Chef John Folse: Spicy Italian meatball peacemaker

There are many different claims to the origin of the po’boy, but the most commonly accepted belief is that it was created in New Orleans by Benny and Clovis Martin during a streetcar strike in 1929. The Martins created an inexpensive sandwich made of Louisiana-style French bread and loaded with meat or seafood. The local restaurant workers began referring to the strikers as “poor boys,” and it wasn’t long before the sandwich gained that same name.