Thanks to a DCist reader, we bring you more info on another worthy fundraiser for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, this one taking place on September 12. Please keep directing information our way, and we’ll keep posting it.

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A group of high-profile chefs and restaurateurs here in Washington is donating its time, food and energy to raise money for New Orleans, in sympathy with all their fellow food and restaurant workers who have lost their livelihoods and so much more. We’re hoping the movement will go national. We’re doing it with Po’Boys, the beloved New Orleans sandwich.

Here’s our rallying cry: “PO’ BOY POWER, Dress New Orleans Again!”

At any New Orleans po’boy joint, you order your oyster or roast beef sandwich “dressed” – with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and hot sauce. Our goal is to raise money, not just to revive the city, but to bring it back as good as it can possibly be – “dressed.”

Acadiana Restaurant, a Louisiana-style fish house opening September 12th in the heart of the nation’s capital, will become the po’boy headquarters of the fund-raising effort. On opening day, Chef Jeff Tunks and his chef friends Robert Wiedmaier, Michel Richard, Roberto Donna, and Cesare Lanfranconi, to name a few, will make brown bag carry-out po’boys (meat and seafood) all day for a donation of $25 each. Get’em and go!

“There is no question. This food is what we know and love, these people are who we care about, and this is what we can do to help” says Tunks. His ties to New Orleans are strong — he lived there for four years, and even got married there. “I was just down there, getting to know local purveyors, farmers, and fishermen who were to supply Acadiana. We’ve been in constant contact all summer. Now they’re just gone.”

The first food donor on board is Congressional Seafood, and all proceeds will be given to the American Red Cross. The Red Cross will also receive a percentage of Acadiana’s profits for its first month of operation, as well as generous donations of the server’s tips.

As a New Orleans native and long-time culinary industry professional, I know first-hand how the disastrous hurricane has affected my family, their homes, and businesses. New Orleans’ legendary cuisine, such a tremendously important part of its industry and economy, has always been the lifeblood of countless food-service workers, from busboys to restaurateurs – who have now lost everything.

Come one come all and have a deliciously dressed po’boy. Help us get the word out. Help Dress New Orleans AGAIN! Thanks Y’all!

Acadiana
901 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001

For more information:
Simone Rathlé – Headquarters for PoBoy Power
(800) 496-1733/(703) 534-8100/(703) 534-8102
simonepr@aol.com / simoneink@aol.com

Picture above taken from the AP.