The Little Jewel of New Orleans

My main reason for coming to The Little Jewel was to get some King cake flavored Community Coffee to share with my coworkers this week when my Randazzo’s King cake arrives…
I was pleasantly surprised with all the Louisiana grocery items that i usually pack with me on my flight from New Orleans — no need to anymore! Red beans, fish fry, Cajun injector, boudin and other sausages, Zapp’s potato chips (Creole Onion my fave flavor)!! It’s all there for a dollar or so more than what you’d pay for back home.
The surf n turf roast beef and fried shrimp Poboy was very good. A little too much hot sauce in their gravy, but I’m not complaining. The bread was pretty authentic to the flaky French bread you’d get on a real N’awlins Poboy!
Beignets were pretty «empty» on the inside — usually there’s at least a tad bit of breading on the inside of the fried outside, so that was slightly disappointing. But it did the trick of complimenting a good café aulait.
Great fast service.
We will be back!!!

4.5 stars — See this 7 min video of us eating here and our thoughts as we check out the place!

My boyfriend made the best reaction noises and faces while eating here! :)
My boyfriend and I came here after he heard about it from his coworker. We parked at a nearby paid lot. The food here is VERY good. We can’t wait to come back. A very laid, back casual environment. It was PACKED, food comes out fairly quickly. We got the buffalo mustard honey wings, poutine, and the shrimp po boy. We had free water. The vibe here is fun. Great music, half mini mart, half café. My wings were good. Not too sweet and not too spicy. They do put a healthy coating of sauce on there, not drenched, but enough to scrape off. The poutine was TASTY! A smidge of hot sauce, then some gravy, cheese, onions, seasoned salt, shredded beef over a ton of fries. This is a meal in itself and is great portion. The shrimp po’ boy was also delicious! A huge sub of a sandwich too. Each shrimp was heavily coated and seasoned, a lot of shrimp, great dressing/fixin’s inside the sandwich. The bread was soft too. Great flavor overall in all of their food. FOOD DONE RIGHT! My boyfriend paid so he said the sandwich was $ 14, poutine was $ 8.50, and the wings were $ 5.99 for 6 pieces. (see receipt) Such a hidden gem, worth a visit! Check it out!
Also follow me on Instagram UnilocalPersuASIAN. I often have different and more personal pix!

Okay it’s a little expensive but you definitely get yoour money worth. So enjoy a trip to New Orleans for ¼ of what a trip to the quarter would cost you.
I am born and raised in New Orleans this get it my seal, the Bread is not quite N.O. French bread but it close enough. Bread pudding with thy burbon flavors. They have Abita beer and yes they put cabbage on the sandwich were as «dressed means lettuce tomato and pickles ketchup and Tabasco sauce.» But it’s still good

This is right down the street from Phillipes… why am I just now trying this out? The food is delicious!
Me and my friend Billy had been planning a trip for a while now and finally made the drive. Best decision made on a Wednesday night.
I had no clue this was a mini market. Their selling up tons of creole/​Cajun/​New Orleans products. There’s also a deli with house made sausages for purchase. I was tempted to buy everything with the cash I had on me but unfortunately… bills won this round. Damn bills, there no fun!
So in short, I stuck with a Po’Boy, the special of the day and the crawfish mac and cheese. Simply delicious!!! My heart was set on a fried shrimp and fried oyster Po’Boy but for $ 1 more I could get roast beef. So the Big M’s Surf and Turf it was. This Po’Boy was massive and packing tons of flavor. The bread was delicious as well. I was able to take down half of the sandwich right then and there.
Next was the Southern funk special. Best southern bean dish I’ve had that can duke it out with my grandmothers who’s from Baton Rouge Louisiana. She’d punch me for saying this LOL. Last was the crawfish mac and cheese… Great seasonings, nice portion, just the perfect amount of cheese, flavor of the crawfish all throughout, and a nice kick with the hot sauce. We have a winner ladies and gentlemen!!!
I was stuffed at this point and was ready to throw in the white towel until I heard a number for beignets called. Unknown to me, my friend had ordered some. That little greedy kid in me said hell yea! So wrapped up dinner with these bad boys and thought to myself, this would make a great breakfast with some milk or coffee.
If you’re looking for some good New Orleans style food in LA, this place is the spot. I’m going back for sures with the intent of grabbing more food and stocking my kitchen with products.
Dinner 1÷27÷2016

Little Jewel is charming and cozy, but surprising. I keep trying to branch out but the BBQ Shrimp Po’boy drenched in that worcestershire butter sauce keeps calling me back. It’s like an ex: you try and experience something new but you keep dreaming about it and end up coming back for more. Sometimes I cheat on that po’boy with beignets and the guilt is real.
Just go here, okay?

OMG I LOVE THIS PLACE EVEN BEFORE IVE TRIED THE FOOD! We looked so lost coming in (as does everybody per worker) and the guy at the pickup immediately directed us to the left corner to order and pay at the cashier.
Walking in, the feel is immediately like a 70s 80s diner feel? Old fashion. I don’t know how to describe it!
10 minutes later. After the food comes out.
ACTUALY NEVERMIND I DONT LIKE IT ANYMORE LOL!
The food sucks or maybe we ordered wrong
Crawfish Mac n cheese: barely any cheese. Pasta was hard and undercooked. The only cheese was the shredded cheese sprinkled on top. And the sauce wasn’t even cheesy. There wasn’t even much sauce. Like diluted water down smelly tomato sauce. And the crawfish smelled so fishy! Hate it when my food smells really fishy
Sloppy joe po boy: it was very watery and wet. Soaked through the bread. All soggy. Disgusting. The bread texture is kind of good but no flavor. I think most of their flavor they depend on the stuff and mayo they put inside. But otherwise, the texture and crispness of the bread is good
The only thing I love about this place are their variety of drinks! So many unique different drinks. They even have butterscotch beer! But non alcoholic. And a picture of a cauldron! Like from Harry Potter
Pros:
–very good and friendly service
–kind of like a small deli grocery place
–interesting layout and decorations
–plenty of self get napkins and utensils
–variety of bottled drinks
–nonalcoholic butterscotch beer
Cons:
–food kind of sucks. Definitely overhyped

Kudos to the little Jewel of New Orleans. I have searched high and low, far and wide for ground chicory. It’s a common household item in parts of Europe. Ironically, it grows abundantly throughout the U.S. but not available for purchase anywhere! The search has been ongoing for several months and has taken me to every supermarket as well as every Los Angeles retail food website.
Earlier today I passed through every shop in Chinatown, but had no luck. When the clerk pointed to it on the shelf I was overcome with a feeling of joy that I haven’t sensed in a long time.
I would like to thank the little Jewel of New Orleans for carrying this item. I plan to blend it with coffee like they would in N’awlins.
On a side note, this place may also win the prize for best restroom in Chinatown.
I will report back about the food next time I visit though from what I hear, it’s quite good.

I love New Orleans, the city, customs and traditions, the architecture and the FOOD… so it’s really a good feeling to find Little Jewel of New Orleans in the middle of Chinatown, downtown LA. I loved going in, got the feel of a regular small grocery in the city of NOLA with lots of Creole and Cajun ingredients any cook would love.
First I had to try the seafood (oysters, shrimp and fish) po’boy. Let me tell ya it was super huge Po’boy like one would expect (enough for 2 Cali eaters). Felt hungry because I totally enjoyed what it looked like. The poutine was hearty serving, like eating a field of fried potatoes and debris sauce and cheese. This alone was a meal I think with really good beer or vino (but no beer served here, half sad face). I had to try that first and wow, that was deeeelish. I wanted that debris sauce with sunny side eggs and jalapeños. The Po’boy I had was loaded with creole breaded oysters, shrimp and fish, very generous. I took a bite and got appetizing flavor of a hot crisp fresh off the fryer oysters, shrimp and fish. then it was slathered with so much remoulade it dominated the sandwich. Typically a seafood po’boy is dressed with pickles and butter and veggies you want. I should have focused on the ingredients and asked for it undressed, my fault. Since I took a couple of bites I was not about to make a fuss. The remoulade and the sheer amount of it drowned the crisp seafood with a layer of totally unpalatable for me. So glad my lunch partner was hungry and didn’t mind the sandwich.
I’ll come back and try other items like the jambalaya, gumbo and other po’boys which diners are Unilocaling about. But for now, LJNO serves a really good poutine and remoulade rich seafood po’boys. Ask for it undressed with butter and pickles, words to the wise.
Visits: 1
Tip: This is a hoppin’ business, with lots of regulars. There are only about 10 tables so lunchtime can be a bear to snag a table. LJNO delivers within a certain radius, perfect for downtown lofties wanting a bit of Nawlins. On a very busy street, parking is not impossible, metered.

This place is something else. Unique because of where it is located, which makes for a bit of fun in he variety of food offered in the up and coming Chinatown area.
Food: Awesome sauce. Like breh, this will satisfy the appetite of any munchies guaranteed. Authentic as far as I am concerned. Ordered the shrimp & fish poboy. It was done great and left me fill. Creamy sauce inside and a lot of fried shrimp/​fish on a roll.
Service: friendly, although there wasn’t a mad line or anything. I could imagine going down hill during a peak hour. It’s just what humans do.
This place is a convenience store AND restaurant, stocking native Louisiana treats and helllla options of pop or soda.
Overall fun experience, not very healthy but Tasty af. Would be back. This is a bit on the pricy side however.

The girl working the cashier in cat eye glasses is absolutely horrendous to interact with.
Selection in rare snacks is awesome however.

A bit expensive, but man talk about one delicious New Orleans style meal in the heart of Chinatown.
Little Jewel of New Orleans is a small deli-​sandwich & grocery shop that sells traditional New Orleans food (e.g. po’boys and other breakfast & beignet items) as well as other hard-​to-​find New Orlean /​Southern regional products. Daily specials are listed below:
Monday: Red Beans and Rice
Tuesday: Wild Card Chef’s Choice
Wednesday: White Beans and Rice
Thursday: Cajun Shrimp and Andoulle Pasta
Friday: Jambalaya
Saturday: Gumbo
Sunday: Wild Card Chef’s Choice
***
#12 Half and Half Po’boy (Mixed Shrimp and Oyster, $ 16.50): I think fried oysters tasted better than fried shrimp and the way these seafood were battered was amazing — flaky crust that crumbled so easily. Excellent bread (imported from Leidenheimer Baking Co. in New Orleans) with good mayo & lettuce ratio. If I can order another po’boy again, then I will stick with oysters po’boy instead. Lastly, chew your oysters slowly because I actually found a tiny pearl while I was eating. (4.75÷5)
Friday Daily Special #5 — Spicy Creole Jambalaya (w/​chicken, shrimp, and andouille, served w/​corn bread — $ 10.99): Tasty and flavorful creole jambalaya with a hint of spiciness and tons of meat. Cornbread was slightly dry, but I’ve had worse cornbread before. (4.25÷5)
***
Little Jewel of New Orleans’s po’boys are not something I can afford to eat every day, but I can see myself enjoying these sandwiches once in awhile (maybe every 3~6 months). If you are allergic to seafood, then non-​seafood po’boys (e.g. Italian Sausage, Grilled Turkey and Swiss, Cochon de Lait, etc) are also available!

That was some damned good po boy’s. Fried catfish and fried shrimp both were superb.
The menu is extensive, we’re going to need a few more visits to try the rest out, and the sandwiches are substantial.
Seating is limited to a few outside tables and a decent quarter of the inside, furnished with mostly 2, 3, and 4-​person tables.
Important disclaimer: I know relatively little of non-​touristy food from New Orleans and surrounding, so my judgement could be way off.

Ahhhmazing! Shrimp and oyster po boy and surf and turf po boy HUGE and delish. You need to share the sandwhiches are so huge… but too hard to decide. Prices $ 9-​$ 13.50. Everything delish!
There’s a store where you can find chicory coffee and other Louisiana treats!

I have relatives in Slidell, LA outside NOLA where I had many a po boy… please go to Mahony’s if your new to NOLA… without question this is the best authentic Shrimp and Oyster Po Boy fully dressed west of the Miss River. Sounds dramatic for sandwich that isn’t hard to replicate perhaps
Every single ingredient down to the Cajun Chef pickles, Blue Plate mayo and the Leidenheimer bread speaks NOLA. Bring a friend so you can split a po boy which is stuffed and have room for their custardy bread pudding which has just the right amount of sweetness from the glaze. Wash it down with Abita root beer with saparilla-​ish flava.
Be back for the muffuletta, the crawfish mac and few other items from their grocery. I came out here speaking Yat. They seriously got all the staples of SE LA covered. It may be called Little Jewel… just rename it The Crown Jewel of New Orleans. The real deal.

We stopped here for our double date. Its somewhere in or around chinatown. You walk in and there is a nice lady sitting behind the cash register to take our order. This place does have some seats and its like a liquor store where you can find some cool food items to buy.
We were hungry so we ordered:
Little jewel surf and turf po’boy-this baby had roast beef and fried shrimp in a sandwich. This is the sandwich where you can’t decided on land or sea, why not have both. This sandwich was heavy in size and in beef. I ended up only being able to finish half and also took about 10lbs of meat off. It is ridiculous big but o so yummy.
Sloppy joe fries-​the taste of the sloppy joe was good however on the fries made it super soggy. I think next time I will just goes with the plain fries. Fries were delish.
Crawfish mac n cheese sauce-​did not like this dish at all. The crawfish was eh. The mac and chesse wasn’t too bad.
Overall, cool place to grab a sandwich. The sandwiches runs around 11 bucks and up but it is definitely bang for your buck.
P. S. We got there around closing so we just took our food and ate it at the park near by. It was really close by. Nice idea for a little pinic in the park.

This is a good New Orleans deli and market that serves some good sandwiches and food! It’s located in Chinatown near Downtown LA.
I ordered the shrimp Po’boy and it was delicious! The sandwich was huge and I could only eat half of it. They also have Louisiana hot sauce that you can use to make it spicy. They give you a lot of pieces of fried shrimp but the only issue I have with this is that he sandwich is too big so the lettuce keeps falling out. So eating it can be quite messy.
They also sell a lot of ingredients, seasonings, snacks and drinks that you would see in New Orleans. I’ve been there once and I can say that the taste of the food is quite comparable to NOLA but not as good.
Parking isn’t too bad but you would have to park at a meter or a lot.
I’ll definitely be back to try their mac’n’cheese!

I stopped by here while grocery shopping in Chinatown. The menu caught my eye since when would you see a cajun food area in Chinatown. I asked my mom if we could get sandwiches (po’boys) as part of our lunch since we already bought some chinese takeouts.
I ordered bbq shrimp po’ boy (got from special lunch menu), fried shrimp poboy and cochon de lait po boy. One of the sandwich was ordered for my boyfriend since he LOVES po’ boy sandwiches! This all came out to be about $ 45.
The sandwiches were still warm when I got home to eat them. They were definitely work getting and I am happy to have shared this type of food with my mom.
If you don’t eat a lot, I definitely suggest sharing since the sandwiches are huge! They also have a breakfast menu but I was more interested in the lunch menu. Half the sandwich is already more than enough for me.
Parking around is not too bad, but it is all street parking. Sunday’s are harder to find parking unless you go early in the morning since the meters are free.

You have NO idea how in love I am with this place!!!
Seriously for quite some time now I consider myself to be a New Orleans-​ophille. It is #1 on my bucket list of places to visit, I’ve been super into learning about it’s history, and the food… oh lord… the food!
My great friend and coworker had also visited LJoNO and posted a rave review about it (
) unfortunately my work hours don’t quite mesh with theirs (I normally start work when they are getting ready to close) but the other day I was working an extra shift and decided to check them out. My other coworker was equally interested in trying them out, and a fourth coworker warned me about the size of their po’boys (something I should have listened too!). There were so many things to love:
+ Close to Union Station (approx 0.5 miles) and plenty of street parking.
+ Fast and friendly service (the counter girl was so nice).
+ Tons of food for a very reasonable price (both my shrimp po’boy [$ 14], my fries [~$ 5], and my coworkers catfish platter [$ 13] were large enough to be split into 2 meals — or shared among friends).
+ Clean indoor and outdoor seating area.
+ A small general store attached with ice cream, candy, seasoning, cook books, fresh sausages, puddings, and various other items that both relate to Louisiana and Chinatown (the neighborhood the store is in).
+ They have an old timey candy section, and fresh popped popcorn!
+ They deliver.
+ When my coworker asked the owner about a similar business in the Downtown area the owner was *very* professional with his reply; he told my coworker how the way they prepare the food is slightly different and did not bash the other business at all — rather just offered examples of how the food at LJoNO differs).
+ They sell my all time favorite soda of all time (Dandelion and Burdock) [~$ 3.75 a bottle] and offer a wide array of vintage and unique bottled sodas.
+Cash or credit/​debit accepted (with no minimum I believe).
Seriously what not to love? My food tasted great and was freshly prepared. My Po’boy was stuffed full of shrimp and the «side» portion of fries were lightly seasoned and honestly a meal all by themselves. My coworker offered me a sample of his catfish (something I had never tried before) and it was breaded and cooked to perfection — it basically melted in my mouth). I also took a cup of their banana pudding [$ 4.50] back to the office with me and devoured it after I said I was too full and couldn’t eat any more (was that a hint of caramel that I detected in there?).
Totally in love, totally will be back, please don’t ever leave…

This is a that little diamond in the rough. Such a random spot to have cajun food since it is in Chinatown but even though it is in an unexpected location, I expected great food per the reviews I have read. I give this place a solid 3 ½ stars. Order at the counter on the left side of the restaurant near the rest of the aisles of food (kind of what you expect from a liquor store) and then you get a number and grab a table to the right on the store. There are only a handful of tables so be ready to poach on customers that have just finished their meal.
I ordered the Shrimp Po Boy, the Crawfish Mac and Cheese, and the Fried Mushroom Caps.
The Po Boy was decent. The combination is a bit off for me. The shrimp was cooked perfectly; the remoulade and other sauces were a good combination; the bread to filling ratio was good; the only issue I had was that the pickles overtook the sandwich a bit. It was too salty and sour that unfortunately, it took away from the breaded shrimp.
The Crawfish Mac and Cheese was pretty good. A bit too fishy for me and I didn’t see any crawfish but it was still food. Not your typical mac and cheese since it’s made with fusilli but it didn’t feel too heavy. A pretty good complement to the sandwich.
The Fried Mushroom Caps were a special of the day. Around 10 mushroom caps on a bed of lettuce battered and fried. It is a simple side that is great since it comes out piping hot.
I heard that the soft shell crab po boy is no longer on the menu which is a bummer because I love soft shell crab but the shrimp was pretty good. I recommend asking for less pickles because that is what I’m gonna do when I go back.
Parking is a struggle since it is street parking so hopefully you have your lucky rabbit’s foot on hand to find a spot!
So do I still need to go visit New Orleans?

My coworker gave me a sampling of her shrimp Po boy sandwich and it was delicious! I was teasing her that she was enjoying her half blackened chicken sandwich and gravy fries out loud (something that she rarely does), and then she pulled out the other half of her sandwich which was the Shrimp Po Boy.
I tried a small cut at first and it was really good. My coworker ended up giving me the sandwich cuz she saw how I enjoyed it, nice!!! The fried shrimp wasn’t greasy or caked too much with the crumbs. The shrimp did have a nice kick to it, but it wasnt spicy, yay!!! The cole slaw was refreshing and creamy and the tomatoes were a nice touch. The bread was soft and held up all the ingredients nicely.
Usually, I’m not a fan of Cajun food, but this was awesome and now understood why my coworker was enjoying her food out loud today, lol! The portions are big and hearty and worth the price — $ 9. Definitely worth a trip going there or whenever they’re ordering again, I told my coworker to count me in next time! :)