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A collard green melt from Turkey and the Wolf made with slow-cooked collards, pickled cherry pepper dressing, Swiss cheese, and coleslaw served hot on rye bread — Turkey and the Wolf’s collard green melt

Where to Eat New Orleans’s Greatest Sandwiches

The best sandwiches — that aren’t po’ boys — to be devoured in New Orleans

by Beth D'Addono and Clair Lorell Updated Aug 29, 2022, 12:47pm CDT

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Turkey and the Wolf’s collard green melt

| Bill Addison/Eater

by Beth D'Addono and Clair Lorell Updated Aug 29, 2022, 12:47pm CDT

Not for nothing, but not all sandwiches are po’boys. Yes, that’s New Orleans’s official way to eat everything on a hunk of French bread, but sandwiches other than po’boys have a rich and delicious history. Named for the 4th Earl of Sandwich in the late 1700s, seems this particular British aristocrat loved to gamble so much he wouldn’t stop to eat. So his valet packed him — you guessed it — a slab of meat between two pieces of bread, a portable meal called the sandwich. In New Orleans, we have plenty of good, even great renditions.

Try one, try them all, and as always, send a note if we left out one of your favorites (ranked geographically). And, if it is po’boys you’re after, check Eater’s guide to that New Orleans specialty here.

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Christmas in July at The Milk Bar

Charming, little, and owned by a friendly family of Australia natives, New Orleans’s version of Milk Bar — not the overhyped chain — is an Uptown favorite for sandwiches with entertaining names like the Christmas in July (roast turkey, brie, cranberry sauce, and spinach), the Psycho Chicken, and the Blue Heeler (roast beef, gravy, sauteed mushrooms, tomato, and blue cheese).

Open in Google Maps

710 S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118

Visit Website

The Psycho Chicken from the Milk Bar.

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Where to Find New Orleans’s Most Satisfying Salads

Rib Eye Sandwich at Ajun Cajun

Ajun Cajun’s garlicky rib eye sandwich, a festival favorite, is love at first bite. Garlicky grilled steak arrives piled high on a toasted Dung Phuong roll, soy marinated bites of carrot and cucumber adding crunch under a slathering of gooey melted mozzarella cheese. Doesn’t get any better. Ok, technically they call it a po’ boy, but it’s anything but traditional. Get extra napkins.

Open in Google Maps

8433 Oak St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Visit Website

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Fried Green Tomato BLT at Luca Eats

Luca Eats has been one of Carrollton’s best stops for breakfast and lunch sandwiches since opening in 2016. The unique shrimp and grits breakfast sandwich; steak and egg; and egg white press sandwiches are standout day starters, but then again the pressed lunch sandwiches can’t be beaten—our favorites are the fried green tomato BLT on multigrain and the turkey pesto, a dreamy stack of roasted turkey breast, pesto mayo, avocado, bacon, and smoked Gouda on sourdough.

Open in Google Maps

7329 Cohn St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Luca Eats (@lucaeatsnola)

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Charlies Original The Moon at Francesca

Francesca’s signature sandwich, this is a riff on the muffuletta, but combines ham, roast beef, provolone, Swiss, and coleslaw on a muffuletta bun with Russian dressing as opposed to the normal components. The winning combo isn’t the only sandwich worth trying on the Lakeview deli and restaurant’s menu — the classic Club is just as it should be, and hits the spot.

Open in Google Maps

515 Harrison Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124

Visit Website

Grilled Cheese at St. James Cheese Company

This Uptown paradise for cheese lovers does a stupendous job on the simple grilled cheese. Order that modest favorite at St. James Cheese Company, and a bewitching, oozing delight awaits. By all means add ham, bacon, or proscuitto to a melt of aged Colby grilled on rustic Bellegarde sourdough. The Il Mostro, with capicola, rosemary ham, rosa salami, provolone, and all the fixins’ is also a local favorite.

Open in Google Maps

5004 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Chicken Pesto Panini at Café Navarre

This Mid City gem for lunch, brunch, and happy hour serves a solid menu of excellent cold and hot sandwiches alike, and offers a lovely a plant-covered patio perfect for digging in. The Cuban, club, and chicken salad on wheatberry are all great, but if you’re craving a panini, this is one of the top destinations in town.

Open in Google Maps

800 Navarre Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Café Navarre (@cafenavarre_nola)

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Le Parisien at La Boulangerie

If it’s a European train stop-style sandwich you’re after, look no further than Uptown bakery La Boulangerie, and its delectable menu of sandwiches served on crusty baguette or croissant. Le Parisien is a classic — butcher ham, salted butter, Comté cheese, and cornichons on baguette. The chicken salad sandwich and smoked salmon sandwich, as well as the turkey, all compete with the ham as the best on the menu.

4600 Magazine St #1518, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Le Parisien

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The Fried Bologna Sandwich at Piece Of Meat

Meat Mama Leighann Smith is one badass butcher. At her and Daniel Jackson’s Piece of Meat, dinner service has taken center stage, but longtime fans can still experience the team’s excellent sandwiches during weekend brunch. At the top of the list is the fried bologna sandwich with iceberg lettuce, BBQ sauce, and fried onions on an onion bun; there’s also an heirloom tomato BLT that’s one of the best you’ll ever eat, and the jambon buerre on a Flour Moon bagel is a dream.

Open in Google Maps

3301 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leighann & Daniel (@pieceofmeatbutcher)

Also featured in:

Cuban at Norma's Sweets Bakery

Norma’s is loved for so many things; its cakes and other sweets, the imported market goods, and its guava cream cheese king cake, but its Cuban is a standout and one of the best in New Orleans. Flaky, melty, and handheld, it’s also one of the least expensive sandwiches to satisfy in town.

Open in Google Maps

2925 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Norma’s Sweets Bakery Cuban

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Chicken Salad Sandwich at Gracious Bakery

Gracious Bakery’s ciabatta will make any sandwich great — seriously, put anything on there. But the local bakery with three locations also has an excellent chicken salad, set off by pickled onions and greens that make for a winning combo. The toasted Black Forest ham sandwich is also excellent, as is the hot, reuben-style turkey.

Open in Google Maps

2854 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Reuben at Liuzza's by the Track

Liuzza’s by the Track is of course, known for its po’ boys — particularly the New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp po’ boy and fried oyster with garlic butter — and being the official meet-up spot during Jazz Fest. But the reuben is a sleeper hit for locals — slowly simmered corned beef is grilled before being stacked with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and house Thousand Island Dressing on rye bread.

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Corned Beef Special at Stein's Market and Deli

New York-style deli corned beef rocks the house at Stein’s, always served on Jewish rye, although a bagel is also an option. Can’t go wrong with the corned beef special with coleslaw and Russian dressing (get a little extra on the side). Then again the tuna melt is damn good, and there’s plenty that’s Italian too — order the Mumbler because it’s fun to say, and even more fun to eat: ciabatta piled with prosciutto, taleggio, and arugula drizzled with aged balsamic.

Open in Google Maps

2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Stein’s storefront on magazine street with large windows next to a door. — Stein’s

Also featured in:

Collard Green Melt at Turkey and the Wolf

Mason Hereford created national buzz when he opened his sly sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf a few years back, and with good reason. While the fried bologna is probably its best known — it’s layered with potato chips and hot mustard on toast — the vegetarian (but not vegan) collard green melt with pickled cherry pepper dressing, Swiss cheese, and coleslaw is a standout. For something more classic, the smoked ham with cranberry sauce, herb mayo, and aged cheddar is incredible every time.

Open in Google Maps

739 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Turkey and the Wolf’s collard green melt

Also featured in:

Everything at Cochon Butcher

For sheer porcine goodness, Cochon Butcher is unbeatable. This casual butcher and sandwich spot from James Beard Award winners Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski, gives chef de cuisine Forrest Jackson plenty of room to get down. The porchetta cheesesteak is divine, piled high with Italian seasoned pork and peppers under a blanket of melted provolone. The le pig mac deserves props, a porky send off of that other two patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese pickles onion on a sesame seed bun. And on the lighter side, the smoked turkey sandwich with avocado and sprouts on wheat is layered goodness.

930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Smoked turkey sandwich at Cochon Butcher

Also featured in:

Fried Chicken Sandwich at Sylvain

Sylvain is a swell bistro with a smart menu that includes fresh pastas and shrimp and grits with a smoked tomato brodo. But, its fried chicken sandwich is the bomb. Revel in the perfectly fried thigh with hot sauce on a just right brioche bun. Don’t even get started on the burger....

625 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Sylvain’s fried chicken sandwich

Also featured in:

Beet Reuben at The Green Room Kukhnya

The same great kitchen that used to be in the back of Siberia is on St. Bernard Avenue with a killer menu of salads, Eastern European blinis and outstanding sandwiches. Get the Green Room’s beet reuben for a real mouth surprise, roasted beets topped with braised cabbage, Swiss and Russian dressing on toasted buttered rye. There’s a version with corned beef too, equally good.

Open in Google Maps

1300 St Bernard Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

The Omni Rueben at Green Room

Also featured in:

New Orleans’s Favorite Late-Night Food Destinations

Cuban at Manolito

No surprise that one of the best Cubanos in town is at Manolito, Chris Hannah’s Cuban themed bar and cocktail lounge on Dumaine in the Quarter. A tribute to Havana’s El Floridita, the bar where Ernest Hemingway often sat, stewed and pickled, Manolito’s Cuban sandwich is a thing of beauty, sandwich bread stuffed with mojo pork, ham, swiss, house made pickles, mayo and mustard. Get any frozen drink and if the guava daiquiri is on the menu get two.

Open in Google Maps

508 Dumaine St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

Manolito’s Cuban

Also featured in:

Muffuletta at Verti Marte

It may have been invented at Central Grocery, but the muffuletta at Verti Marte is worth a try, offering the same convenience for those visiting the French Quarter with the added benefit of being available 24 hours a day. This version is piled high with thick-cut meat and served either hot or cold. For another excellent muffuletta in the Quarter, Napoleon House’s hot version is top-notch, and can be enjoyed in a lovely courtyard with a Pimm’s Cup.

1201 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Also featured in:

Schnitzel Sandwich at Bratz Y'all

This family and dog friendly Bywater biergarten is so welcoming, with its picnic tables outside and area for the kiddos to romp. Bratz Y’All! dishes terrific sausage sandwiches with names like the Berliner, a beauty of a grilled smoked pork link topped with fried onions and apple curry ketchup. The schnitzel sandwich, choice of fried chicken or pork cutlet, is slathered with crawfish remoulade slaw on a muffuletta bun, and is most excellent.

Open in Google Maps

617-B Piety St, New Orleans, LA 70117

Visit Website

Also featured in:

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Christmas in July at The Milk Bar

710 S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118

Charming, little, and owned by a friendly family of Australia natives, New Orleans’s version of Milk Bar — not the overhyped chain — is an Uptown favorite for sandwiches with entertaining names like the Christmas in July (roast turkey, brie, cranberry sauce, and spinach), the Psycho Chicken, and the Blue Heeler (roast beef, gravy, sauteed mushrooms, tomato, and blue cheese).

Open in Google Maps

710 S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118

Visit Website

The Psycho Chicken from the Milk Bar.

Rib Eye Sandwich at Ajun Cajun

8433 Oak St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Ajun Cajun’s garlicky rib eye sandwich, a festival favorite, is love at first bite. Garlicky grilled steak arrives piled high on a toasted Dung Phuong roll, soy marinated bites of carrot and cucumber adding crunch under a slathering of gooey melted mozzarella cheese. Doesn’t get any better. Ok, technically they call it a po’ boy, but it’s anything but traditional. Get extra napkins.

Open in Google Maps

8433 Oak St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Visit Website

Fried Green Tomato BLT at Luca Eats

7329 Cohn St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Luca Eats has been one of Carrollton’s best stops for breakfast and lunch sandwiches since opening in 2016. The unique shrimp and grits breakfast sandwich; steak and egg; and egg white press sandwiches are standout day starters, but then again the pressed lunch sandwiches can’t be beaten—our favorites are the fried green tomato BLT on multigrain and the turkey pesto, a dreamy stack of roasted turkey breast, pesto mayo, avocado, bacon, and smoked Gouda on sourdough.

Open in Google Maps

7329 Cohn St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Luca Eats (@lucaeatsnola)

Charlies Original The Moon at Francesca

515 Harrison Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124

Francesca’s signature sandwich, this is a riff on the muffuletta, but combines ham, roast beef, provolone, Swiss, and coleslaw on a muffuletta bun with Russian dressing as opposed to the normal components. The winning combo isn’t the only sandwich worth trying on the Lakeview deli and restaurant’s menu — the classic Club is just as it should be, and hits the spot.

Open in Google Maps

515 Harrison Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124

Visit Website

Grilled Cheese at St. James Cheese Company

5004 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70115

This Uptown paradise for cheese lovers does a stupendous job on the simple grilled cheese. Order that modest favorite at St. James Cheese Company, and a bewitching, oozing delight awaits. By all means add ham, bacon, or proscuitto to a melt of aged Colby grilled on rustic Bellegarde sourdough. The Il Mostro, with capicola, rosemary ham, rosa salami, provolone, and all the fixins’ is also a local favorite.

Open in Google Maps

5004 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Chicken Pesto Panini at Café Navarre

800 Navarre Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124

This Mid City gem for lunch, brunch, and happy hour serves a solid menu of excellent cold and hot sandwiches alike, and offers a lovely a plant-covered patio perfect for digging in. The Cuban, club, and chicken salad on wheatberry are all great, but if you’re craving a panini, this is one of the top destinations in town.

Open in Google Maps

800 Navarre Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Café Navarre (@cafenavarre_nola)

Le Parisien at La Boulangerie

4600 Magazine St #1518, New Orleans, LA 70115

If it’s a European train stop-style sandwich you’re after, look no further than Uptown bakery La Boulangerie, and its delectable menu of sandwiches served on crusty baguette or croissant. Le Parisien is a classic — butcher ham, salted butter, Comté cheese, and cornichons on baguette. The chicken salad sandwich and smoked salmon sandwich, as well as the turkey, all compete with the ham as the best on the menu.

4600 Magazine St #1518, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Le Parisien

The Fried Bologna Sandwich at Piece Of Meat

3301 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Meat Mama Leighann Smith is one badass butcher. At her and Daniel Jackson’s Piece of Meat, dinner service has taken center stage, but longtime fans can still experience the team’s excellent sandwiches during weekend brunch. At the top of the list is the fried bologna sandwich with iceberg lettuce, BBQ sauce, and fried onions on an onion bun; there’s also an heirloom tomato BLT that’s one of the best you’ll ever eat, and the jambon buerre on a Flour Moon bagel is a dream.

Open in Google Maps

3301 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leighann & Daniel (@pieceofmeatbutcher)

Cuban at Norma's Sweets Bakery

2925 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Norma’s is loved for so many things; its cakes and other sweets, the imported market goods, and its guava cream cheese king cake, but its Cuban is a standout and one of the best in New Orleans. Flaky, melty, and handheld, it’s also one of the least expensive sandwiches to satisfy in town.

Open in Google Maps

2925 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Norma’s Sweets Bakery Cuban

Chicken Salad Sandwich at Gracious Bakery

2854 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

Gracious Bakery’s ciabatta will make any sandwich great — seriously, put anything on there. But the local bakery with three locations also has an excellent chicken salad, set off by pickled onions and greens that make for a winning combo. The toasted Black Forest ham sandwich is also excellent, as is the hot, reuben-style turkey.

Open in Google Maps

2854 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Reuben at Liuzza's by the Track

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Liuzza’s by the Track is of course, known for its po’ boys — particularly the New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp po’ boy and fried oyster with garlic butter — and being the official meet-up spot during Jazz Fest. But the reuben is a sleeper hit for locals — slowly simmered corned beef is grilled before being stacked with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and house Thousand Island Dressing on rye bread.

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Corned Beef Special at Stein's Market and Deli

2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

New York-style deli corned beef rocks the house at Stein’s, always served on Jewish rye, although a bagel is also an option. Can’t go wrong with the corned beef special with coleslaw and Russian dressing (get a little extra on the side). Then again the tuna melt is damn good, and there’s plenty that’s Italian too — order the Mumbler because it’s fun to say, and even more fun to eat: ciabatta piled with prosciutto, taleggio, and arugula drizzled with aged balsamic.

Open in Google Maps

2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Stein’s storefront on magazine street with large windows next to a door. — Stein’s

Collard Green Melt at Turkey and the Wolf

739 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Mason Hereford created national buzz when he opened his sly sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf a few years back, and with good reason. While the fried bologna is probably its best known — it’s layered with potato chips and hot mustard on toast — the vegetarian (but not vegan) collard green melt with pickled cherry pepper dressing, Swiss cheese, and coleslaw is a standout. For something more classic, the smoked ham with cranberry sauce, herb mayo, and aged cheddar is incredible every time.

Open in Google Maps

739 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Turkey and the Wolf’s collard green melt

Everything at Cochon Butcher

930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130

For sheer porcine goodness, Cochon Butcher is unbeatable. This casual butcher and sandwich spot from James Beard Award winners Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski, gives chef de cuisine Forrest Jackson plenty of room to get down. The porchetta cheesesteak is divine, piled high with Italian seasoned pork and peppers under a blanket of melted provolone. The le pig mac deserves props, a porky send off of that other two patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese pickles onion on a sesame seed bun. And on the lighter side, the smoked turkey sandwich with avocado and sprouts on wheat is layered goodness.

930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Smoked turkey sandwich at Cochon Butcher

Fried Chicken Sandwich at Sylvain

625 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Sylvain is a swell bistro with a smart menu that includes fresh pastas and shrimp and grits with a smoked tomato brodo. But, its fried chicken sandwich is the bomb. Revel in the perfectly fried thigh with hot sauce on a just right brioche bun. Don’t even get started on the burger....

625 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Sylvain’s fried chicken sandwich

Related Maps

Beet Reuben at The Green Room Kukhnya

1300 St Bernard Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

The same great kitchen that used to be in the back of Siberia is on St. Bernard Avenue with a killer menu of salads, Eastern European blinis and outstanding sandwiches. Get the Green Room’s beet reuben for a real mouth surprise, roasted beets topped with braised cabbage, Swiss and Russian dressing on toasted buttered rye. There’s a version with corned beef too, equally good.

Open in Google Maps

1300 St Bernard Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

The Omni Rueben at Green Room

Cuban at Manolito

508 Dumaine St, New Orleans, LA 70116

No surprise that one of the best Cubanos in town is at Manolito, Chris Hannah’s Cuban themed bar and cocktail lounge on Dumaine in the Quarter. A tribute to Havana’s El Floridita, the bar where Ernest Hemingway often sat, stewed and pickled, Manolito’s Cuban sandwich is a thing of beauty, sandwich bread stuffed with mojo pork, ham, swiss, house made pickles, mayo and mustard. Get any frozen drink and if the guava daiquiri is on the menu get two.

Open in Google Maps

508 Dumaine St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

Manolito’s Cuban

Muffuletta at Verti Marte

1201 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116

It may have been invented at Central Grocery, but the muffuletta at Verti Marte is worth a try, offering the same convenience for those visiting the French Quarter with the added benefit of being available 24 hours a day. This version is piled high with thick-cut meat and served either hot or cold. For another excellent muffuletta in the Quarter, Napoleon House’s hot version is top-notch, and can be enjoyed in a lovely courtyard with a Pimm’s Cup.

1201 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116