Add Tommy’s Fish House to the growing number of northern Ascension Parish eateries worth checking out.

The intentionally rustic restaurant — lots of weathered wood outside, and old, rusted signs and fishing knick-knacks — has a kitschy quality that not everyone will appreciation, but based on our recent visits, the food more than makes up for any aesthetic objections. It comes to the table well-prepared and plenty of it.

Try the fried crawfish salad for lunch ($9.99). The base is a mix of fresh greens, julienne carrots, a bit of purple cabbage and roma tomatoes. It’s topped with a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese, quartered hard-boiled eggs and, to ratchet the crunch up even more, croutons. Finally, a generous helping of fried crawfish is added. You get your choice of dressing and there’s a slice of toasted garlic bread on the side. It all comes on a dinner plate-sized salad bowl. The ingredients are fresh, and the flavorful crawfish is fried perfectly.

37306 Old Perkins Road (Prairieville)PHONE: (225) 673-1799HOURS: Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri. and Sat.; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun.CREDIT CARDS: VISA, MC