This fried chicken is from a gas station.
And locals say some of the best New Orleans food is hidden in the back of convenience stores and gas stations.
Like this highly rated gumbo at a corner store. this gigantic 32-inch po' boy.
It takes two people to carry this.
And even some of America's best fried chicken, including one place that was a complete surprise.
And we're starting with a very unique dish that originates in New Orleans, and it's called yakimen.
Yakimen?
Yakimen.
Yakameen.
Yakameen, okay.
And we are hanging out, Pam.
Hello, Pam.
Hello.
We're hanging out with my sister, Pam.
Good to see you.
Derek, brother-in-law.
Hello, hello, hello.
Here we are.
Ready to eat.
Yes.
You guys ready?
Yes, I think.
Come prepared to eat?
Yep, ready to go.
And so we have an incredible list of food to eat today.
And we're going to be going to a variety of different spots, all that specialize in a different food.
So you're going to want to keep watching this video all the way until the end.
And later on, we're going to decide what is the best food that we eat all day.
And so our first location is actually just up there, that corner store.
First spot.
Yeah, oh, I love this place already.
It's called John and Mary Food Store.
Chinese food, soul food, and po' boys.
But actually, I think they did have a, didn't they have a side, oh, here we go.
On this side, they have fried chicken, seafood plate, and yat ka mien.
It's a full convenience store.
Actually, not a huge convenience store, but, like, a family-run, friendly convenience store.
You do have all your beverages, all your chips and snacks.
Got to have the ATM.
And then you keep walking to the back and that's where you'll see they have the whole menu and then they have all the cooked food prepared.
Actually, a lot of Vietnamese food on their menu.
I think it's Vietnamese... owned run oh you have red beans too nice white beans meatloaf nice let's do three three yakiman combinations I've ordered up the yakimen and it takes 15 or 20 minutes because every order, it's not pre-made, every order is made fresh.
Okay, here comes the broth, the soup.
Wow.
Oh, that looks amazing.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for your business.
Thank you.
Really friendly service.
Nice neighborhood feel.
Oh, yeah, 100%.
All good things to say about it.
I think we'll post up right here on the hood of the van.
It's also flaming hot through the... It is.
...through the bowl.
Okay, you ready for the reveal of the Yakiman?
I bet some steam's coming off that one.
It's sealed tight.
Oh, it's so hot.
Wow, that is fully loaded.
Oh man.
The aromas.
There's so many toppings on it, you don't even see the noodles on the bottom.
But they're guaranteed, there are noodles on the bottom.
There's like chasu, there's pork, there's shrimp, there's beef, there's egg, there's green onions.
So yakomen is a dish that originates, that's native to New Orleans, and it has a very unique history, but I think before we go over the history, We have to taste it.
I feel pretty good about that one.
We need a few bites of that.
Maybe a sip?
A sip of the broth?
Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
I think we need to drink, not a sip, a drink.
Okay, a drink.
A drink of the broth.
A gulp.
A gulp, yes.
That's the best way.
Oh, man.
Oh, wow.
That is like a warm goodness bath. that I just absolutely love.
Hang on.
You feel it.
You don't only taste it, but you feel it going down your throat.
And we did get the spicy version, so it has a little bit of spice to it.
But it's that spice where it's not gonna hit you in the beginning, it's gonna creep up on you afterwards.
It just coats and coats and coats.
And... caresses and massages your throat going down.
The broth tastes like every protein you can imagine infused into that liquid, plus creole seasoning pepperiness, a little bit of spice.
Oh, that's phenomenal.
Let's go for the noodles down there, which are hiding below all the...
The toppings.
The wonderful proteins.
It's always a good sign when the noodles take on the colors of the meats.
Oh boy, I love it.
And they look like spaghetti noodles.
It does look like spaghetti noodles.
Are they spaghetti noodles?
Yeah.
Mmm.
Mm.
And then a taste, a gulp of the broth?
Mm-hmm.
Chaser.
Oh, wow.
Man.
I'm usually like, I'm not a soup guy most of the time, but I'm loving every single thing about this.
But yeah, spaghetti noodles.
They are actually spaghetti noodles, right?
That threw me off.
I wasn't expecting that at all.
And the noodles, they're not mushy, yet they are soft.
They've absorbed all of that broth to their full potential.
So every time you bite down on one of the noodles, it just releases that broth into your mouth.
So the texture is great.
You get a little gush of juice from the noodles each bite.
They're perfect for slurping.
Yeah, the juice.
It is nice and salty.
And again, just the layering of the proteins within that broth with the chili, with the spices.
I feel like this is what I needed anytime I was sick as a kid.
Like, forget the chicken noodle soup.
Come bring me some yakitori.
This is what I need.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Oh.
Oh, that is... It's so good.
It's so much flavor.
Is this chicken or pork?
I'm not even... Not completely sure.
But this one is like a grilled chicken?
Oh, grilled chicken.
Okay.
Because this is a thigh.
Okay.
Yeah.
Oh wow.
Okay.
The chicken cutlet is incredible.
It's so good.
Chicken thigh.
It has that great texture.
The beef is wonderful.
It is. salted to perfection.
The pork is wonderful.
The marinade, the pepperiness.
Yeah, this is so tasty.
So, Derek, you should explain to us the history of how this came about.
Yeah.
So my best guess, and from what I understand just from the reading, is that it actually is from Chinese immigrants and migrants that came over to the Mississippi Delta primarily to work in the sugar cane fields.
And then they brought just some of the the noodle soups and noodle dishes from Southeast Asia.
And They used the ingredients that they had here locally down in the Delta area and added some of those Creole spices and flavors.
And now you have Yakima.
So it is like an original New Orleans fusion food.
100%.
Chinese mixing with Creole seasonings.
African-American culture for sure.
Yeah, you get all of that wonderful goodness and flavors and cultures within one dish, so.
One bowl.
Yeah, I love it.
And you actually taste the fusion of cultures and countries coming together with every bite in this bowl as well.
The flavor of the broth is what's really fascinating me.
That's guaranteed to have healing properties.
And actually another big part of Yakimin culture is it's nicknamed Old Sober because it has legendary properties to cure your hangovers.
And so that's often why it's eaten sort of in the morning.
People do enjoy a few beverages in New Orleans.
They typically do, yes.
And a hangover cure is something that is probably pretty popular.
Pretty popular.
Pretty common and necessary in New Orleans.
Loaded with protein.
Oh, hard-boiled egg is great.
Again, it just sops up all that broth.
That broth is key, though.
You know, what's funny is I let Pam have a bite, and I notice our bowls are much different.
Your broth is gone.
Your sister's bites are equivalent to your bites.
As much as New Orleans is known as like a food culture kind of foodie city and has lots of fine dining, lots of folks will say the true food and kind of heart and soul of the city is in the corner stores.
Yeah, and even A lot of locals also say that some of the best food is from the corner stores too.
But we made it to the next spot.
This place is at a gas station.
The gas is called Gas for Less, but we came here for Banks Meat Market.
Oh, and this is gonna be a big stop.
I'm very excited.
The po' boy specifically is what we want to get here.
That's exactly what we came for, right?
I'm not sure if you're ready for the size of this po' boy that we're about to get, though.
That's the only question.
It's not going to be like 12 inches or even 24.
32 inches.
Almost like a full three feet of nothing but po' boy.
Yes.
Let's go.
Banks Meat Market.
What a spot.
It is quite the spot.
You can get your cell phone fixed.
You can get your meat for cooking.
You can get a po' boy.
Yeah, there's a whole butchery here too, right?
Oh, you can get like everything here one stop shop, and this is some of the places with the best food when you come to New Orleans.
And it also could not be any more convenient.
Everything is right here.
Like literally, if you look through the aisles, you'll find everything you could possibly need for the day, I think, from beverages to coffee, to other necessities.
And then you come to the back here and here's where you'll find the entire meat market, which is also.
They have a butchery where you can buy fresh meat here, but then a lot of people come here for the food which is made to order, but you really come here for the po'boys.
So they have the 10-inch.
But look at that, that's what we're getting, the 32 inch.
It's like a meter long.
Oh, there it is.
That's 32 inch.
Nice hot sausage.
Maybe just four pieces for now let's just do four pieces okay, that's good, and it comes wrapped right in front of you.
Oh, that's huge.
That's a big sandwich.
Yeah, it's a super size.
Two days or a big family, big family yes, Thank you very much.
Okay, cool.
Thank you.
32-inch hot sausage.
$17.99.
Yeah, that's a sizable sandwich.
Is it a two-person sandwich?
It takes two people to carry this teamwork.
Okay, let's go eat.
Okay, this is a family-sized po' boy.
I know.
I love that the one guy was just like, oh, that's a meal for two days.
Yeah, somebody in line said.
I don't know if he knows you, Mark.
Like two minutes maybe but uh, a meal for two days.
It could actually be for sure, if you ate this thing yourself, it would be a two-day ordeal.
Yeah oh, my goodness, that's Almost three feet of po' boy.
You can feel that bread, the crust of the bread.
Stand there, help.
Then we got it with hot sausage.
There's lettuce.
You see the lettuce coming out, the shredded lettuce.
There's tomatoes.
Oh, yeah.
Fully dressed.
Oh, so the sausage is like a patty, patty sausages.
Yes, it is like a patty.
Thank you, Pam, for helping to cradle it so it doesn't slide off the hood of the car.
But yeah, so I think we just go in for a, no, Pam, you gotta eat too.
Grab a, oh, once we grab a piece, then it won't slide.
Oh, stealing a piece of sausage, huh?
Adding.
Mm.
Mm.
Mm.
The bread is so chewy.
That chewiness, yeah.
The skin of the bread is incredible.
Mm-hmm.
Wow.
The meat and everything in well.
Yeah, you really have to like, like it's almost leathery. the bread, but in a good way.
That crust is so chewy, it would be durable.
Even if you had saucy things in here for hours, it might hold up.
It might hold up all the same.
Yeah.
But at the same time, on the inside of the bread, it's quite fluffy.
Mm hmm.
Mm.
Then you've got that creamy mayo, the crunch of the iceberg acidity of the pickles and that pleasant, just hot sausage which is not that hot but just has good salty flavor.
Yeah, a good like salty flavor.
Savory.
More so savory and a whole lot of salt.
Oh yeah.
Sodium without a doubt.
Yeah.
I would say it's almost like a, Almost tastes like a breakfast sausage, kind of.
Because you'll find and sometimes it depends on where you go for the hot sausage, but you'll find some that have a little bit of kick.
Not anything compared to what you would consider a kick, but...
A kick nonetheless.
Maybe a little bit.
A little bit, yes.
Because you can see, even within the sausage, there's a little bit of the red chili.
You can see some pepper flakes and stuff in there.
You definitely taste the spice of it.
Actually, yeah.
Now that I got a more isolated bite of the hot sausage, you do taste that seasoning.
It's seasoned well.
100%.
That was on your list, right?
We can go walk over and see.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, this is fantastic.
This is so good.
And the po' boy is really at the core of New Orleans food culture.
Yeah.
So yeah, wonderful combination.
Hot sausage po' boy here at Banks Meat Market.
Delicious.
Yeah, this is something you'd wanna be eating at 24 hours a day, any time of the day.
It would satisfy your hunger, that's without a doubt.
There's a lot of good po' boys in New Orleans.
This is definitely a classic.
One you have to try.
That won't let you down.
I guarantee you, you won't be able to stop eating.
Okay, we each ate a quarter.
That was extremely satisfying.
Let's go to the next spot and conveniently located, literally directly across the street from the gas station that we just ate at, is the next legendary.
This one is a convenience store.
It's called Broad and Banks.
They're famous for their seafood and some people say they have one of the best gumbos in all of New Orleans.
We're gonna try it next.
They have all your beverages on the side, and then all the snacks are here.
But really the reason most people come here is for the food selection, which is the hot food selection, which is spread out in this really clean, really nice, actually spic and span glass cabinet all the different dishes.
I smell the aromas.
The kitchen is in the back.
And that is the gumbo, their extremely popular, famous gumbo.
And the other dishes look really good, too.
And if you look closely, you can see right now We're here right before the lunch rush.
She is preparing.
Look at the amount of gumbo cups or bowls that she's preparing with rice in them to be able to serve the lunch rush, which is coming soon.
Which one is the smothered pork chop?
Okay, I think that's also famous here, right?
Lots of people recommend the smothered pork chop.
We got to try that, but there's gumbo, there's beans, there's fried crab, there's fried chicken.
If you keep on going down the line, there's more and more dishes.
Fried rice.
Oh, the fried rice looks really good as well.
Here it comes.
We got here a fresh batch of gumbo.
Oh, I can actually smell it.
Could we do gumbo one small and one large?
Then let's do a smothered pork chop, fried rice and red beans.
Okay, so for the gumbo first.
Again, there's rice already on the bottom of the container, and then scoop it in.
Oh, you see the thickness of it.
You can smell the aroma.
Oh, wow.
Two pieces.
And the juice.
Gotta have the juice.
And the onions.
Thank you very much.
Okay, cool.
Yeah, nice to meet you.
Thank you so much.
Okay, we ended up getting a bit more food than expected, which we'll bring home for the family, but really cool place, really friendly and I cannot wait to try the food.
Okay, got all the food and decided, because again, they have no seating.
So you either eat in your car or you come to the park like this.
We came to City Park nearby to eat and actually Derek and Pam, they needed to run a few errands.
So they're gonna miss out on this meal, but then they'll rejoin back up with me for the next meal.
But I am so excited.
This food, it looks as good as everyone says it is.
Okay, first let's just unwrap everything.
This is the gumbo, and this one should be the...
Yes, this one is the smothered pork chops with the red beans and rice.
And this one is the next smothered pork chop with fried rice.
So I actually ended up getting two packs of smothered pork chops to bring back for more family.
But look at this pork chop.
It's completely smothered.
It smells so good.
You really smell like the browning of the pork, the pepper.
You smell those onions.
I love how the onions are just plastered into the piece of pork.
Oh, this has to be our first bite.
We need to bite in.
Oh, wow.
It's so tasty.
Again, I think it's griddle fried, so it like browns that meat.
You've got that reaction, the Maillard reaction, increasing the flavor.
It has this brown gravy that's so intensely meaty and porky.
And then the onions.
What I love about the onions is they're sauteed, but they're actually still crispy.
So they're not overcooked.
So they retain that crunch and that ultimate onion flavor.
And on top of that, did I mention well, you already saw not only one pork chop, it's two pork chops.
This portion is gigantic.
It's a huge portion. hearty portion.
And that is so tasty.
That is phenomenal.
That is incredibly tasty.
The quality of the pork, the texture, it's actually a perfect pork chop.
Let me follow that with some of their fried rice.
There's shrimp in here, and then she did put some of that pork smothered pork juice onto the fried rice a little bit as well.
I think Yeah, delicious.
Fried rice has a bit of like the Creole seasoning as well.
And it's really yellow in color.
You got the shrimp in there.
There's egg in there.
There's some onions.
What a combination.
But I did also get the other box with more of the smothered pork chops, but this one I got with red beans and rice.
Okay, so yeah, this one, oh man, it's equally impressive. with so much gravy of the pork here.
Again, two whole pork chops.
And on this side, separated with a paper to keep those sauces a little bit separate.
But then this one you have rice and red beans, one of the great dishes of New Orleans.
Looks like there's some pieces of pork in here.
Sometimes they even put the pork leg, I think.
And then it just absorbs into the rice.
That bean gravy.
Red beans and rice is a meal I can't miss when I'm in New Orleans.
It's so comforting.
And I think it's actually typically on Monday.
Typically on Monday, I think it is.
But it's... as comforting as food gets.
And the beans are cooked down until they just melt into this buttery consistency.
So they create this gravy, this sauce that just melts into the rice.
So good.
We're gonna take a bite of that smothered pork chop while we're at it.
Yeah, this one's even saucier.
So much of the gravy on there.
I did come here for the gumbo, but I'm very impressed with the pork chop.
It is phenomenal.
And this one, look, there's just a puddle.
Oh, there's even more bean juice.
And look, a puddle of the gravy down below here.
I think that's the bean juice, too.
Oh, to hydrate.
Oh, I just want to pour this on.
Red bean juice.
Gravy.
Gravy.
Mm, you just wanna smother it all.
And then take a bite.
You actually have to inhale a little bit to get all that gravy and the bean juice.
Smothered pork chops are insanely tasty.
Let's try the gumbo.
Oh, ready for the reveal?
They're famous, they're legendary gumbo.
Oh, that smells so good.
You smell the herbaceousness of it?
There's rice on the bottom.
There's shrimp in here.
You can see bits of pepper or celery.
The rice is here.
Gumbo is one of the most famous dishes of New Orleans.
It is... a dish that people are passionate about.
Everyone has their own recipe.
There's so many different types variations flavors, so you'll never taste two gumbos that are exactly the same.
Now gumbo actually means in West Africa know, when i was in senegal, in walaf, gumbo actually means uh okra, and so it does have a tribute to okra and some recipes do have okra.
I know some use some of like the sassafras leaves as well to flavor.
Then there's all the mix of different spices that go into it.
A lot of them use a roux, which is flour which has been sauteed down in butter or in fat, to create that thickness and to give it that smoky flavor.
But everybody does it differently.
And so I'm excited to try this one, which many people say is one of the top-rated gumbos in New Orleans.
Oh, that is soothing.
That's the type of dish, the type of gumbo that hits all of your taste buds.
It has this thick, kind of sticky-ish texture, similar to like a gravy, but not quite as thick.
So it's somewhere between a stew, a gravy and a soup, I think, because it's not thin, because of that roux which thickens it.
But then this undertone of spices and flavors, and this herbal aroma, all of it together, this smokiness, all coming together in a single dish.
It's a complete meal too because you have rice, you have all your proteins, there's onions in there.
All that is warming, soothing, It's so tasty and nice and salty.
Okay, for my next bite, we'll move through the proteins.
I'll try the, I think this is the smoked sausage.
I don't think it's undoey.
Yeah, it has a nice smokiness, a little bit of a pepperiness to it and then just kind of like crumbles in your mouth.
Okay, let's try the shrimp next.
Oh, there's even chicken in here.
Oh, I missed a protein.
Can't go wrong with shrimp in New Orleans.
And then we have the next one.
I love this formation because it's just kind of like oozed popped out both ends, but you do see the wrapper on the inside.
And I'm honestly not quite sure what type of sausage this is, but let me know.
If you're from New Orleans, let me know what type of sausage this is.
Oh, that one is, it just melts in your mouth.
It's crumbly but it's like a loose mixture that just kind of disintegrates, leaving your flavor, leaving your mouth coated in flavor.
And it has this nice pepperiness too.
Oh, oh, I think that's the hot sausage.
Okay, you can definitely, like that takes the heat up another level.
You feel this warmth, this heat immediately, as that sausage disintegrates and just breaks apart on your tongue, leaving you with this hot, sausagey flavor.
Oh, that was good.
Okay, that's a highlight bite of the gumbo without a doubt.
Oh, I need one more bite of that immediately.
That is a highlight bite.
I think another move a lot of people do is actually add some of the Louisiana hot sauce as well.
Give it an even more tanginess with that vinegar.
Let's see how that works with the gumbo.
So immediately you get this more vinegary acidity to your gumbo.
A little bit of heat.
That is so good.
Yeah, the gumbo, it really is incredible.
If you want a quick meal from the convenience store on the go, you just grab a foam container of gumbo and you will be happy, guaranteed.
That really is incredibly tasty gumbo.
Food here is unbelievable, highly recommended.
But from here, there's still some more food that I can't wait to try.
Well, let's go to the next spot.
Well, we made it to the next spot.
This place is called Hank's.
It's a seafood market.
It's a grocery store.
It's a convenience store.
They have everything from po' boys to hot food to seafood.
And then, of course, the full selection of things you can buy within the shop.
Money orders all the essentials are available.
So it's a similar setup here to a lot of places.
You walk into the convenience store, where they have all your essentials, everything but then you come to the back and that's where all the food is.
They have hot dishes here.
They have some fried foods here at the front fried chicken, but really a lot of people.
This place is very famous for their po' boys.
So that's what we came for.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Here you go.
Got the po'boys.
They smell incredible.
Oh, here we are.
The next po'boys.
These are hot and fresh.
Oh, down goes the po' boy.
Lost the po' boy.
There we go.
These are heavy.
Feel the heftiness of these po' boys.
You got three?
Three po' boys, couldn't resist.
Who's eating three po' boys?
Us.
Couldn't resist.
Triple po' boys.
And these are heavy, too.
She just loaded in.
We got some different flavors, but then also had to get the hot sausage plus the roast beef plus.
What else did we get?
Oh, the shrimp, because this is a seafood market.
Let's open this one.
This was our...
Roast beef.
Roast beef.
The double roast beef.
Are you ready for this?
Look how saucy it is.
Fully absorbed.
Look at that.
It's going to be in the seat for months.
That smell.
The van will smell like roast beef.
Look at roast beef, smothered, all that gravy just absorbed into the bread with the pickles.
Oh, wow.
Making a sauce within that mayonnaise.
Oh, this looks incredible.
Here we go.
I'm ready.
Let's grab in.
I'm ready.
It's the type of po' boy that's just soaked, yet it still holds up.
There we go.
I heard drippage.
That is fantastic.
Oh, wow.
That beef.
There was a puddle that came out.
I heard a waterfall of juice coming out on your side, on your end over there.
I wonder if that's why they usually call the roast beef debris.
There's quite a bit.
Look at this paper.
There's quite a bit that comes out and falls all over the place.
It's filling up with debris.
But that beef is tender.
It's really been stewed down.
Oh, yeah.
So it has that.
The gravy is just like, it is like liquid beef.
And it has, like, good, like, chunks of fat mixed in with that roast beef as well.
So it is.
Mmm.
Mmm, incredibly like rich and still tender and flavorful.
And you get the cut with the, the lettuce and the tomato and the pickle once again, so it's not too heavy.
That vegetable contrast to give it a freshness.
All the meatiness i can't even remember.
I think i did order the double beef on this, so that is a.
It is a thick amount of beef in there.
Again, I love how in po'boys the mayonnaise and she did add on like a spatula of mayonnaise into this.
Even though, and I'm not like the biggest mayonnaise fan, but on po'boys they just work so well.
I think because they're mixed with other sauces, it just kind of like blends into a it turns, it becomes a gravy, the mayonnaise becomes a gravy, rather than.
What i don't like about mayonnaise is when it's blobby.
Oh yeah, 100 with po boys.
It's not blobby because it it turned.
It's turned saucy yeah, and that's the great thing.
Well, it gets soaked up by that bread as well, and then soaked up the durable bread.
Yeah, this is a great, great way to see how the bread actually holds up, even though you have all of that sauce and everything in there, that outside layer of the po' boy bread.
It's a test.
Yeah, it is an absolute test.
Well, double.
Double beef.
Mm-hmm.
If they had triple, would you have gotten triple?
Probably.
You probably can.
You can probably order it however you want it.
Oh.
Mm.
Mm.
Stuff is sliding off the backside.
Oh, yeah.
And beneath.
That's like a full roast beef dinner, all in one sandwich.
Oh my goodness.
Wow.
I think every roast beef comes with a case of napkins.
Maybe.
Look at the debris on our hard paper here.
Look at that.
It's like a painting.
It is artistic.
Okay, but we should move on to the next one probably.
Here we go.
Okay.
Oh, perfect.
We've actually decided to relocate for the next po'boys because it was a little technical using the camera while handling the po'boys and the juiciness of them.
We got a built-in table.
Oh, you know that's a good sign.
Oh, gosh.
All the hot sausage.
And then this is the double hot sausage.
Oh, look how much sausage there is in here.
Okay, Derek.
Oh, it is saturated with hot sausage juice and oil.
You can even see the chewiness of that bread.
Yeah.
Oh, boy.
The translucency.
One of the great things is it gets a little bit Soggy, but that sogginess has so much flavor.
And this one we got double sausage, just loaded with sausage.
When she made this.
She grabs the bread, she puts in like another spatula of mayonnaise.
Just a swipe.
Then in goes the iceberg.
She layers it with tomatoes, layers it with pickles, and then the sausage.
She actually simmered the sausage in their own fat in a pan and then she kind of like put the whole patties in and just kind of like folded them, folded them into the bread.
Yeah, straight up folded.
Just stuffed them.
Look, they're still folded in there, yeah.
Just stuffed them, stuffed the bread.
Look at the insides of it.
Oh wow.
And again, you can see some of those peppers and that seasoning that's all throughout.
Mm.
Mm.
Oh wow.
Mm.
Oh, I'm getting drips again.
Oh, it's running down the arm.
Oh, my goodness.
I even got some of my beard stuck in my mouth on that one.
Wow.
That hot sausage, actually?
The flavor keeps on building.
Mm-hmm.
It's different than the last one.
It is.
It still doesn't have, like, an intense heat or kick that you would expect, but just well-seasoned.
Well-seasoned, yeah.
That's the best way to think of it, yeah.
It's salty.
You do see the red chili flakes in there, the seeds.
Mm-hmm.
It just has this very addictive salty chili flavor.
Yeah, it's tasty.
And a lot of it.
It has like a build of heat after the fat.
So it's like after you chew, after you swallow, there's like a lingering type heat.
The aftertaste, yeah.
The aftertaste, you taste the chili.
And again, I love that.
Again, the mayonnaise is not gloopy or blobby, but it's more of a saucy mayonnaise that just combines with the oily sausage coming out all blending together within that bread.
Oh, this is another staple of a po' boy.
That was a wonderful bite.
Here we go.
The acidity of the pickles, a perfect harmony.
That is another awesome po' boy.
And number three.
Number three.
Oh, I can smell the shrimp already.
Oh boy, it's falling out.
Here you go, check this out.
A classic, probably the most classic of all po' boys.
I think fried shrimp is hands down like the staple of New Orleans.
You smell the fried crustacean, the tomatoes, and then again the classic the tomatoes, the pickles, the iceberg lettuce, the mayonnaise swipe.
This one's out of place.
Let me get that one out of the way.
Hey, that's my side.
Hey, that's my half.
Was it?
No, I was just moving it for the shot.
That's all.
Don't worry about it.
It was in the way.
Just help him.
That smells delicious.
Smells so good.
You can see the speckles of pepper, the seasoning on it too.
Yes, it's good seasoning.
Really good seasoning in that breading.
I mean, from what I heard.
Oh yeah, because you've tried it already.
Not that I took any.
Here we go.
Mmm.
Oh wow, yeah.
That shrimp is seasoned so well.
It is.
It's salty.
It's a little peppery.
The shrimp are crispy.
The batter is Not too thick.
Those are really meaty shrimp.
Like the breading, the batter is not too thick.
Yeah.
It's not overly heavy with the batter.
Yeah.
And they're also not oil sponges.
No.
Like they're crispy.
They've been drained well.
Yeah.
And seasoned well.
Yeah.
I mean, you could see.
You don't have oil or anything falling off on it.
Like that is perfection when it comes to being fried.
Mmm, yeah.
Mmm.
Try the shrimp.
This one's really good.
Try the shrimp just by itself.
Shrimp on its own?
Okay.
If you still have some.
Oh look, there's still some.
I do.
Here we go.
Still loaded with shrimp.
Mmm.
Oh yeah.
It's a great flavor.
You have the shrimp on their own, you get the full force of the shrimp flavor, plus that crispy batter and that peppery seasoning.
Yeah, they're just seasoned.
There's a little bit of pepper within there.
Seasoned to perfection.
They are so good.
Oh.
It's like usually.
I know this is probably going to go against everything, that everybody in New Orleans will disagree.
But like sometimes with po' boys, the bread plus fried shrimp, it's just like too much breading.
But this one, I could do this, maybe not every day, but I could definitely do it like once a week.
Probably every day.
But yeah, highly recommend it.
I think my two favorites are the shrimp and the roast beef here.
And the roast beef?
That hot sausage was so good too.
Oh, they're all good.
Okay.
Hank's Grocery and Convenience Store.
Friendly service.
Yeah, they're really friendly and delicious po' boys.
Oh man.
So you most definitely get to try this.
What's your name?
I am Major.
Major.
Yes.
Cool to meet you.
So you said we have to try the fried chicken?
The best chicken in Louisiana with our signature hot sauce.
Wow.
Awesome.
The fried chicken.
Thank you very much.
Oh man.
Amen.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
So that was completely unexpected.
We were just finishing up with our, what Pope were we on?
We were eating the shrimp hole boy.
And Major from Hanks, he walks out with some hot, fresh fried chicken.
And he said, you can't come to Hanks without the fried chicken.
So he gave us a whole box.
But shout out to Major.
Major's the man.
Major's so friendly.
And their special sauce as well.
I don't think Major understood how much we're supposed to eat today.
He did not get the memo.
But amazing hospitality.
I love it.
Such a great guy.
So, Derek, we do one bite first with nothing before we explore the signature sauce.
That works.
I'm going to grab a leg.
You going for a leg?
I'm going to get a leg.
Okay, you go leg.
I'll go this giant thigh.
I guess it is a thigh, right?
It is.
It's a massive thigh.
Look at the batter.
Look at the artistic battering of this piece of fried chicken.
That is hot, too.
That is hot, yeah.
Oh, hot.
Oh, yeah, hot.
Oh.
Oh, man.
Thank you, Major.
Oh, wow, yeah.
Man.
That is so hot, so fresh.
They must have been frying this as we were ordering the po' boy.
Incredibly juicy.
And the seasoning, I'm still, there's tons of black pepper all throughout there.
Yeah, that seasoning, unbelievable.
And it's so crispy.
And the chicken on the inside is so tender, so moist and juicy.
And we haven't even explored the hot sauce yet.
I know.
Look how much seasoning is in there as well.
That is so much seasoning.
It looks a little bit like mayonnaise-y.
It looks like the fry sauce, yeah.
But then you see the pepper, you see the chili in there as well.
Yeah, it kind of looks like the fry sauce almost.
It does.
I think what I need to do is just do a whole dip, the whole thigh.
Just dunk it all.
Okay, Derek.
You really did try to get all that in there.
I tried to stuff the entire thigh into that sauce container.
See, with the leg, you can just kind of dip and you can roll it in there.
Twirl?
The dip and twirl method?
Yep.
There we go.
See?
This is level two with the sauce.
That kind of sweet tinge kind of like gives it a new dimension of flavor.
But it definitely has some heat.
Yeah.
Or did you not get the heat?
Maybe I just got all the heat.
I'm starting to get the heat now.
There's definitely some heat to that.
It's like thick and mayonnaise-y.
Because he called it, he called it their hot sauce.
And I'm like, that doesn't look like a hot sauce.
That's not what I would expect with a hot sauce.
It does actually, yeah.
But that is like, that has some heat to it.
It does.
You could be happy with this fried chicken with nothing added, but when you dip it into that sauce, that even gives it another dimension layering of flavor.
Wow.
I think I'm going to get a little bit more of that.
I'm going to pour this time.
Once you taste that sauce, though, you likely won't want to go back.
There we go.
I don't know.
Here, you need some more.
Just a little bit, right?
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Just a whole tub of it, please.
There you go.
Tastes like a pretty high-calorie hot sauce.
Oh, man.
We're not counting calories today.
I can feel it sticking to my ribs.
Oh, wow.
Okay, yeah.
That hot sauce is amazing.
It's unlike any other hot sauce.
So the po'boys are a must, but don't miss the fried chicken.
And that hot sauce.
They've absolutely outdone themselves.
All right, Derek.
Let's go eat some more.
Oh, we just ate more.
Let's go to the next spot.
We tried to do that and Major brought us more food.
This was a little bonus.
We're at the next spot and this place is huge.
It's monumental.
It's a gas station, as you can see.
It's called Keys and they are famous for serving some of the best, highest rated fried chicken, not only in New Orleans but in the entire state of Louisiana.
So I'm very curious to see how it is.
How are you guys feeling?
Working off a few calories?
Yes.
Taking some steps.
Trying to get ready.
Burning a few calories before we ingest some more calories?
Just say I'm not as young as the first time that I did this with you.
Yeah, it's getting harder.
Every year we get a little older.
That's true.
Yes. you immediately smell the aroma of the fried chicken.
And at the front here, you'll notice the full menu.
They actually have po' boys.
They have some seafood on their menu.
But then the real highlight is the entire glass cabinet filled with fried chicken.
It's shining.
It smells incredible.
It looks so crispy.
Thank you very much.
I think so, yeah, got it, thank you.
Derek is just waiting, looking like he needs some fried chicken.
Anticipating.
Anticipating.
Salivating.
Some of the best fried chicken in New Orleans.
Okay, I think this is really the best spot to eat.
Let's open it up.
Oh, that does smell incredible.
It definitely got some aroma on it.
What do you think we should start with?
Oh, you smell that deep-fried aroma.
You smell the seasoning again.
You do.
New Orleans definitely knows how to season without a doubt.
You can almost see.
If you look close you can see that yellow color and, almost like a paprika, red color chili powder tinge to it as well.
Maybe a little bit on some pieces.
Yeah, I wonder if paprika, maybe cayenne?
I don't know.
Maybe?
I don't know.
Possibly?
We'll have to see.
We got a whole mix.
There's wings in here, there's thighs, there's breasts, there's drumsticks.
What'll you choose?
I'm thinking to go with the thigh.
That's always my favorite piece as well.
And I'm thinking just to grab this first one off the top.
The nearest piece to you?
Yeah, why not?
So it's, you can see kind of that undertone of spice seasoning.
All right, here we go.
Here we go.
Oh, that's crispy.
Oh, wow.
And juicy.
That is really good.
And nice and salty.
Yeah, it's really tasty.
I had like just a hint of heat.
Not a high spice level, but just a hint of heat on the back end.
The seasoning.
Mm-hmm.
And the saltiness does kind of tingle your throat a little bit.
Yeah.
It is nice that the batter is not too thick, for sure.
It's not too heavy.
It's not overcoated or anything.
It's more like a flour dusting, almost, rather than a heavy batter.
Oh, man.
Chicken on the inside is moist.
Definitely moist and juicy.
I love the crunchiness.
Like, this almost reminds me of a pork grinder, like a crackling.
It is that crispy.
Yeah.
It is that crispy.
Cool that.
Who doesn't want to catch the grease and the juice dropping off some fried chicken?
You taste like the grease of the friedness plus the melted chicken fat all combined in your mouth all at once with that crispiness. but again, it doesn't feel heavy.
I love it.
And again, it's like the ambience of being in New Orleans, Rampart Street.
Hey, you got St.
Mark's Church right across the street as well.
Oh yeah, okay.
Okay, cool.
But it's like you got the hustle and bustle of the city streetcar going by and everything nonstop.
People in and out.
Yeah, characters there, definitely.
Oh, you have a chicken puddle, mm-hmm.
Yeah, there's beads of perspiration.
Whenever you have some perspiration on your chicken like that, whenever it's perspiring, you know it's gonna be good.
But yeah, that is a very tasty.
Wow yeah, I need, I need to stretch.
I need a bubbly beverage that's cold and digestive.
I think I need a... Probiotics.
I think I need some probiotics after this.
I need a belly rub.
A belly rub, kombucha, and probiotic, and Tums.
And Tums. but we've had some incredible food.
We've met some characters, some friendly people.
We've had some delicious food.
It's been wonderful.
Yeah.
Hands down.
But the question remains, though was the best bite?
Yeah, what was the best bite of the day?
But i want to hear from you what do you think would be your number one choice of what we ate today?
Leave a comment below and now derek, what was your favorite food of the day?
Oh, i have to say, you gotta do it first, but pressure's on you, man.
Okay, Can I have two?
Yeah, yeah, you can have two.
Okay, I gotta go with two.
So I'll say for something that I would wanna eat regularly weekly I won't say daily, but weekly or every other week.
The Yakumen hands down was like some of my favorite bites of the day.
Bites and slurps, I guess I should say.
That was so good, yeah.
But honestly, I love keys. but I actually think I'm gonna give it to Hanks for the fried chicken.
It's the spice, the spice for Hanks.
It was so like, and the sauce, I'm just like, I didn't know what to do.
I wasn't expecting it.
It was a speechless moment.
It really was.
And maybe it was just because we weren't expecting it.
Major just comes strolling out with... A hot, fresh foam container.
Yeah.
Yeah, Pam.
Pam, do you have a favorite of the day?
This is pretty good.
It is pretty good.
That is not an answer.
Yeah, that's not an answer.
That's a very undecisive answer.
I really like soup, so Yakamine is pretty high.
I do like chicken.
I would be, this one's really good.
I would be fine to say Keys.
Pam going with Keys.
Keys, Keys.
Pam and Derek actually missed Broad & Bank Seafood.
So they missed the gumbo and the smothered pork chops.
So yeah, they missed out on this tour, but that makes it harder for me to determine which dish was my favorite.
That's such a hard choice.
I don't think I can have, okay, I will give you my top five list.
Coming in at number one, I think I still have to give it to Hank's Fried Chicken.
Fried fresh, that was a bite of fried chicken I'll never forget in my life.
Then, number two.
It's either gotta be the gumbo or the smothered pork chops.
Maybe the smothered pork chops next, then the yakimen, then the gumbo.
And finally, it's a really tough choice for number five, but I'm gonna say five.
Hank's shrimp, fried shrimp po' boy.
Yeah, that was delicious.
So that wraps up the top five foods I ate today.
But without a doubt New Orleans has some of the greatest gas station and convenience store food you will ever eat.
And a big thank you to you for watching this video.
Remember to give it a thumbs up.
Leave a comment below.
Let me know which of the foods that we tried today would you want to eat the most.
And yeah, we'd love to hear from you in the comments section below.
And thank you for watching.
Goodbye from New Orleans.
I'll see you on the next video.
