Besha Rodell
One of the most mistreated of Louisiana's foods is the po' boy, which in the rest of the country could be any old fried shrimp or oyster sandwich. The bread rarely has the soft/crackle magic of the bread baked in Louisiana specifically for po' boy purposes. The sandwich is rarely “dressed,” as it would be in New Orleans, with the correct combination of lettuce, tomato, pickles and Blue Plate mayo, and there are hardly ever options other than fried seafood to choose from. Little Jewel aims to bring the soul of New Orleans directly to the streets of Chinatown, and it succeeds. For his massive, 10-inch po' boys, Marcus Christiana-Beniger brings in bread daily from Leidenheimer Baking Company in New Orleans. And he offers far more than just fried seafood (though if you're a purist and just want a fried oyster sandwich, this one is practically faultless). There's also a chaurice po' boy, with patties of spiced Creole sausage similar to Spanish chorizo but left uncured. It's hard to find even in New Orleans. Then there's the cochon de lait po' boy, a mess of pulled pork so juicy that I also would have to deem it the best Southern-style barbecue sandwich in Los Angeles. That it is not a style many of us might recognize is beside the point. It kicks ass.
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