A PO’ BOY ANTONE WOULD BE PROUD OF
The Antone’s Original po’ boy has been much on my mind lately, ever since I wrote about my long relationship with the iconic Houston sandwich to mark Antone’s 55th anniversary.
So I was delighted recently to discover that the bar at Provisions — the casual half of well-regarded The Pass & Provisions restaurant — offers a po’ boy inspired by the Antone’s Original on its happy hour menu, in effect 2:30-6 p.m. weekdays.
Despite the pedigree of chefs Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan (perennial inhabitants of the highest tier of this newspaper’s Top 100 Restaurants ranks), the appearance of this local cuisine verité classic here makes a certain droll sense. The Pass & Provisions occupies the venerated Antone’s deli location on Taft Street, and the sleek redesign of the big, rambling space even features the dramatic, bulb-lit “Antone’s” sign that once hung outside.
Siegel-Gardner and Gallivan’s tribute sandwich tastes like the Antone’s Original grew up and went to culinary school. Graduated with honors, even. Instead of the Original’s mild-mannered New World cold cuts, the piled-high meats on the reimagined Provisions version have the heft and swagger of Old World salumi: the delicate, nutty-tasting mortadella studded with delicious blobs of fat; the slick, spicy capocolla ham jumping with flavor and character.
There’s a deep twang of very serious provolone chiming in; a minimalist swipe of mayonnaise to just barely suggest the original; and that all-important sweet-sour leap of chow chow, further amplified by a tart and hot pepper relish that gives all the other ingredients a kick in the pants.
A sheaf of finely shredded lettuce and sliced tomato lend the Provisions po’ boy an impression of immediacy and crunch that’s quite a departure from the Antone’s Original. And the crusty heft of the house baked buttermilk rolls could hardly be more different than the soft, yielding Royal Bakery custom rolls used by Antone’s all these decades.
Yet despite all the tinkering and quality boosts, the overall impression hits that Antone’s Original sweet spot. There’s room in my world for both the mass market po’ boy and the boutique version.
The $10 price for Provisions’ homage sandwich is $4 over the current Antone’s Original price, and I think it’s worth it, both in and of itself, and for the amusing purposes of comparison. In fact, I can’t wait to drop in to Provisions’ exceedingly well-run bar during that long, civilized mid-afternoon-into-early-evening happy hour to eat it again. It’s the perfect late lunch or early supper.
To go with it, you’ll find such bargains as a daily $4 beer selection: a red and a white wine for $5; and a classic Margarita, Old Fashioned and Moscow Mule for $6. There’s a daily punch and a cava, too, both for $5.
Somewhere Jalal Antone must be smiling. HAPPY HOUR AT PROVISIONS • 807 Taft • 713-628-9020 • passandprovisions.com • Hours: 2:30-6 p.m. weekdays