By Donna Price

dprice@americanpress.com

Story, photos by Donna Price

dprice@americanpress.com

In the old cartoon series, “Tom and Jerry,” Tom, a cat, and Jerry, a mouse, are constantly trying to get the best of one another. It is a constant war.

But unlike the cartoon cat and mouse, a real-life Tom and Jerry duo have joined forces — working quite well together— to open up a new Lake Charles restaurant.

Local businessmen Thomas Hotard and Jerry LeBlanc have spent the past two years planning the opening of Kat Daddy’s Drive-thru Kitchen. It recently opened in a brand new building at 814 Country Club Road, across from Popeyes.

Hotard owned and operated Thomas Ships at 4845 Lake St. for 24 years. LeBlanc owns Big Daddy’s Sports Grill at 1737 W. Sale Rd.

Their new place is tiny, but like the name says, you drive through — there is no eating inside — so tiny is just fine. A recent Friday evening meal proved that good things do indeed come in, or in this case from, small packages.

There was a full line of cars snaked around the little building when I drove into the parking lot, but the line moved quickly. Service is quick here, and the staff is super friendly.

I ordered a No. 2: The two-piece fried fish meal with a hushpuppy and one side (I chose the fried okra). I did not want the drink that came with the No. 2 because I planned to drink water at home. That was no problem. A drinkless No. 2 is $5.99.

The fish, fried with a light, fine cornmeal batter, tasted fresh and was not at all greasy. The okra and hushpuppy were excellent, too. The No. 2 was a light, just-the-right size meal for me. I loved it.

My husband, Neil, ordered the No. 5: A 10-piece fried shrimp meal with a hushpuppy and a single side of fries. He also passed on the drink, making the cost of his No. 5 come to $9.75.

Neil gave top marks to his meal. The shrimp were not gigantic, but they were tasty and good, he said.

At, Kat Daddy orders aren’t handed to customers in a paper bag. Instead, each entree comes in a plain, white, rather sophisticated-looking box. It’s a nice touch.

In addition to fried fish and shrimp, Kat Daddy’s offers shrimp, crab or fish burgers, and hamburgers.

Sides other than those mentioned are coleslaw, steamed vegetables, pistolettes and white pepper gravy.

Do be aware that if you pay with cash, you’ll pay a bit less for your order. Credit card users are charged 35 cents for every $10 purchase while cash-paying customers are not.

“We are just passing along what we get charged when a customer uses a credit card,” said Hotard. “We’re just being up front about it. It’s a cost. We’re passing it directly along to the person who makes us incur it.”

It seems a fairer way to go, he said, than raising the price for everyone, credit card user or not.

Kat Daddy’s is open 10:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday. Phone is 337-602-6942.

See a full menu at Kat Daddy’s Drive-Thru Kitchen’s Facebook page.