New Orleans

A counter-service butcher shop on Tchoupitoulas where five full-time butchers make the cured meats, so the muffuletta is stacked with house-made genoa, mortadella and capicola. In January 2026 the Michelin Guide named it one of the best sandwiches in North America.

The muffuletta here comes warm, so the provolone and Swiss go soft into the house olive salad, on a seeded Italian loaf from Napoleon House's own bakery. Get a whole, a half or a quarter, and a Pimm's Cup, which the bar says it was the first in America to pour.

The po-boy, rethought. Killer started as a pop-up and now runs this counter off Dauphine Street, building chef-driven sandwiches on Dong Phuong bread. The seared (not fried) Gulf shrimp with pickled daikon, carrot and sriracha aioli is the one to start with.

The Sicilian grocery on Decatur Street where Salvatore Lupo created the muffuletta. It opened in 1906 and reopened in December 2024 after Hurricane Ida kept it shut for more than three years. Walk past the shelves of imported pasta and olive oil and order at the counter in the back.

A neighborhood corner bar at Annunciation and Bellecastle that the Domilise family has run for over a century. You order at the counter, grab a seat and wait for them to call your name. The shrimp po-boy on Leidenheimer bread is the famous one; the smoked sausage has its own fans.

The po-boy shop most people have heard of, on Hagan Avenue in Bayou St. John and open since 1911. Get the fried Gulf shrimp dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo, or the sloppy roast beef if you don't mind wearing some gravy.