Sandwich (Not Sando) News

Houston's most famous po'boy sandwiches get exported to Dallas

They even have "famous" right in their name.

Courtesy photo

A sandwich maker beloved to Houston is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: Antone's Famous Po' Boys, known for its cold, grab-and-go sandwiches wrapped in trademark white paper, has expanded its footprint to more than 100 supermarkets in North Texas and East Louisiana.

According to a release, their sandwiches can now be found at select Kroger, Tom Thumb, Albertsons, and Market Street Stores across DFW and Shreveport.

Signature sandwiches include:

The Original: Ham, Salami, Provolone, chow chow relish, mayo, and pickles
Super Original: Same as original but with extra meat and cheese
The Piggy: A blend of chopped ham, salami, pepper jack, and provolone with mayo, pickapeppa sauce, and dill pickles
Tuna: House-made tuna salad, provolone, and pickles
Turkey & Swiss: Oven roasted turkey, swiss cheese, mayo, and sweet & spicy pickles
Premium Roast Beef: Roast beef, sharp white cheddar, creamy horseradish, and sweet and spicy pickles

The po' boy brand has been a Houston institution since it opened in 1962. The expansion comes on the cusp of the company's 60th anniversary.

Locations around Dallas include:

Albertsons

1500 S. Belt Line Rd.
320 Casa Linda Plaza

Kroger

5665 E. Mockingbird Ln.
4241 Capitol Ave.
4142 Cedar Springs Rd.
4901 Maple Ave.
3939 Frankford Rd., North Dallas
7100 Independence Pkwy., Plano
2925 Custer Rd., Plano
2608 W. FM 544, Wylie
1950 S. Goliad St., Rockwall
2935 Ridge Rd., Rockwall
500 Marketplace Blvd., Forney
7505 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving
950 E. Sandy Lake Rd., Coppell
4620 SH 121, Lewisville
3709 Cross Timbers Rd., Flower Mound
4851 Legacy Dr., Frisco
7500 Preston Rd., Frisco
12221 Custer Rd., Frisco
3205 Main St., Frisco
1801 N. Lake Forest Dr., McKinney
2671 Little Elm Pkwy., Little Elm
945 W. Lamar Blvd., Arlington
1060 N. Main St., Euless

Tom Thumb

6333 E. Mockingbird Ln.
925 Northwest Hwy.
7700 Northwest Hwy.
3878 Oak Lawn Ave.
5968 W. Parker Rd., Plano
3411 Custer Pkwy., Plano
3949 Legacy Dr., Plano
5550 FM 423, Plano

Market Street

700 N. Denton Tap Rd., Carrollton
1929 Preston Rd., Plano

"We are excited to finally make our po' boys available to folks in North Texas," says Antone's CEO Craig Lieberman in a statement. "It's been a matter of expanding our production facility, which gives us the ability to deliver a consistent, fresh product daily – one that Texans in other parts of the state have come to enjoy."

"We are hoping to provide Antone's to more locations in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex by the end of 2022," Leiberman says.

The company was founded as Antone's Import Company by Jalal Antone, the son of Lebanese immigrants, and began as a fast-casual sandwich concept known for po' boys, gumbos, and sides made daily. Everyone knows that when it comes to great food, Lebanese people know what they're doing.

In addition to po' boys, their menu includes deli-style sandwiches, seafood platters, and salads.

Antone's has two full-service locations in Houston: West Loop at 4520 San Felipe and North Loop at 2724 W TC Jester. They expanded distribution to Central Texas in 2018. Dallas /Fort Worth is their third major market in Texas.

The sandwiches are sold in grocery stores across Houston and Central Texas including H-E-B, Randall's, Kroger, Brookshire Brothers, and airports including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Plus food service outlets in Houston such as Texas Children's Hospital, MD Anderson's Rotary House, Kyle Field at Texas A&M, and in Austin at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and Antone's Nightclub.

So they're currently available in Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, which is four out of the five cities where CultureMap has a bureau. (The only CultureMap city they're missing is San Antonio.) They obviously know what's up.

To find the closest Antone's Famous Po' Boy, consult their Po' Boy Tracker.

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Spring Arrival

West Dallas gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name chef

Photo courtesy of Ulloa's

Paella will be on the menu.

A new restaurant with a high-profile culinary director will bring Spanish and Peruvian flavors to West Dallas: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave., with a projected opening in March 2027.

The concept is from philanthropists Susan and Woodrow Gandy, who were previously investors in the historic Belmont Hotel just around the corner. They've teamed up with Dallas celebrity chef Kent Rathbun as culinary director, along with Christopher Tunnell as general manager to lead the front of the house.

Rathbun is a name Dallas diners know well, with a resume that includes The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Landmark Restaurant at the historic Melrose Hotel, Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, Abacus, Jasper's, Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, and more. He's won numerous awards and made multiple appearances on Food Network. He was most recently behind the launch of On The Rocks, an Italian bistro in Burleson.

Chef Kent Rathbun will be the culinary director of Ulloa's. Photo courtesy of Kent Rathbun

Tunnell’s background spans both culinary direction and front-of-house operations. He worked at Los Angeles hot spots Ketchup, Geisha House, and Les Deux, as well as the Mandalay Bay and The Mirage in Las Vegas, before moving to Dallas to open The Mexican, the upscale restaurant in the Design District.

“I am truly excited to partner with Chef Kent Rathbun, whose reputation is amazing — not only in the DFW Metroplex, but in the culinary world,” Tunnell says. “He has been with this project since the beginning, helping develop it; this will be a very chef-driven, culinary-forward restaurant.”

The team's vision for Ulloa’s is both culinary and urban, with hopes of anchoring the corridor and attracting other businesses to Fort Worth Avenue — a stretch connecting downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff that remains somewhat underdeveloped despite its panoramic skyline views.

The restaurant is named for Spanish explorer, astronomer, and scientist Antonio de Ulloa, who spent extensive time in the Mexican peninsula before becoming Louisiana’s first governor. During his travels, Ulloa documented a fogbow — a circular rainbow formed when sunlight meets mist that causes silhouettes standing between the sun and fog to appear ringed in light, a phenomenon known today as “Ulloa’s Rings.”

That vibrant phenomenon inspired both the restaurant's identity and logo. The concept promises "bold, worldly flavors in a welcoming neighborhood setting inspired by exploration and discovery,” the owners say.

Ulloa's Rendering of Ulloa's.Rendering courtesy of Ulloa's

While the menu remains in development, Tunnell describes the culinary direction as “Spanish soul with a Peruvian heart.” The kitchen will merge the coastal flavors of both traditions — ranging from paellas and ceviches to crafted cocktails and signature adaptations by Rathbun.

The 200-seat, two-story space will feature a downstairs dining room, a large bar, and an outdoor patio. Upstairs, plans call for a secondary bar, a private dining room, a patio, and an expansive balcony patio, offering views of the city's skyline and of the Margaret Hunt Hill and Margaret McDermott bridges.

While the upstairs space will be available for private events, the owners intend for it to operate primarily as an organic extension of the main restaurant. The buildout will include a guest elevator along with ample parking, including both self-parking and valet options.

The team says the restaurant will have have an aesthetic that's “warm, theatrical, generous, elegant but alive, with the energy of a great Spanish tapas bar and the soul of Peruvian hospitality.”

Ulloa’s plans to launch with dinner service first, followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

restaurants bars peruvian flavors west dallas oak cliff kent rathbun