Antone’s Import Co. Original

Once upon a time all Antones were family owned, and life was good. Smoked turkey, piggy salad, and all sorts of imported goodies like olives, pistachios, cheeses etc were to be had, and I your humble reviewer was a happy lad. Fast forward a few years and some giant faceless corporation decided to buy most of their locations, I’ve heard there are three original locations still around, but I only know of this one. The corporate Antones doesn’t make sandwiches in the shop, they’re the same ones hard as a rock that you find in Krogers deli or the odd Exxon station, replete with stale hard bread, maybe a slice of two or meat, and maybe a teaspoon of chow chow if you’re really lucky, hardly any value for your money which is why a lot of people don’t like Antones (or so they think). Let me put this simply, best sandwich in Houston, honestly I could likely live on their smoked turkey sandwiches (again not offered at the corporate locations with their miniscule menu and high prices). Skip those, make a trip out to Rice Village, and have it the way it was supposed to be done. These people are friendly there are no soup nazi’s, you walk in, and pick up a sandwich, hardly rocket science… Try the smoked turkey and thank me later, also pick up some sweet pickles they are insanely tasty, and I don’t much care for sweet pickles. Before you knock them, skip the lousy corporate locations make a b-​line here, and you too taste how things used to be done, right. Softer bread, home made mayo, smoked provolone, smoked turkey, and sweet pickles, not complicated but they get it right. Thank heavens they didn’t sell off all their locations I’d be heart broken, boycott corporate Antones they pale by comparison.

Some of the most unfriendly sandwich people in all of Houston, seriously. If you don’t know how the shop works, forget asking them. If you want a sandwich, forget it, just pray they have what you want in their cooler. Asking anyone anything here would get a glare as if you insulted their mother, their country, and kicked their dog.
No sandwich is worth this.

550 calories, ½ of them fat and about 1400 mgs of sodium?! I discovered this about the tuna po boy today, which I already had amibivalent feelings about. Today’s discovery just propelled that «healthy» option into the trash can.
A month or so ago, my dearest and I decided to stop at this Antone’s for some picnic fixins since it was conveniently located on our errand run. We got a large greek salad, pickled jalepenos stuffed with pimiento cheese, a tuna po boy, a falafel po boy, some cookies, and probably a brownie. It was all okay, but not outstanding or particularly special.
I realize Antone’s holds a lot of nostalgia for many Houstonians, but there are so many better options out there (Whole Foods, Central Market, Phoenicia Specialty Foods) now.

This is a regular stop for me, not only because it is within walking distance of my house, but because the sandwiches are so consistently and classically good.
I usually go for the poboys, but also often get the falafel wrap. The falafel isn’t the greatest I’ve ever had, but it’s tasty and Antone’s is the only place I know of in my neighborhood that serves anything like it. In NYC, these falafel sandwiches are simply referred to as «falafels» and you can buy them from street carts all over town. I miss that sometimes, and this helps to ease my pain.
This, the original location, I believe, really beats the pants off any of the franchised chain locations around town. I mean, either you know how to make a proper sandwich, or you don’t. It’s like understanding jazz. If you don’t get it, you’re just wasting everybody’s time. The original Antone’s gets it right.
The store hasn’t changed much over the years and still has an old-​fashioned feel about it. It makes me feel a little better that Alfred’s, the other legendary Rice Village deli that once graced Rice Boulevard, did not survive my childhood.

I love chow chow!!! CHOW CHOW!!! It’s this yummy sweet relish. I have no idea what it’s made of really and I don’t care! It’s D*E*L*I*C*I*O*U*S (think Fergie’s song in the background). When I go to Antone’s (which is not often enough because there isn’t one in SL!), I get the turkey po-​boy with extra extra chow chow! They have little to go cups of the stuff to. They must put some type of addictive drug in it to make you crave it.
Antone’s is so cute and old fashioned, it hasn’t changed in decades. The ladies make the po-​boys in the middle of the room and you can watch them from all sides. It’s an interesting kitchen/​deli counter set up. There are some tables inside but many people take their orders to go. The food travels well and is filling. It’s the perfect quick lunch stop!

It was nearly 3 o’clock when I realized I hadn’t had a bite to eat all day. Since I was in the area doing Unilocal Eats errands, I pulled into Antone’s for a quick sammy.
Quick sammy indeed. I walked in, grabbed a Diet Coke from the cooler, walked over to the pre-​made sandwiches and snagged a tuna po-​boy, paid and was out the door.
This tuna was rockin’: pickles, spiced up tuna with a cajun kick, and no overload of mayo. It had a slice a cheese, which threw me off (fish and cheese freak me out), but I was so hungry, I ate it any way. And you know what? It wasn’t bad at all.
I want to stop by another time and take look at their cheeses, hummus, and creative wraps. Thanks for feeding my belly, Antone’s.

Beware — this is a review of the genuine «Original» Antone’s Imports, home of the BEST little po-​boy sandwich in Texas! NOT to be confused with the evil, faux «Antone’s Market» corporate spin-​offs that lurk around Houston, confusing and misleading the public (who rely on the high quality goodness of the «Original»).
I spent many a lunch in high school at the Antone’s shop in my neighborhood, after taking a drive off-​campus in my best friend’s orange Saab 99. It sure beat the nastiness that was served in our cafeteria. Antone’s po-​boys are still reasonably priced in toothsome French bread with true deli meats cut in-​store. You can have the red or green wrap originals (with chou-​chou relish — yum) or go exotic with ‘smoked turkey’ and ‘piggy’ (a.k.a. ham) po-​boys. Delicious!
Antone’s Imports stocks deli meats and cheeses along with a lot of Mediterranean stuff (baklava and stuffed grape leaves). Even though I don’t live in Houston now, I still have my Antone’s «Po-​Boy Club» card. And I DO make a habit of stopping by when I visit. 5 star goodness. Major fu interior. Good prices. Can’t be beat.

Antone’s was one of my favorite Houston hangouts when I lived here over 20 years ago. So when I moved back, and AT&T took 3 weeks to install DSL, I was here frequently for free wi-​fi and sandwiches. The sandwiches and salads are just as good as they were back then. I like the felafel wrap for a change of pace, though the super with its awesome chow chow relish and the turkey are my top choices.

The tabouleh was pretty good & pretty cheap [$ 6 for a quart] I have high standards for tabouleh as a Middle Easterner.
The falafel wrap I had was OK, kind of dry, but decent. To be honest I was so smitten by the tabouleh that the sandwich was secondary.
I also love that they have wireless internet, an incredible selection of olives & are a full fledged specialty foods market. A definite choice if you’re in the area & want something healthy.