The legend of the Po’boy (Poor Boy) sandwich takes us to the 1920s in New Orleans. The Electric Street Railway workers went on strike. The Martin Brothers’ French Market and Coffee Stand stood with the workers. They provided the first Po’ Boy sandwiches. The original ones consisted of fried potatoes, gravy, and spare bits of roast beef on French bread.

Fortunately for Universal Orlando visitors, the Po’ Boy offered during Mardi Gras contains higher quality products. The Blackened Chicken Po’boy sandwich served at Universal Studios Florida contains blackened chicken thigh, Cajun mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickle served on a French Quarter baguette. This New Orleans inspired sandwich costs $7.99 before discounts.

When I think of a Po’boy sandwich, I visualize something with shrimp and a spicy remoulade style sauce. However, as the legend of their origination supports, Po’boys can consist of various ingredients. Having tasted the more adventurous “Shrimp Po’Boy Dog” recently, I expected a significant difference with this one. My expectations proved correct.

So how was this Madi Gras sandwich? In fairness, the reviews rate as mostly positive but some negative reviews also. Let us start with the positives. Most guests I polled enjoyed the bread with this sandwich. They described it as soft and tasting good with chicken. Everyone agreed that the chips provided as a side for this sandwich tasted good. These chips fail to be life changing. Still, the seasoning and texture works very well. Universal seems to have this food item mastered. The chips avoid being too salty. They possess a solid crunch also.

Additional positives mentioned related to good flavor for the chicken itself. Related to this, a nice balance of seasoning occurs between bread, chicken, and vegetables.

To be balanced, some negatives also exist. Some guests stated the bun was cold and too firm on the night they ordered it. The expected dryness of theme park chicken appeared commonly as a negative. A few guests voiced that the mayo tasted far too subtle for a Cajun style sandwich.

In my final evaluation, this Po’boy deserves consideration on your culinary journey during Universal Orlando’s Mardi Gras. Of the people I polled that ordered this sandwich, no one complained about the flavor of the chicken. Since anyone can prepare chicken making it too dry, the flavor ranks as more important to me. Based on the first week of Mardi Gras, solid flavor exists within the chicken. Would I suggest you get this-Yes! Would it be my first choice of the many food items at Mardi Gras-Probably Not! Still, this menu item provides a solid safe option for guests this year. As always, eat like you mean it!