagination.
In the end, one Harahan restaurant and one local food truck won big, sweeping all awards between them.?
Jason Seither of Seither’s Seafood at the Oak Street Po-Boy Fest. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
More than 30 vendors lining the street represented local restaurants, food trucks, caterers and social organizations. Some served po-boys in line with their own specialized niches, with barbecue, seafood or vegan po-boys, while others used the festival to stretch their wings and get creative.
They were vying for the eye and appetite of the throngs of people who turned out, and also for bragging rights in the festival’s annual competition.
Judges assessed po-boys in different categories (full disclosure: I was part of one panel of judges this year).
Here are the winners:
Southerns Food truck won big at the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival in 2023. Anthony Cruz and Gene Colley show the haul of awards. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Best of the Fest: Southerns Food Truck for the grits and grillades po-boy (fried grit sticks, roasted pork and gravy).
Best shrimp: Southerns Food Truck for the Lt. Dan po-boy (fried shrimp with garlic herb aioli and sweet heat sauce).
The Voodoo fish and chips with redfish and Zapp’s chips from Seither’s Seafood at the Oak Street Po-Boy Fest. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Best seafood: Seither’s Seafood for Voodoo fish and chips po-boy (blackened redfish with slaw and Zapp’s Voodoo potato chips).
Best pork: Southerns Food Truck for the grits and grillade po-boy (fried grit sticks, roasted pork and gravy).
The killer beef po-boy from Seither’s Seafood at the Oak Street Po-Boy Fest. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Best beef: Seither’s Seafood for the killer beef po-boy (sirloin tip with gravy and potato sticks).
Best specialty: Southerns Food Truck for the turf and turf po-boy (braised pork belly, smoked beef rib, onion rings).
The “turf and turf” po-boy with smoked beef rib and pork belly from Southerns Food Truck at the Oak Street Po-Boy Fest. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Jason and Tara Seither with their Seither's Seafood Voodoo fish and chips po-boy (blackened redfish with slaw and Zapp's Voodoo potato chips), the Best Seafood Po-Boy during the 15th Annual Oak Street Po-Boy Fest 2023. They also won for their killer beef po-boy (sirloin tip with gravy and potato sticks). (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
