ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
New Orleans is known for its food - gumbos, jambalayas and po'boys. That's short for poor boys, of course. It's a no-frill sandwich borne out of working-class neighborhood restaurants more than a century ago. One chef gives the po'boy a Thanksgiving spin. Matt Bloom from member station WWNO took a bite.
MATT BLOOM, BYLINE: The smell of stuffing, turkey and gravy fills the air of Justin Kennedy's bustling kitchen.
JUSTIN KENNEDY: It ain't nothing fancy. Just good home cooking. But people love it.
BLOOM: The restaurant's chef is overseeing an assembly line of cooks who stack and drizzle ingredients onto po'boys. Kennedy says each sandwich starts the same.
KENNEDY: Get you a nice toasty piece of New Orleans French bread. Toast that up. And as you can see, she puts the stuffing on. Three healthy scoops.
BLOOM: Kennedy has a classic chef look - white apron, round paper hat with the name of his restaurant, Parkway Tavern, on it. He says after the stuffing, it's time for the turkey. White meat only.
KENNEDY: It's hard to get those consistent slices with the dark, and I like consistency. So we take the dark, roll it into the dressing, so you're getting all that flavor.
BLOOM: The feast of a sandwich gets finished off with a healthy spoon of gravy and cranberry sauce before it's wrapped up. Po'boys are usually topped with shrimp or fried fish. The idea for a Thanksgiving version came to Kennedy almost two decades ago as a way to boost sales, and customers went crazy over it. Demand got so high, he almost quit making them.
KENNEDY: It got so insane making this thing, and it was, like, man, I'm ready to stop this 'cause it was just too much. Too much anticipation. People waiting outside with lawn chairs. You'd run out at 2 o'clock.
BLOOM: But then a long-time employee of his, Joe Jackson, died from cancer.
KENNEDY: He was a sweetheart of a man.
BLOOM: His death inspired Kennedy to keep the tradition going and team up with a local charity. Today, it's volunteers help put on the Thanksgiving po'boy operation, and a portion of the proceeds goes towards fighting cancer.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Kristen (ph) order up. Kristen. Dwayne (ph) order up.
BLOOM: The long lines are still there, and they include Byron Suberby. He's a big fan.
BYRON SUBERBY: It's really messy, but it's really delicious.
BLOOM: Now Kennedy can't imagine this season without his tasty po'boys.
KENNEDY: Thanksgiving is about family. Thanksgiving's about people you love.
BLOOM: And his po'boys are the perfect run-up to a Louisiana Thanksgiving Day gathering. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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