If I read the banner correctly (we were driving by and so I might not have), The Jerk Spot Stop is taking the spot where All India Kitchen used to be in West LA.
I think the only review of the place (another location) was here?
Edited b/c I got the name wrong in my original post.
The banner has been up there for… a while.
I’ve been watching with interest… it would be the first ackee on the westside.
Oh! I had no idea. I drive by that intersection all the time but apparently never look up!
Now a brand new generic “Jamaican Food” sign has gone up two strip malls over at the corner of Wellesley, so clearly something is in the air…
IT’S OPEN!!! (I saw some flags and such outside to mark its opening)
I wish them the best of luck as the only business on the 2nd floor of that really bad feng-shui strip mall.
I think I’ve been to that mini mall once. If you try it let us know what you think!
The place is called Jerk STOP (not Jerk Spot, which is a restaurant in Culver City).
Went last night:
I have no frame of references for Jamaican food, except for Caribbean Gourmet in Alhambra.
I enjoyed it overall. The plate is ENORMOUS (wrapped utensils in the napkin were of “normal” length and provided for some sense of scale). I got the ox-tail in a “large” size (I think “small” only comes w/ one side, while large comes w/ two). Partner’s food (not pictured) was jerk shrimp.
Mac and cheese a delight, but the cabbage might’ve been my favorite (so well seasoned). Ox-tails bones were much smaller (w/ more meat to bone ratio) than I’m accustomed to. They were QUITE salty on their own (and I really like salt), but the sauce was great over rice. Apparently the festival (fried dumplings/donut) comes w/ every entree? So you basically get the main, 2 sides, and a bit of dessert w/ a entree.
The shrimp is cooked to order and took a fair bit of time (15-20 mins?). Very spicy and enjoyable. Shrimp was fairly large, too.
Caribbean Gourmet, to me, tasted quite elevated. Jerk Stop was very much like tasty home cooking. Would I drive across the city for this? No. But I’m very glad to have it in the neighborhood. Woman at the cashier (who I assume is an owner) was also very sweet.
Second visit (to go) was not quite as successful. The food (mac and cheese and curry chicken plate) didn’t have the same vibrancy, and the food gave the impression that it had been sitting out for awhile (w/o being reheated upon ordering). Partner (who did the pickup) also said that service was a bit… random.
My impression is that the owners might be pretty new to this, so hopefully they’ll work out the kinks and be able to have more consistency in terms of quality.
Haven’t been yet, so I can’t say anything specific, but Jamaican restaurants writ large (especially in LA) can be MORE than a little random.
Opening hours can seem approximate, ordering hostile, kitchens amateur… it’s kind of a thing.
yah mon
