If you've been to New Orleans, across the Gulf Coast of Mississippi or Alabama, then you know what the sandwich is all about. It's not something that you expect to see in Knoxville but Puleo's Grille in Cedar Bluff does an admirable job.
Fried is the tried and true way to cook oysters for a po-boy. Fresh french bread isn't an option. It's a must. Puleo's Grille delivers on this too. The plump hoagie roll was about 8" long, sliced across the middle and opened to hold the makings of a great sandwich.
A double handful of the fried crispy gems were laid upon the upper portion of the hoagie roll. The other slice held a soft thick bed of cool shredded romaine lettuce and diced cuts of juicy red tomatoes. Adorning the sandwich were three crisp slices of bacon.
Mayonnaise was the glue that held it all together. Putting the two haves together took both hands and finesse. A quick flip, a slide to the right and it was ready to go.
Cutting in half or in thirds was helpful. This isn't the sandwich to eat in front of your boss. It doesn't hold together well and is a bit messy. Extra napkins are your new best friends.
The flavor was excellent. I picked out a couple of oysters to eat by themselves. They were served hot and had the perfect blend of crispy outside and soft inside. The po-boy bar is set high with this one. Oysters practically melted in my mouth while the flavor exploded.
Alongside the sandwich were crispy french fries. If you've been to Puleo's Grille, then you already know how good those are. I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say that they make a good accompaniment to the oyster po-boy.
Puleo's Grille in Knoxville isn't a place that you would expect to find a sandwich like this. You can't get this type of seafood sandwich from too many places in Knoxville. That's part of what makes the oyster po-boy so appealing (they offer shrimp too). I don't know who thought to add it to the menu but they did good. Real good.
Can you pass that extra napkin please?
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