Here's what to order at Hot Stuff, Mason Hereford's newest restaurant

Catch up quick: Hereford's first New Orleans restaurant was Turkey & The Wolf, an Irish Channel sandwich joint that quickly earned accolades nationwide.

• Since it opened, he and his team have added breakfast joint Molly's Rise & Shine and 1980s dinner and happy hour spot Hungry Eyes to the mix.
• Hereford opened Hot Stuff with chef Nate Barfield, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune's Ian McNulty reports.

Zoom in: In Louisiana, meat-and-threes are better known as plate lunches, and perhaps no part of the state does it better than Lafayette.

• But New Orleans is serving up more of them like Chicken's Kitchen in Gretna.
• Hours: Like Chicken's Kitchen, Hot Stuff is a lunch spot with hours from 11am to 4pm. Closed Tuesday and Wednesdays.

How it works: Grab a tray, and work your way down the line.

• The staff plates up everything you ask for, and they're great with answering any questions, too.
• The cafeteria style moves really fast, so don't let a long line scare you away. On my visit, I saw the line back up to the door and clear twice while I ate a quick solo lunch.
• Prices range from $11 to $18 for a meat, bread and one to three sides. You can also get everything, plus dessert and drinks, a la carte.

What I ordered: Fried catfish with collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and hush puppies ($15).

• The catfish had a pleasant heat and came with a dill-spiked tartar sauce that I slathered on every bite by meal's end.
• The béchamel sauce on the mac had a Cajun kick to it, and the hush puppies were fried to pillowy perfection.
• But the bacon-flecked, melt-in-your-mouth collard greens were the star.

The bottom line: I stopped by on my own, but was already texting my husband that he had to try Hot Stuff before I walked out the door.