Gulf Coast Po' Boys--- Largo, Florida

A job fell through and my schedule loosened up on a recent rainy, grey afternoon. I posted a Facebook invitation asking if any friends wanted to get together for lunch and order too much… It was last minute, and as expected I got a few ‘wish I coulds’, and one suggestion by a friend with an increasingly solid history of recommending good things, that if I haven’t yet,  I should try the Oyster Po’ Boy at Gulf Coast Po’ Boys in Largo… He wrote that their signature Dirty Roast Beef Po’ Boy was real good too, but the Oyster hit home for him…

Being an oyster fanatic, I was a little startled by what I felt was an inspired recommendation...

I remembered reading an enthusiastic posting on Chowhound about this place; the killer Po’ Boys, the warm casual vibe, and the friendly owners, so I tapped the coordinates into VZ Navigator and followed the hood ornament  to 312 West Bay Drive in Largo…

Everyone mentions that it's a small place, and it sure is… But many of my ‘owning a restaurant’ fantasies involve a small cozy space like this, and it ended up being just as I imagined it could and should be--- a couple guys behind the counter obviously enjoying what they do, yappin’ with regulars, expressing appreciation, while moving fluidly thru the motions of putting orders together, with gloved hands--- thank you… Not that I’m preoccupied with goyms--- I’m so not… It was simply my first evidence that these guys are continuously honing their edge, and answering questions before they’re asked…

Anthony & Michael

My next clue was that as orders were being taken, even during banter, long rolls were splayed and lined up cut side down on the big flat top to be toasted lightly and brought to life--- thank you again…

Every now and then I’m served a sandwich on a roll seemingly right out of a bag, which almost always diminishes the experience… The bread will always remain a separate entity if it’s dry, flavorless, and cold… Of course if the bread is carefully chosen, fresh, and fairly moist, you might get away with minimal to no treatment, but not a generic mass produced hoagie roll...

‘Course that wasn’t the case here… Their bread was great...

I got there soon after they opened at around 11:45. There were a couple people inside eating, and a couple people in line… Lucky for me, because the place is so small, if I got there any later there might not have been a place to sit down and it would have been difficult for me to take pictures. After ordering I sat on a bar stool at the small counter by the front window, and ended up with an Oyster Po’ Boy and a Dirty Beef Po’ Boy in front of me (with small sides of Cole slaw ‘and’ potato salad) with the idea of eating half of each there, and finishing somewhere down the road… But these sandwiches looked magnificent, I was by myself, and I was on ‘E’… Empty, and also Embarrassed that I was taking up like 3ft of the 7ft (+/-) counter---- but at this point I had it to myself…

Part of me would truly prefer to be an anonymous mystery restaurant guest and sometimes food reviewer, but when I break out my big Canon DSLR and begin arranging the food, it almost always leads to an interaction, often warm and friendly... That was certainly the case this day, with owners Anthony and Michael standing only a couple feet away smiling with curiosity... Michael asked what all this was about…  Probably a little red-faced, I explained that  I was a crazy food guy who was slowly putting together a food blog, and that I talk about food and fun places on the online forums with a bunch of other crazy people--- a couple of whom recommended I come here…

Did I use ‘whom’ correctly?

A minute later Mike walked over to me with a smile and a generously filled container and said; ‘if you’re gonna be talking about us, you have to try our Red Beans and Rice’!

Red Beans & Rice

Of course I was appreciative and touched by the generosity, and as I continued arranging and taking a few pictures he talked a little about how they utilize specific breadings, coatings, seasonings, and techniques to  best complement the various meats, seafood, and other items… 

People started showing up so he got back to business…

A couple came in, smiling and waving, obviously regulars, and pulled up a couple barstools next to me at the counter…  I moved my camera and my ‘Creosote-esque’ abundanza closer to me to give them some room, when the woman looked at me and asked what all this was about--- and I told her what I told Michael… She asked who I was on Chowhound, and when I replied she laughed and got happy--- because she knew me, and I knew her…  It was her enthusiastic thread I remembered reading recommending this place…

So grey and drizzly as it was, this was quickly turning into one of those really special days… The kind of day that might convince me the forces of nature were in reality NOT conspiring to snuff me out…

It’s taken me a couple months to share this great lil' lunchtime adventure, mostly because I‘ve been battling my initial impulse to make it into something bigger…

When I drove off I was practically ready to start a cult, and that rarely happens when there's no alcohol involved...

The past few years I’ve been meeting so many great folks from the worlds of food and drink,  tuned close enough to my frequency, that I don’t think I know what the word ‘stranger’ means anymore…

I'm thinking of dumping it!

----if the Chinese can do without a word for ‘cheese’ for the love of Pete!

But after all the talk, the attention, and the spectacle of me and my camera, I have to do what I said I was there for if I want to go back for the infamous Shrimp Po’ Boy, Catfish Po’ Boy and the Fried Chicken Po’ Boy, and whatever other fun things are on the menu----- and I do want to go back, like, ASAP… 

So, let’s wrap this up with the best part--- the delicious food--- and it was delicious…

Oyster Po' Boy

Oyster Po’ Boy:

The pillowy, fresh, lightly toasted long roll was wonderful, obviously carefully chosen…  

It was served piled with fresh, full-favor, moist, lightly fried, oysters--- dressed with a diced tomato & chopped veg relish, some lettuce, and served with a small container of remoulade… I say full-flavor because all elements of the fried oyster spoke out, stood up, and held their own on the big sandwich… 

It’s that concern, that the feature components of a sandwich might get lost or be diluted by lettuce and tomato that I’ll often order it without, or toss it aside…

But DAMN, if I didn’t love that sandwich ‘as presented’ with just a lil’ extra remoulade, which I had in my hand 3 seconds after requesting it--- a benefit of the place being the size it is…

Flavors, textures, tanginess, spiciness, hot & cold----- I’m goin’ nuts here reliving it…

Dirty Beef Po' Boy

That impressive balancing act was even better articulated with the Dirty Beef Po’ Boy, which when placed in front of me just made me giggle quietly like a maniac…

I was all; ‘really’?

And he was all; ‘yeah, really’…

The portion of meat, I didn’t expect…

The reason the balancing act was so impressive here was because when I picked at the beef on its own, it hit my buds as possibly being too tangy, spicy, and too highly seasoned---- but when I tucked in, getting a big bite with all the elements, suddenly the lighting dimmed, the room slowly spun, and ‘Dreeeeam Weeavah’ filled the air…

I even utilized, and adored, the condiment of ’debris’ served on the side for drizzlin’…

Debris = a bold, clean, concentrated liquid pot roast essence that you’d think would be greasy, but was not…

And that’s how this beef seemed--- like yo’ gran'mama’s best pot roast cooked soft and juicy, coarsely chopped, then tossed on a hot flat-top till slightly blackened, with Cajun spices… 

This is only what I imagine they'd do to achieve this result--- I didn’t actually see it…

I wondered to myself if maybe they made mine extra pretty because I was taking pictures, but since then I’ve seen a couple other images and they all look like mine!

I’m not a potato salad guy but this was creamy, yellow, eggylicious, and I scarfed it! Loved that Potato Salad!

Same with the Cole Slaw… Loved it… Fresh, crisp, clean & perfect with the meal…

Michael told me they were family recipes and on the menu to pay tribute to his parents…

My wife is going to shake her head in condemnation when she reads this, but I put away both of those Po’ Boys and their sides--- and I was pretty darn full when I tunnel-visioned on the fairly generous portion of Red Beans & Rice, but I took it down… 

It was mildly spicy, the beans were creamy, the rice was perfect, it was saucy enough, herb & vegetable flavors were very bright, and I thought it was delicious---- but to be honest, being a 260lb party of one, I thought it tasted just 'a bit' too healthy… 

Michael and Anthony are intensely good looking guys in pretty good shape, and I’m sure they’re lookin’ out for you... I admit I’m not an expert on Red Beans & Rice, I just felt it could have used a lil’ more pigfeets or something for some additional collagen richness & silk… Just a minor tweak…

When I order it again, possibly this week, if I feel the same way, I’m going to stir-in a shot or two of that ‘debris’ and see how that tastes…

Over-all impression?

Food, service, warmth, camaraderie, hospitality? Aces!

Lots of unfinished business--- I’ll be popping in regularly…

I hope you won’t be--- an infrequent patron… 


Hours: Monday through Friday 11:00AM to 8:00PM... 

Saturday 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM...

Closed on Sunday...