— TheToothfish

Today I showed my respects to the well-established Paulette’s, a restaurant that represents memories of old Memphis like no other. In the coming months, Paulette’s will move to Currents’ spot in Harbor Town, where I doubt even the best restaurants can thrive. It’s secluded and out of the way, unlike it’s current spot in front of Studio on the Square.

I hadn’t been to Paulette’s since freshman prom. The inside, as it has since I can remember, looked old-school, and all of the clientele certainly had already established their wills. The place smelt rustic and worn-dorn and even the hostess looked tired, her shoulders hunched over as she flopped her feet all the way to our table. Our waiter eventually made an appearance and with the exception of the extra popovers he gave us, was useful only as an excuse vending machine. An awkward one at that. He talked to his shoulders, mentioned he got distracted talking to another waiter, got busy doing something else (there were only four tables in the restaurant).

Paulette’s kitchen is recipe-driven, and it shows. From the fluffy popovers with strawberry butter to the homey hungarian gulyas to the buttery chicken sicilian, my memories were refreshed, but not updated with newer flavors or different preparations.

I don’t have any memories of Paulette’s in the older days so in that way I’m not sad the restaurant is moving. What saddens me is the number of restaurants that have moved or closed in the recent years. I can only hope that newer blood comes to revitalize a city very much in need of culinary exploration and consistency.