THE world abounds in sandwiches, but in your correspondent’s view there are only three truly great ones: the Vietnamese banh mi, the Ashkenazi bagel with lox and the oyster po’ boy—a New Orleans creation that has seeped outward from the bayou with varying degrees of success (ordering one in Mobile or Galveston is probably fine; order one in Boston at your own risk). It is a testament to America’s assimilating capacity that the first two can be made fairly successfully with ingredients available at any major supermarket. The last depends on a highly regional commodity: the fat, sweet Gulf of Mexico oyster, pulled from waters very near those fouled daily by thousands of gallons of the Deepwater Horizon’s oil.”
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