Season 2 (Episode 6): The Po' boy Takes on the Hoagie and there Can Be Only One Winner

This week, Stephen and Adrienne tackle a heavyweight regional sandwich showdown: The New Orleans Po’ boy vs. The Philadelphia Hoagie. From a violent 1929 streetcar strike to a mob of hungry gamblers demanding midnight cold cuts, discover how these two working-class heroes became legends. In this episode, we explore: The Po’ boy Origin Story: How the Martin Brothers supposedly named the sandwich while feeding striking streetcar workers in 1929 (and why historians think that’s only half the truth) The Leidenheimer Innovation: The fascinating German immigrant origins of New Orleans' signature feather-light, crispy French bread, and the invention of the 3-foot loaf The Debris Po' boy: Why New Orleans took the scraps from the bottom of a roasting pan and turned them into one of the city's most beloved sandwiches The Hoagie Legends: Three competing (and wildly different) origin stories from Philadelphia, including a shipyard lunch, an insult about farm animals, and a hungry gambler The Great Sandwich Debate: Stephen and Adrienne judge the po’ boy and the hoagie on bread structure, flavor complexity, portability, and consistency to declare a champion