Original Po Boys

I went over last week hoping to enjoy a catfish po boy only to find that the place is closed. There are dumpsters in the parking lot and looks like it is being torn apart inside. I would say they are closed permanently!

I am not a foodie nor do I act like one. My belly knows what it likes. It likes the shrimp po boy. Man it was delicious. The shrimp was perfectly cooked, the fixins were in harmony. I wish I didn’t live so far away.

This review makes me wish there were ½ stars to give, because Original Po Boys is better than 3 stars, but not quite 4 stars.
Positives: The food was very good. My fiancée and I split the large platter which included 5 prawns (very tasty creole seasoning and not overly fried or battered), 5 fried oysters (same tasty creole seasoning and not overly fried or battered), a good size piece of fish, and choice of side. I could have sworn I asked for the mac and cheese, but steak fries were on the plate when it came to the table. The owner apologized for the mistake and brought out a piping hot cup of ooey gooey cheesy goodness, which he said they are known for. We have been looking for other places that offer down-​home mac and cheese that matches S. D’s offering, and we finally found it! Creamy, cheesy, light bread crumb topping, with a hint of garlic, not the fancy shmancy truffle oil 3 cheese that you can’t pronounce that other places do. We also had a pint of the seafood gumbo, which was very good, and filled with sausage, shrimp, oysters, and a nice kick to it which didn’t force me to add hot sauce.
Negatives: Super small parking lot, not in the safest location. Prices were a little higher than what I expected for what seemed like a remodeled burger king building and styrofoam plates and plastic utensils.
We were pretty much the only patrons other than one other couple, but I do hope the place can survive. I would put the food they serve up against anybody’s.

Best shrimp po boy in the area. And by area I mean the Northern Sacramento Valley.
I recommend ordering it «fully dressed» (lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, & ketchup).
This is the real deal folks. My father-​in-​law, which grew up in New Orleans, was almost brought to tears after our first visit saying it reminded him if his childhood. From the freshly baked French bread to the imported Gulf shrimp, you won’t find a better po boy this side of the Mississippi.
Recently heard this placed has CLOSED. Damn shame.

My coworker and I ran a quick errand at lunch and wanted a quick bit to eat before heading back to the office. We stumbled on this place and thought we would give it a try. I had the 8 inch Shrimp PoBoy and it was very delicious! The seasoned batter on the shrimp is tasty and the shrimp tasted very fresh. We also ordered red beans and rice which was great.
The downside is the amount of time to get our order. We needed to get back to the office and waiting for 30 minutes for a sandwich just doesn’t work for us. I would love to go back and try other items on their menu. If you have a time constraint, call ahead.

A friend of mine and I came in this afternoon. This is my second time visiting this establishment, and I feel that it is still a work in progress.
The people are very friendly, but the service is slow. I wasn’t in a hurry so I don’t mind waiting for good food.
I had the ½ shrimp and catfish po boy 8 inch sandwich. The shrimp and catfish were lightly breaded and well seasoned. I felt that the mayo wasn’t overwhelming the sandwich. The tomatoes and lettuce were good too.
My friend and I shared cornbread and red beans and rice. The cornbread was a little too dry for my taste. The red beans and rice were too bland as well.
I tasted my friends 16oz shrimp étouffée and it was REALLY good! It was seasoned well and the bowl had several plump shrimp in it. When I come back I will definitely order this dish.

The Ferdi is longer on the menu. That is a GIANT Disappointment.
The catfish is still great and the service is much better, unless you order without Mayo, which gets you a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of being correct.

Tried this place out for the first time the other day and I wasn’t that impressed. I didn’t try their Po Boys or specialty items; I went straight for the Cajun wings, fries and a soda.
The wings were good but way too salty for my taste buds. The fries were burnt, not good! The soda was flat as well. Overall, I wasn’t impressed with what I ordered.
The restaurant was really clean. Staff was very helpful and friendly. I had to ask for a straw and napkins since they weren’t stalked. I might come back to try their sandwiches, but reading other reviews, that may not be a good idea!

Very disappointed! I had been excited to check this place out and had heard from some friends that the food was good. Their website said they closed at 10pm but I called to double check since it is Sunday and was told they close at 5pm. We go at 4:30 planning to order several things to take home and sample and were told that they had already shut down and cleaned their fryer for the day! They said I could order other items or wait 10−20mins for oil to get hot again. I decided to wait and when I started to order they told me that they were out of shrimp, chicken, jambalaya and cornbread! They continued to rattle off items they were out of but I quit listening and left since they were out of at least 3 items I came to try.
Sadly was unable to try the food :(

Broadway, Alhambra, and Y Street. It’s on all 3 streets.
Parking on the street or behind the building.
Indoor and outdoor seating.
Run by the nicest people. I just didn’t like the food.
So Original PoBoys– you’re probably going to try a poboy, yes? They (the staff) say it’s just like how it’s done in New Orleans. I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been. I tried the 8-​inch catfish and I didn’t even want to eat it. I picked it apart. I didn’t even want a component of it. Even the Honey Cornbread– It tasted like a dry cornmeal square. They offer butter with it. Take it.
Breakfast is served all day. I haven’t had that but maybe that’s where it’s at. Or anything else I haven’t tried. I wanted to have better things to say. They’re so nice. They’re so nice that I had myself believing that I had to come back and try something else. It couldn’t be this bad. I came back to try the crawfish. It came with a boiled half of a potato and corn on the cob. It was. okay. At first, I thought nah. and maybe it’s my want to like them that had me leaning towards it’s getting better as I eat it. I guess the real test is. Would I get it again? Probably not.
I also tried a side of Jambalaya. it was brown rice with two small shrimp. I hope from my description you’ll agree– it doesn’t sound much like Jambalaya. But, what do I know?
I liked the people. I just didn’t like the food.

Just went here with a friend who also had never been. Sometimes you’re in the mood for grease, sometimes you’re not, and sometimes you want something fried but light… this was the place to go for tonight’s light/​fried cravings. We’re way impressed.
The sandwiches are huge – I had catfish (which are the catfish nuggets, which, in my opinion, have that surface-​area-​to-​volume-​fried ratio edge on the fillet) and my friend had the shrimp. I’ve read people say they take longer – they take a minute because they’re FRESH. I will wait a minute over having heat-​lamp food any day! They both were great and I will definitely be back!
Also – there is no outdoor seating in Oak Park restaurants. NOWHERE BUT HERE. There are NO people constantly going out of their way to provide great service and make you feel like they actually want you there. THIS is the type of business that will bring people back to the neighborhood, and the exact way we should be using our money – to support local, hard working business owners!

I love a new business in Oak Park. But sadly, 2 of my three stars are for that simple fact alone.
The parking lot is so difficult to park in. I really recommend heading for a neighborhood street spot. It’ll save you much aggravation.
The wait staff is fine, but not too friendly.
The place was very packed when I was there — lunch time on a Sunday. To the point where I thought they could really probably use more tables. There is an outdoor seating area, but it was too cold to use when I went. A big plus though.
The po boys are HUGE and pretty mediocre. When I went, their salad bar was basically empty, so I don’t know how it is usually (or if empty is the usual). The cereal bar looked like fun. And the dessert rack was filled with good looking things.
All in all, I was pretty disappointed in their po boys which for me were big, under-​flavored and overpriced. However, I love the fact that they are making use of that corner of Broadway. I love the fact that they had a big, diverse, neighborly crowd when I went. And I love the fact that they are representing New Orleans. I think I will give them a second shot and get a shrimp or a catfish po boy (both have been recommended) or then again maybe I’ll just go there for breakfast and have all the fruit loops I want with a couple of beignets. Mmmm.

Still figuring out the cash register when I stopped by — so ordering was quite painful. I ordered a poboy with half shrimp and half catfish. The catfish seemed perfectly cooked, but the shrimp seemed a little under-​done, so stick to one or the other. I’ll definitely be trying it again — hope the kinks are worked out soon! This is a tough spot on Broadway, so show it some Unilocal love!

I really want to like this place. I really do. I think the staff at the restaurant are friendly.
However, now that they’ve been open for a bit, I feel like there should’ve been some improvements.
The first time we went was the monday after the store had just opened the previous weekend. I expected long lines, and a little disorganization. I mean hey, it’s a new store, you can’t count that against them. However, the second time, a few weeks later, the place seemed just as disorganized as the first weekend. Certain things on the menu list were just not available or out because it was not prepared in time, even though it was right around the beginning of lunch time hustle. Side dishes that came with packaged meals were forgotten. Forgetting to give customers soda lids. Sometimes it just seems chaotic in the back. Given all these things, they do fix things as best as they can and compensate when necessary. But they definitely could be more organized in the back, given so many staff working at any given time.
Now for the food, I’d say for the most part the food was pretty good. The PoBoy sandwiches are definitely a little more bready than I anticipated. It’s not bad, my understanding is that they make the bread themselves to try and capture that New Orleans taste. I give them an A for effort, but I do think the bread to fill ratio is a little off because the bread is so airy.
I’ve also had the potatoes — I’d say they were pretty salty. The oysters we had were pretty salty, too. Gumbo was pretty good, my friend tried it once and had crab, and lots of other fillings. I ended up with lots of sausage. I guess it just depends on what part of the Gumbo pot you get your scoops from.
We also sampled the crawfish. After conversing with some customers and sharing some with them, we decided that these were local variaty crawdads based on the claws. If we want local variety, there are, in my opinion, cheaper and better places to grab them.
We also made friends with a New Orleans native who happend to have moved here because of family, and had wanted to try this place to see if she could get some of home out here. She seemed to agree on the bread and crawdads.
I think this place has potential. Props for opening up the store where it’s located, and I hope they get their organizational act together, and make the place more efficient.

Wow. Really? I went here on a Tuesday evening and was a little thrown off because there was a number of kids hanging around and they even went into the back kitchen area but I still gave it a try…
Pros: Had the Tilapia, chips and small Gumbo. All 3 was fantastic to my surprise and offered a few good ideas for the next time I make Gumbo.
Cons: Not sure if this place is owned by people of color but either way KEEP it professional by having the sitter/​Grandma or Salvation Army do the sitting.
Will be going back…

The décor pays homage to New Orleans and while I never once forgot I was in Oak Park my delicious shrimp poboy did take me back to a fabulous drunken vacation. The shrimp was succulent and merely dusted in cornmeal, with a hint of heat, creamy mayo, crunchy pickle and crusty French bread, an 8 inch will set you back around 8 bucks, I’m fat and I was stuffed! For a extra $ 2 make it a combo, an obscene amount of average fries (would love to see more soulful sides) and a fountain drink (would have loved some home brewed sweet tea). A friend ordered the jambalaya suggesting it was the best ever «dry and spicy as it should be» and my kids enjoyed a side of corn bread.
To the all too eager Unilocalers with their bum rushed reviews, give this joint a little time to get into their groove!

Where do I start. I really wanted to like this place. I love cajun cooking and was really excited to hear about this place opening. But unfortunately this place has some serious issues.
We waited 45 minutes for our food. We ordered an Oyster Poboy, shrimp etoufee, boudain sausage, combo. Only 35 minutes into our order, I hear people calling out to have a oyster poboy done and a shrimp etoufee. It was total confusion amongst the staff, it looked like nobody knew what they were supposed to do. The owner/​manager walked around, chatting with people, did his own part in cooking and looked oblivious to the huge crowd of people without food. It felt as if they had a «We’ll get to your order when we get to it» kind of attitude. And this is supposed to be «Fast» food? The wait was probably twice as long as I would’ve waited in a fine dining restaurant.
Now, to the food. The Oyster poboy sandwich actually tasted ok. BUT it had remnants of shells that we had to remove almost every other bite. The Shrimp etoufee tasted ok as well. But it was lukewarm. You’d think spending nearly an hour preparing an order, they’d at least get us hot food. But no, our food was lukewarm at best.
The fries were all soft, soggy and lukewarm. The boudain sausage was nearly all rice under the casing. Boudain sausages are supposed to be a mix of meat and rice, but it was nearly all rice, was squashed with the filling all spilled out and flattened when we got it, and was not hot at all.
I’m sorry but this place just really needs to get its act together. At least first start by APOLOGIZING for taking nearly an hour to get its food out!
However, as an optimistic person, I’d like to end on a hopeful note. The taste is decent, but they really got to get the organization under control, it is absolutely a disaster right now. Also, they need to refine some of their items, such as no SHELLS in the oysters, sausages with MEAT in it, and having the food actually hot when it comes out, and getting it out within 10 minutes of the order!

This place just opened around the corner so i thought i would give it a shot. The place had maybe 10 – 15 people at most so i thought they must be doing something right, well i was wrong. Total Confusion amongst the staff. One guy yelling at everyone and no food really moving out of the kitchen. I witnessed two different people ask for the manager yet he never appeared (probably cowering in the back)
So lets get to the food. I ordered the 4 piece shrimp and chips thinking for 8 bux they must be BIG OL SHRIMPS! No they were 4 tiny little shrimps with ½ an order of fries. the food was nothing special and for 8 bux a total waste of money. I don’t have much hope for this place lasting more than a few months. The prices are Way Too High for this area in my opinion.

Part One…
Decided to try this place out for lunch with some coworkers. It was literally the fifth day since the place opened. Crawford and Company were in full force. It was Tuesday morning, 11am, and the place was empty… empty!!! This was a good thing as I had anticipated a long line and wait. Chelsea, the daughter, was manning the register. She is young and very helpful in describing items on the menu or answering general questions. I say this because most of the staff is new and uninformed. On this visit, there had to be about ten people on staff. That made the kitchen area crowded and appear unorganized. Staffing issues should be resolved soon. You can’t expect much being the fifth day open.
The food was not like Elizabeth R’s review. Reviews like hers upset me and make it unfair to businesses that are just opening. She’s entitled to her opinions, but lighten up girl! Mr. Crawford’s Legacy is just beginning and he’s making great strides to open up in this location. If you would remember, it was once a bank with 3-​inch bulletproof glass, then it was a KFC with 3-​inch bulletproof glass. Let’s just hope that Crawford & Co. are here to stay. He’s making a positive impact on the Oak Park Community.
So far, I have tried the Shrimp PoBoy, Fried Oysters and Chips; and Gumbo. Please see my photos here on Unilocal.
Here are my findings on Day 5 of OP:
Chips:
Steak Cut French Fries… who would complain?! Fried up crisp.
Shrimp Poboy:
Bread was fresh and delish. Shrimp was fried with a light cornmeal batter. The shrimp to bread ratio was in favor of the bread. I personally would like a little more shrimp, but who would’nt? The slaw was good and added that extra «moistness» to the PoBoy to bring it all together. I would still order this again, even if the ratio stays the same.
12pc Oysters and Chips:
I love oysters! JJ’s F&C, Sandra Dee’s…and now here at OP! OP serves small oysters. They are crispy with a light cornmeal batter. Some of the pieces may have been too small though, as the oyster was over powered in taste by the salty cornmeal. I would hope Crawford & Co. would give you extra to make up for the supersmall oysters. Either way I love em and will order them again.
Gumbo Special:
This item was not on the menu board at the time, but a Crawford family member suggested I try it… so I did. Lots of crab legs. Claw and all, I think there were four. Wonderful flavor was definitely because of the visible sausage, crab, chicken gizzards, chicken hearts and some other ground meat. It was served with a scoop of white rice. I’m not a fan of organs, but I know my mother would love it. I thought of her while I was eating this because I knew she would enjoy the gizzards and hearts. I’ll be sure to get some for her once she is discharged from the ICU and can eat again.
I will add to this review in a few months. I want Crawford & Co. to know that am I rooting for them to have a wonderful and successful business. If you read this, the only suggestion I would make is to not skimp on your condiments in the dining room. It may just be me, but I do not want to see Smart and Final brand condiments. Switch from togo packets to bulk with a pump. While I was dining, I must have used ten packets of ketchup myself.
One super special shout goes out to the employee who saw my coworker had only ordered a PoBoy. She asked him if he would like a complimentary order of fries. I assumed it was because you can’t have a PoBoy without fries, now can you?

PoBoys. schmo boys!!!
**Basically it is poor quality food and confused staff but here is the details**
We ordered their special, roast beef combo, and cheese steak po boy. The woman at the counter seemed over whelmed and confused.
After waiting 15 minutes: we received a ½ oyster and ½ shrimp sandwhich (instead of roast beef) and a cheese steak sandwhich.
We explained that we ordered the special roast beef po boy and they advised us to keep their mistake (which was the oyster and shrimp) and they will make us a roast beef.
waited another 15 minutes. and we received the roast beef which was more like pulled pork, with a really bad texture kind of mushy. As for the cheese steak sandwhich it was very salty.
Then they bring us ANOTHER cheese steak because they thought we didnt get it.
I tried their oyster and shrimp poboy and it was just plain awful… just frozen from the bag deep fried terrible fish.