Southern restaurant (US), Bar, Cajun restaurant in Washington, DC
Po Boy Jim Bar and Grill is a Cajun-Creole restaurant at 709 H Street NE in Washington, D.C.'s H Street Corridor. The restaurant built its menu around more than two dozen original po' boy sandwiches, including fried shrimp, fried oysters, roast beef, and catfish, prepared from recipes passed down through the family of founder Jeff Miskiri. The fried shrimp po' boy, wings, gumbo, and the house DC Hurricane cocktail are among the most popular items with regulars. The concept blends Miskiri's father's New Orleans roots with his mother's Guyanese background, giving the food a Southern-meets-Caribbean character that sets it apart from typical po' boy shops. Beyond the kitchen, Po Boy Jim has built a reputation as a neighborhood gathering spot on H Street, hosting a quarterly community toy drive called Toys for Po Boys and giving local artists space in the restaurant to display and sell their work. The restaurant has attracted a notable local following over the years, with reported visits from former NFL player Clinton Portis and former BET President Debra L. Lee. Po Boy Jim also operates a second location in Columbia, Maryland, extending its Creole and Cajun menu to the broader DMV area. The H Street location remains the flagship, known for its casual bar-and-grill atmosphere, full bar service, and a menu that leans heavily on scratch-made Southern comfort food with a Caribbean twist.
Po Boy Jim was founded in 2014 by Jeff Miskiri, who grew up in Takoma Park and Silver Spring, Maryland, and started cooking as a young child while his mother and aunts worked outside the home. He later combined a business degree with his mother's and aunts' experience in the food industry to open the restaurant. The name Po Boy Jim is itself a tribute to the people who built it with him: "Jim" stands for Jeff, Ian, and mothers, honoring his mother, Rebecca Antoine, and his cousin, Ian Reid, who co-own the business alongside him. The restaurant's menu reflects that shared heritage, merging his father's New Orleans cooking traditions with his mother's Guyanese roots. Miskiri has said he always had a passion for cooking, a skill he developed out of responsibility as a kid preparing meals for the family. That personal history shaped Po Boy Jim into more than a restaurant, turning it into a family business that continues to draw on recipes and traditions passed down from both sides of his family.