Hosting a group of Katrina evacuees last year, Zydeco quickly won them over with its stellar gumbo and red beans and rice. This joint can hang with most any Cajun place on the Gulf Coast. But what really packs in the business crowd every day are the divided plates heaped, cafeteria-style, with meat and sides. Aside from the excellent smothered pork chops and fried chicken, "meat" is construed in the liberal Cajun sense -- crawfish ?touff?e and chicken-and-sausage jambalaya, to be sure, but also cosmopolitan inventions such as a sweet, tomato-based salmon Creole. Everything delivers. The sides can wipe out all but the most ravenous patrons. The mashed potatoes are fresh, the green beans creamy, the okra stewed and savory. Top it all off with a moist slice of corn bread -- regular, or jalape?o. With so much goodness, one wonders if Zydeco could be one reason so many New Orleans expatriates are staying put in Houston.