From The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Revised August 2009 Shortstop's Sandwiches Metairie: 119 Transcontinental Dr. 504-885-4572. Map. Lunch and early dinner continuously Monday-Saturday. (Until 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday.) Sunday brunch. Very Casual AE DS MC V www.shortstoppoboys.com   WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL   The oldest continuously-operating poor boy specialist in Metairie not only makes great sandwiches, but does so in a unique style. The roast beef is cooked so long that it falls apart from its own tendernesss. It would not be exaggerating to call this a beef debris poor boy. That does not please everyone; many lovers of poor boys insist that the beef come in discrete slices. In a time when many poor boys have passed the $10 mark, you can still get a roast beef here for six bucks.   WHY IT'S GOOD   Despite the offbeat texture of the beef, here is the classic roast beef poor boy flavor. The sandwich is heavily loaded, but without so much gravy that it falls apart. All the cooking takes place in house. When the sandwiches are puled together, the bread and dressings are good and fresh. The sandwich menu here goes far beyond what most places offer, including nearly extinct varieties like bologna, liver cheese, and salami. And that's about it. You don't want a poor boy, you're in the wrong place.   BACKSTORY   The Short Stop opened in 1966 as a convenience store--hence the name. It made sandwiches of such goodness that it ditched the rest of the business and specialized in poor boys. It opened satellite locations in the past, but the original location is now the one and only.   DINING ROOM   The dining room, with its many windows, has the feel of a fast food restaurant of the 1970s.   ESSENTIAL DISHES   Poor boy sandwiches: Roast beef. Barbecue beef. Hot sausage. Hamburger. Meatball and Italian sausage with red gravy. Fried oysters, catfish, or shrimp. Chicken or tuna salad. Deli meats and cheeses, available singly or in combo. Chicken and sausage gumbo. Seafood gumbo (Friday only).   FOR BEST RESULTS   Unless you are hugely hungry, a young man in his teens or twenties, or are splitting a sandwich, the large poor boy will be too much.   OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT   The seafood poor boys here are good, but don't stand out the way the roast beef and ham poor boys do.   FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD   Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter. Dining Environment Consistency +2 Service Value +2 Attitude Wine and Bar Hipness Local Color +1   SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES    Open Monday Open all afternoon Quick, good meal Unusually large servings Good for children Easy, nearby parking Click here for an index to current reviews of the 200 Essential Restaurants, and others. Click here for an index of all restaurant reviews. © 2009 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com.