It represents the memory of my youth. Sliced pork loaded with sauce on a toasted bun accompanied by a side of chips and root beer in the bottle. Anytime my family got anywhere near to Hammond, Louisiana, we had to stop in for a Hi-Ho BBQ sandwich. My mother ate there during her time at Southeastern Louisiana University back in the 1960’s and I ate there as well during my stint at SLU.

I was quite excited when I heard that Hi-Ho was opening a location, its #4, in Denham Springs, the town closest to my hometown. I went there and was not too impressed. I went to Graduate School and China for a while and then accepted a job in Watson working for the parish library. Everyday, I drive by the Hi-Ho restaurant. I decided a week or so ago to give it another shot. I don’t know if it quite lives up to my nostalgia, but it was really tasty. The only two issues I had was that it had too much sauce and at $2.75 for a plain seemed a tad too overpriced. The first is easy to solve while the second complaint I can chalk up to memory and inflation.

As for the sandwich, it was really good and bore a great resemblance to what I remembered eating out in Hammond for so many years. Hi-Ho is not a traditional BBQ place in that it serves a great variety of meats. BBQ here means pork or beef on a bun. However, they have updated their menu with burgers, fries and some other selections. For me, however, the plain pork sandwich reigns supreme. No cheese or any other distractions – just pork, sauce and bun.