One of the greatest things about Inga’s subs is that they are fantastic the next day. I don’t know the secret, but maybe a combination of the oil and vinegar dressing and how well they wrap the sandwiches to go and the bread they use all combine to make a sandwich where the bread is soft, but not soggy, and all the meats and cheeses and condiments are married perfectly into a fantastic treat to pull out of the cooler with a beer when you’re fishing and the sun hits the top of the sky. Yeah, yeah, yeah–I know. A frycook is supposed to pack his own lunch. Make his own sandwiches or shrimp and orzo pasta salad, but sometimes I cheat. And Inga’s is perfect for that.
I spent nine years at LSU pursuing two degrees, so I am very familiar with Inga’s. And Louie’s. And the Chimes and Chelsea’s. The Library, The Bayou, Magoo’s, The Gumbo Place and Calendar’s on the other side of campus. The White Horse, The Brass Rail, The Cotton Club, Mother’s Mantel. Slinky’s, the Long Branch. I miss most of those places since they’re gone and I grew up there. So I’m very happy that Inga’s is still around, although this is the fourth location they’ve been in between The University Shopping Center, State Street, and Chimes Street. Inga was a wizard at taking money to move the shop a couple of doors down, or over to the next block. She sold the place a while back. I don’t know the particulars and haven’t run into her in several years, but the subs are still great (if you order double meat they are almost exactly like they were back then) and again, they are great to pick up the day before you have to pack a lunch somewhere.
