Jeopardy answer: This food was created in support of a labor protest in 1929.

"What is the poor boy sandwich?" 

We had my mother-in-law over for lunch yesterday, as we do most weekends.  We try to serve her New Orleans flavors, since she lived there for 79 of her 88 years and will probably be homesick until she "goes home."  Yesterday that was Barbecue Shrimp.  Barbecue shrimp aren't actually "barbecued," the dish was named by the creator at Pascal's Manale on Napoleon Avenue.  Heads on shrimp are bathed in  garlic, worcester, lemon juice, a lavish amount of butter and an almost unbelievable amount of black pepper.  It's a messy but delicious eat, especially with french bread to sop up the sauce, and it leaves your mouth humming from the pepper.   Not something you're going to eat often, but a true NOLA treat.  Or as Louise would say "A Treat, instead of a Treatment."

As we were eating, I had an epiphany.   I take my knowledge and experience preparing the foods of New Orleans for granted.   So even though it had crossed my mind to feature NOLA cooking, I immediately thought, "nope, not special enough."  And there is some competition, both cart and brick and mortar.  And I've eaten at most of them.   I admit, I haven't tried the Fried Catfish Po'Boy served with arugula, tomato, purple onion, sweet chili sauce, & Creole Aioli.  It might be a very good sandwich.  But I guarantee it is not a classic NO Poor Boy.  Cornbread is NOT traditional with NO fare--french bread is.  Clams do not belong in gumbo.  I'm passionate about doing the classics right.  And, as Mario pointed out, we have a real story to tell about authenticity and history.  

I was noodling around and here's a menu concept that I think could work:

It is a far more manageable menu in terms of the number of ingredients, complexity of preparation and speed of service, meaning more meals per day.  If the concept was successful, it would be relatively easy to scale.

In addition to Daily Specials, we might offer occasional specials like Gumbo Z'herbes (a Lenten file gumbo featuring at least 7 kinds of greens), Barbecued Shrimp, possibly even boiled crawfish by the pound (and no, I do not approve of crawfish swimming in a bath of melted butter in a bowl).  

Whatcha think?