In 2007, I moved to Houston, a humid Texas city teeming with international culinary influences. Among them was a unique sandwich: a mashup of an Italian-style hoagie and a Southern po’ boy, with a Middle Eastern twist. Created by Jalal Antone, a Louisiana-born, Texas-raised son of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants, this sandwich became a Houston staple.
Antone opened Antone’s Import Company in 1962, selling Middle Eastern foods. To win over Houstonians, he created a sandwich with French bread, layered with imported meats and cheeses, and slathered in his signature spiced chow chow. This relish, made with paprika and turmeric, gave the sandwich a bold Middle Eastern flavor.
By the late 1960s, Antone’s had become wildly successful. The Houston po’ boy became a local lunchtime staple, inspiring other Middle Eastern restaurants to create their own versions. Today, Antone’s Famous Po’ Boys still has two locations in Houston, and their sandwiches are sold in grocery stores across Texas.
The Houston po’ boy is a symbol of the city’s culinary melting pot—a sandwich born from Middle Eastern ingenuity, shaped by Southern tradition, and beloved by generations of Houstonians.
