Cake Palace

I don't eat many lunches away from the restaurant. But when I get the chance I like to check out new places around town. Under the recommendation of a few friends, I decided to try Cake Palace on Essen Ln. Now your question might be the same as the one I had when it was recommended, "Cake Palace does lunch? I thought they were just a cake shop." However I was informed as I am doing now to all my readers that "Yes they do lunch". They open at 6 am and from then until 2 most days have a full deli that produces breakfast and lunch.

The lunch menu has a plethora of sandwiches, burgers, and plate lunches, which rotate day to day. You can get classic sandwiches like tuna salad and club as well as some New Orleans favorites like a muffaletta and shrimp remoulade salad. I am a big sandwich guy so, and originally grew up in the Big Easy. So when I saw a sandwich called "New Orleans Poboy", my interest was peaked. What is this BR "cake" place doing trying to make a sandwich with my hometown's name? Being the adventurous eater that I am, I had to order it. The sandwich was said to be a slow roasted beef on a crusty piece of french bread with a nice thick brown gravy. So far so good. So with my mouth excited and thinking about all the great sandwiches I had as I grew, I got my box looking forward too what lay inside. Upon opening the box and taking my first bite my mind was taken to those early years and the flavors and aromas reminded me of the poboys I had once had. The roast beef was amazingly tender and juicy. The gravy was thick and bursting with rich, meaty flavor. The fries were also very very reminiscent of what I have enjoyed with plenty of salt and perfectly crispy.

This poboy was definitely a delicious version from the ones I grew up on but not quite up to the magnificence that will always hold a place in my heart. The one glaring difference from the ones I ate was the sheer size of this poboy. The best part of a true "New Orleans Poboy" is the fact that they are all overstuffed. I still get chills when I hear that word. Overstuffed simply means that the great piece of crusty french bread can't keep all the goodies corralled as you try to eat it. The genius of these poboys is you probably can make a second sandwich from all the stuff that just "falls out". I would like to give Cake Palace their props for getting the flavor of a good NO poboy, but I challenge them to start "overstuffing" those bad boys. Then you can call them the real thing. Peace and chicken grease.