Melba’s Serves New Orleans Comfort Food With Books and Laundry on the Side

An overstuffed shrimp po’boy, a frozen daiquiri and a paperback picked up between bites are a fairly normal combination at Melba’s. This is a New Orleans food stop built around familiar Louisiana plates, but it has an unusually broad idea of what a casual meal can include.

The restaurant brings together home-style cooking, a roomy reading-friendly interior and an adjoining laundromat. You can sit down for gumbo or breakfast, browse books for sale, or make a meal out of the time spent waiting on a wash cycle.

Melba’s has long been associated with around-the-clock dining and all-day breakfast, so its rhythm is not limited to lunch or dinner. It suits an early-morning platter, a daytime plate of red beans and rice, a late-night po’boy, or a quick order to take away.

Louisiana and Southern comfort food set the tone. Po’boys share the menu with gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, smothered chicken and substantial turkey-leg plates, leaving a mixed table with plenty to consider.

The shrimp po’boy is a prominent choice and has been described as generously packed. The hot-sausage po’boy brings a more forceful option, with a noticeable kick for diners who like a little heat in the sandwich.

Rice shows up in several forms here. Gumbo arrives over rice, while jambalaya and red beans and rice offer their own dependable, filling versions of the Louisiana staple.

The hot-meal selection changes through the week, adding a rotating home-cooking element beyond the regular favorites. It gives repeat visitors a reason to look past the sandwich board and see what is cooking that day.

Breakfast is served throughout the day, which is useful in a city where schedules can be a little loose. A full breakfast platter can include an egg-and-steak dish, while grits and other classic morning sides keep the meal anchored in familiar Southern territory.

Corn grits, cabbage, rice, cornbread and baked macaroni and cheese are the sorts of sides that can turn a sandwich or plate into a more serious meal. The macaroni and cheese in particular has the sturdy, baked-casserole character people hope for when it appears beside a main dish.

Bread pudding provides the sweet finish. Portions can be substantial enough to share, an easy solution after a table has already worked through po’boys, sides and a daiquiri.

Books for purchase are woven into the room rather than treated as a decorative afterthought. You can browse before ordering, take a look while waiting for food, or linger over titles after the plates have been cleared.

The interior is well lit and spacious enough for that extra layer of activity. It has booths, counter seating, an indoor dining area and a bar area, so the room can handle a solo meal, a family table or a larger group ordering in several different directions.

The reading element gives Melba’s a community-minded character without asking anyone to make a ceremony of it. A person can simply eat, look around and leave with something to read.

Frozen daiquiris are another regular feature of the stop, and they are known for being strong. They fit naturally at the bar area, though the setting remains casual enough for a quick food run or an unhurried family meal.

Dine-in customers can use ordering kiosks, a practical option when the menu is broad and the room is busy. It is worth taking a moment to check the selections before submitting an order, particularly when adding sides, drinks or a dessert.

Reported seating also includes patio or terrace space, extending the choices beyond the main dining room. Inside, the mix of counters, booths and tables keeps the place from being limited to one kind of visit.

Next door, the adjoining laundromat turns a necessary errand into time that can be used well. Instead of sitting through a wash or dry cycle with nothing to do, customers can have a hot meal, order a drink or browse the books.

That arrangement also explains why Melba’s works as more than a destination restaurant. Some people come specifically for the food; others are making a regular laundry stop and folding a meal into the day.

It is a simple idea, but an unusually practical one: laundry on one side, gumbo and cornbread on the other, with a book display in between.

Melba’s is widely associated with 24-hour service and breakfast served all day, though current hours are worth checking before a very late or very early visit. The all-hours reputation helps explain its usefulness as a breakfast destination, late-night meal stop and ordinary daytime option.

A free dedicated parking lot is available, removing one common complication from a casual meal run. The restaurant also works for takeout and delivery when the better plan is to bring the po’boy or plate home.

For a first visit, a shrimp or hot-sausage po’boy makes a good starting point, especially with baked macaroni and cheese or cabbage alongside. But the broad menu rewards a little wandering: a breakfast platter at one hour, gumbo over rice at another, and bread pudding when the table still has room.