Olde Tyme Grocery
218 West Saint Mary Boulevard
Lafayette, Louisiana 70506
October 12, 2012
“The Olde Tyme Grocery makes the best oyster Po’boy I’ve had outside New Orleans.” No further discussion is necessary for today's lunch destination. My friend Rubia Solis, raised in the Upper 9th Ward and now settled in Lafayette thanks to Katrina, has the credentials to judge in this matter. "Right down the street in the 7th at Touro and St. Claude was Martins, credited with 'inventing' the poboy in 1929 and still standing until I was in my early 20's. Plenty of po'boy memories from there," she adds.
A shiny deli case, racks of snacks, tall coolers filled with drinks, and an order counter take up most of the space just inside the Old Tyme Grocery's front door. Some serious food prepping is going on behind the deli counter.
The unassuming little former neighborhood grocery store is a hangout for University of Louisiana Lafayette students and well known to local lovers of Po’boys. Today it’s doing a brisk take out business, a parade of shrimp and crawfish Po’Boys in the lead.
If you’re too hungry to take your food anywhere, and that would be my dining companion and me, a cozy little dining room with wooden tables and chairs, funky posters, and walls lined with bric-a-brac is in an adjoining room. The three women at the table behind us are talking about wedding plans, the two guys on the other side of the room are talking football scores.
We are in luck. Today is Friday, the only day the grocery serves fried catfish Po’boys. The fried oyster Po’boy, dressed with lettuce, tomato and Mayo, and added octane thanks to Louisiana Crystal Hot Sauce, is scrumptious as advertised. The fried catfish Po’boy steals the show. The thick, crisp, crusty brown coating that blankets generous-sized pieces of catfish is beautifully seasoned and has a spicy kick.
The Festival Acadiens et Creole, two days of music and dancing from 11 AM to 7 PM, begins in nearby Girard Park tomorrow. It is essential to carbo-load. We’re getting a head start.
Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.
Absolutely love both of these places!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Think I am drooling thinking about an oyster poboy and one of Jose's pressed Cuban sandwiches.
Posted by: May Louise White | November 10, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Hey thanks for the shout out!
Posted by: Rubia Solis | November 10, 2012 at 11:12 AM