poboy bread

They might not use this title, but just as there are connoisseurs of wines and gourmet foods, there are connoisseurs in Louisiana of ordinary French bread. Poor Boys (poboys), the local name for what other parts of the country call submarines, hoagies and grinders, vary from parish to parish in the types of French bread used. For example, a very dear relative often described the French bread in New Orleans as crusty on the outside and tender within. A chewier product seemed to be the custom for a lot of folks in Lafayette - in south central Louisiana. Back in the day, one could trust there would be a plate or basket of thick slices of good, fresh chewy bread at nearly any restaurant in town.

For some time during the past couple of years, I prepared meals for my father. He was content with just about anything, and he never complained about the French bread that came with the gumbo, or the poboy bread that held the fried oysters. But one day, I spied a baguette - one of those long, skinny French loaves - from a local bakery. It was still warm. I nabbed it and brought it home. There was a moment - there may have been tears. The bread was so good, so wholesome, so fragrant, so crusty yet tender, it seemed to bring together the past, the present, and hope for the future, right at our little round table.