I've made the run between Houston and the Mississippi Gulf Coast more times than I can count. The Lafayette exit off I-10 is not optional. Not when Olde Tyme Grocery is sitting on W. Saint Mary Blvd waiting for you.
The place has been making po'boys famous since 1982. That's not marketing copy — it's painted on the wall. Walk in and you land on red-checkered floors under a Budweiser neon, surrounded by forty-plus years of Saints and Ragin' Cajuns memorabilia stacked floor to ceiling. The line at the counter tells you the rest.
Don't let the crowd fool you. That counter moves. The crew here has been running a tight, fast operation for decades and they do not slow down under pressure. You'll walk in thinking you're in for a wait, and before you've had time to study the wall of license plates and old photos, your number's up.
Order the shrimp po'boy. Fried. The shrimp are generous, the French bread holds up under the weight without going slack, and the whole thing eats like something that's been practiced for decades — because it has. Real talk, it's one of the best versions of that sandwich I've had anywhere on this corridor.
Now, if you've never had the roast beef po'boy here, that's the next reason to come back. It's the kind of sandwich that drips down your arm before you get the first bite in — slow-cooked, heavy with gravy, the kind of thing that makes you pull over in the parking lot instead of eating it while you drive. Trust me on this one.
If the weather's cooperating, take the patio off W. Saint Mary. Red umbrellas, cold drink, no reason to rush the second half of the drive.
The walls inside are a running archive of this city — photos, pennants, license plates, a taxidermied buffalo head watching over the whole operation. This is what forty years of showing up looks like. Lafayette's been eating here that long, and so should you.
218 W. Saint Mary Blvd, Lafayette. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 10 PM, and Saturday 9 AM to 7 PM. Closed Sunday, so factor that into your timing. Call (337) 235-8165 to arrange a bag lunch or catering ahead of the stop. You don't skip this one.