Hangin' with Franky & Johnny

Have I ever mentioned that payday is my favorite day of the week? We almost always go out for lunch on payday to flaunt our wealth and indulge ourselves (ok, maybe one of those is an exaggeration). Today after having a lazy day at home- still getting used to Dustin being on nights, it's not bad, after he sleeps in we all have brunch and go about our day- we decided to walk down to Franky & Johnny's. It's only a block away, and even with me chickening out trying to cross the street and Dustin and Shelby having to wait for me to find a good traffic opening, it took like three minutes to get there. Maybe five with the Frogger moment. But the point is, it was terribly close to the house.

It's an old yellow two story house with a sign out front, a sandwich board and several neon beer signs. Once our eyes adjusted in the dark, I could tell why it's a neighborhood favorite. I've only ever seen maybe one episode of Cheers, but this place certainly has that feel. A cigarette machine by the door (seriously), a long old-as-dirt bar and a claw-drop machine that was older than me I'm sure (and some of the toys inside were, too). You pass the bar to the hostess podium with several signs urging you to wait to be seated, and an old man comes out and tells you to sit anywhere. The more we walked, the longer the place seemed to get. There's a room past the main dinning room that looks like it would be a lot of fun for a party. There's all kinds of cool stuff on the walls- local art, Zaggat awards, old beer advertising stuff, Joe Namath's jersey, a picture of New Orleans Most Famous Bars. The specials are on a chalk board on the wall, and Dustin ordered the special- BBQ sandwich, jambalaya, corn and salad- from it. Shelby got a children's shrimp plate (enough for an adult) and I got a shrimp poboy and fries (sold separately). I love a good poboy. With a little Crystal hot sauce sprinkled on top, superb. With water to drink it came to $31 and some change, plus tip. And we had leftover shrimp and fries. I love leftovers. Shelby and I are going to back one day for lunch and to get some oysters and a piece of chocolate pie.

I give the place a thumbs up. The food was very good, even if not OMG! good, and I loved the atmosphere. I'm a sucker for atmosphere. We were the only diners at the time we were there (it was a bit early), but I bet it's a lot of fun packed with Saints fans on game day (when they have raw oysters and beer specials).

Tomorrow we're going back to Texas for family functions this weekend, but looking forward to coming back and enjoying our new city some more. Enjoy your weekend, folks!

I'll admit it, the above picture is not my own. I forgot my camera and had to scour Photobucket for a picture that resembled my poboy. I promise it won't happen again. Often.