Cate St. Seafood Station, Hammond, LA

When you think of Sushi, Hammond, Louisiana is probably not the first place that comes to mind — or the second or third or hundredth, for that matter. But if there is a finer place to get Sushi in North America, I don't know about it. Seriously.

Janis and I drove up to Ponchatoula last night to visit with our good friend Keith Davis and to pick up a couple of projects he was working on for me and to take him and his family out to dinner. Keith suggested the Cate St. Seafood Station in Hammond, which is just a few miles north of Ponchatoula. This is the old train station in Hammond that has been converted to a restaurant. Keith just happens to do some odd jobs for the restaurant's owner, John Wong. Once we arrived Keith could also not resist telling us that we were now on the "Wong side of the tracks." Blame Keith for that one, not me.

Here is my endorsement: if you are going to visit New Orleans, this place is worth the 1 hour drive (gas prices and all). It is that good.

We started off with the "Bonzai Bomb," which is a large Jalapeno pepper stuffed with crabmeat and a special Tabasco cream sauce, then fried in Tempura batter and served with a sweet sesame sauce. Janis ordered California rolls, which are as good if not better than any you would get in any other Sushi restaurant. Here's where things get interesting. While the girls decided to go for more conventional meals (which they loved, btw), Keith and I stuck with the Sushi. The owner's son prepares the Sushi. We chose a couple of items off the menu and let him pick a couple of others.

We had Cajun rolls, N.O. Saints rolls, Bayou rolls, and a brand new creation called "Cowboy roll" which had Tenderloin on top and a combination of crawfish and asparagus in a Tabasco mayonnaise. While they were all fantastically good, it was the Cowboy roll that put us over the top.

So next time you are going to visit New Orleans, plan on taking a trip to this amazing seafood restaurant with us!