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The Underdog at Francolini’s.
Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

Where to Eat New Orleans’s Greatest Sandwiches

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

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The Underdog at Francolini’s.
| Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

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. 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

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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).

The Psycho Chicken from the Milk Bar.
The Milk Bar

Fried Green Tomato BLT at Luca Eats

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Luca Eats has been one of Carrollton’s best stops for breakfast and lunch sandwiches since 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.

Charlies Original The Moon at Francesca

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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.

The Larry Bird at Good Bird

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A whole shop, centered around rotisserie chicken? Yes, please. Good Bird nails satisfying sandwiches, the kind to seek when you’re particularly hungry (but then again, the salads are equally hearty without over-filling). The Larry Bird is a prime example of this, combining rotisserie chicken, bacon, and avocado in a dreamy sauce and topping it all off with lettuce and tomato. The sandwiches, which include excellent vegetarian and vegan options, come with a choice of bread, but they’re best on the chewy ciabatta.

Grilled Cheese at St. James Cheese Company

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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.

Le Parisien at La Boulangerie

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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.

Le Parisien
La Boulangerie/Facebook

Tuna Salad Sandwich at Laurel Street Bakery

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There really aren’t that many places to get a classic tuna salad sandwich in town, save for Welty’s and Stein’s. Laurel Street Bakery’s tuna salad scratches that homemade itch, a version just like mom made. The bakery, known for its bagels, adds sliced tomato, shaved red onion, and hard-boiled egg to a sandwich that comes on sourdough, multigrain, an egg and onion roll, or a croissant. The chicken salad is another popular option, but really all the sandwiches are simple goodness, satisfying and familiar in the face of so many places trying to do something bold and different.

The Underdog at Francolini's

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Ask the staff at awesome new Italian deli, Francolini’s, what their favorite sandwich is and they’ll likely mention the Underdog, named for its unexpected greatness. Owner Tara Francolini says most people have the wrong impression of mortadella, but her shop cuts it super thin and adds provolone, an “unctuous” salsa verde, and a pickle mix of garlic, broccoli rabe stems, and mustard seed on focaccia. Standout sandwiches abound at Francolini’s, from the classic Italian (prosciutto, salami, mortadella, hot capicola, provolone, pepperoncini, red onion, shredded lettuce, and house vinaigrette on a sub roll) to the Gandolfini (hot soppressata, fresh mozzarella, spicy olive salad, and arugula with a Calabrian chili vinaigrette) to the Freddie Freeman (grilled chicken, pesto, fontina, roasted red peppers, and arugula in lemon dijon vinaigrette). The shop might just be the most exciting sandwich development to hit New Orleans since the po’ boy.

The Underdog.
Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

Chicken Cheesesteak at Yinzer’s Amazing Cheesesteaks

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Yinzer’s Amazing Cheesesteaks, once a hit pop-up, now serves perhaps the best cheesesteaks in town out of a modest, lively storefront on Delachaise Street. The duo of self-proclaimed cheesesteak enthusiasts serves steak, chicken, or veggie cheesesteaks, with a wide range of topping and cheese choices, as well as a buffalo chicken version, cheesesteak salads, and perfect German soft pretzels. Our go-to is the chicken cheesesteak, but for most the original reigns supreme.

Cuban at Norma's Sweets Bakery

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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.

Norma’s Sweets Bakery Cuban
Norma’s Sweets Bakery/Facebook

Chargrilled Pork Banh Mi at Banh Mi Boys

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The banh mi at Banh Mi Boys are the stuff of legend — so much so that founder Peter Nguyen was approached to franchise his popular Metairie-born restaurant, the first of which opened on Magazine Street a few years back. It’s hard to pinpoint the favorite here, but among them are the chargrilled pork, bang bang shrimp, grilled shrimp, and bulgogi — they’re all wildly flavorful, stuffed to the brim with meat, vegetables, herbs, and sauce. For the ultimate in porcine greatness, try the BMB combo, filled with headcheese, two types of Vietnamese ham, pork belly, pork meatball, and pork pate.

Chicken Salad Sandwich at Gracious Bakery

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Gracious Bakery’s ciabatta will make any sandwich great — seriously, put anything on there. But the local bakery 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 great, as is the hot, Reuben-style turkey.

Reuben at Liuzza's by the Track

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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.

Corned Beef Special at Stein's Market and Deli

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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.

Stein’s storefront on magazine street with large windows next to a door.
Stein’s
Brasted/Eater NOLA

Collard Green Melt at Turkey and the Wolf

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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.

Turkey and the Wolf’s collard green melt
Turkey and the Wolf/Facebook

Everything at Cochon Butcher

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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.

Smoked turkey sandwich at Cochon Butcher
Cochon Butcher/Facebook

Beet Reuben at The Green Room Kukhnya

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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.

The Omni Rueben at Green Room
Green Room Nola/Facebook

Muffuletta at Verti Marte

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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 (a Central Grocery muff can still be obtained at Sidney’s Wine Store, next to the still under-repair Central Grocery). 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.

Brasted/Eater NOLA

Schnitzel Sandwich at Bratz Y'all

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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.

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).

The Psycho Chicken from the Milk Bar.
The Milk Bar

Fried Green Tomato BLT at Luca Eats

Luca Eats has been one of Carrollton’s best stops for breakfast and lunch sandwiches since 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.

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.

The Larry Bird at Good Bird

A whole shop, centered around rotisserie chicken? Yes, please. Good Bird nails satisfying sandwiches, the kind to seek when you’re particularly hungry (but then again, the salads are equally hearty without over-filling). The Larry Bird is a prime example of this, combining rotisserie chicken, bacon, and avocado in a dreamy sauce and topping it all off with lettuce and tomato. The sandwiches, which include excellent vegetarian and vegan options, come with a choice of bread, but they’re best on the chewy ciabatta.

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.

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.

Le Parisien
La Boulangerie/Facebook

Tuna Salad Sandwich at Laurel Street Bakery

There really aren’t that many places to get a classic tuna salad sandwich in town, save for Welty’s and Stein’s. Laurel Street Bakery’s tuna salad scratches that homemade itch, a version just like mom made. The bakery, known for its bagels, adds sliced tomato, shaved red onion, and hard-boiled egg to a sandwich that comes on sourdough, multigrain, an egg and onion roll, or a croissant. The chicken salad is another popular option, but really all the sandwiches are simple goodness, satisfying and familiar in the face of so many places trying to do something bold and different.

The Underdog at Francolini's

Ask the staff at awesome new Italian deli, Francolini’s, what their favorite sandwich is and they’ll likely mention the Underdog, named for its unexpected greatness. Owner Tara Francolini says most people have the wrong impression of mortadella, but her shop cuts it super thin and adds provolone, an “unctuous” salsa verde, and a pickle mix of garlic, broccoli rabe stems, and mustard seed on focaccia. Standout sandwiches abound at Francolini’s, from the classic Italian (prosciutto, salami, mortadella, hot capicola, provolone, pepperoncini, red onion, shredded lettuce, and house vinaigrette on a sub roll) to the Gandolfini (hot soppressata, fresh mozzarella, spicy olive salad, and arugula with a Calabrian chili vinaigrette) to the Freddie Freeman (grilled chicken, pesto, fontina, roasted red peppers, and arugula in lemon dijon vinaigrette). The shop might just be the most exciting sandwich development to hit New Orleans since the po’ boy.

The Underdog.
Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

Chicken Cheesesteak at Yinzer’s Amazing Cheesesteaks

Yinzer’s Amazing Cheesesteaks, once a hit pop-up, now serves perhaps the best cheesesteaks in town out of a modest, lively storefront on Delachaise Street. The duo of self-proclaimed cheesesteak enthusiasts serves steak, chicken, or veggie cheesesteaks, with a wide range of topping and cheese choices, as well as a buffalo chicken version, cheesesteak salads, and perfect German soft pretzels. Our go-to is the chicken cheesesteak, but for most the original reigns supreme.

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.

Norma’s Sweets Bakery Cuban
Norma’s Sweets Bakery/Facebook

Chargrilled Pork Banh Mi at Banh Mi Boys

The banh mi at Banh Mi Boys are the stuff of legend — so much so that founder Peter Nguyen was approached to franchise his popular Metairie-born restaurant, the first of which opened on Magazine Street a few years back. It’s hard to pinpoint the favorite here, but among them are the chargrilled pork, bang bang shrimp, grilled shrimp, and bulgogi — they’re all wildly flavorful, stuffed to the brim with meat, vegetables, herbs, and sauce. For the ultimate in porcine greatness, try the BMB combo, filled with headcheese, two types of Vietnamese ham, pork belly, pork meatball, and pork pate.

Chicken Salad Sandwich at Gracious Bakery

Gracious Bakery’s ciabatta will make any sandwich great — seriously, put anything on there. But the local bakery 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 great, as is the hot, Reuben-style turkey.

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.

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.

Stein’s storefront on magazine street with large windows next to a door.
Stein’s
Brasted/Eater NOLA

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.

Turkey and the Wolf’s collard green melt
Turkey and the Wolf/Facebook

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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.

Smoked turkey sandwich at Cochon Butcher
Cochon Butcher/Facebook

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.

The Omni Rueben at Green Room
Green Room Nola/Facebook

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 (a Central Grocery muff can still be obtained at Sidney’s Wine Store, next to the still under-repair Central Grocery). 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.

Brasted/Eater NOLA

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.

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