Author Archives: paul

I’ve eaten thousands of meals in restaurants. The ones that have stuck weren’t about the food. What I remember is the person sitting across from me. In my business, service times, table numbers, and orders all start to blur. But the moments that rise above it—the ones that last—are about people. A shared meal hasContinue reading “Who Was Across from Me”

CHICAGO— My wife’s off on a girls’ trip, and my son happened to have two days off work. That was all the excuse I needed. I booked a flight, packed a bag, and headed north. A couple of days in Chicago with him? That’s time I’ll always take. Chicago has always been one of myContinue reading “Lessons Between Courses”

Some things in life are constant. For some people it’s a favorite hymn or a favorite breed in a family dog. For me, it’s music, football, Mississippi—and pancakes. In sixty-three years, I’ve probably eaten more pancakes than any other food. They’ve been a part of my life from the beginning. My first real food memoryContinue reading “What Pancakes Know”

Sometimes I catch flak from my daughter. My wife gives me a hard time, too. They say I overshare on social media—pictures of sandwiches, sentimental nonsense, folksy food memories no one asked for. And I do. But they keep reading. They keep watching. If I ever disappear, I assume it’s because they finally staged anContinue reading “The Sandwich Principle”

We landed in New Orleans on Sunday, which isn’t when most people arrive in New Orleans unless they’ve made a mistake. It had been a quick trip to New York. In and out. Just two days. The main reason was a play I didn’t want to miss—a revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross. BobContinue reading “A Roast Beef Poboy and a Curtain Call”

My paternal grandmother was one of the sweetest, most loving people God ever put on this Earth. She didn’t fuss. Didn’t preach. She just went about loving people the way she knew how—quietly, gently, without any need for attention or applause. Her love showed up in small ways, the kind you don’t notice until yearsContinue reading “Crusts Off”

Father’s Day has come and gone, at least according to the calendar. But I’m still carrying it with me. There wasn’t a big moment this year. No slow morning at Table 19. No movie with the kids. I was in Atlanta with my wife. We had brunch at one of my favorite spots—pancake the sizeContinue reading “The Best Job I’ll Ever Have”

There’s a lot of talk these days about self-made people. I’m not one of them. Whatever I’ve done, whatever I’ve built, whatever I’ve been blessed to be part of—it wasn’t done alone. Not even close. I’ve been in a reflective place lately. Not sure if it’s age, or just life slowing down enough to reallyContinue reading “A Long Thank-You Note”

Ice cream didn’t play a big role in my childhood. Never cared much for cream or shakes. Candy was more my thing—sour apple Jolly Ranchers and Milky Way bars, mostly. But when it came to frozen treats, it was always pineapple sherbet. My babysitter used to take me to the little shop by the parkContinue reading “This Wasn’t Supposed to Be About Milkshakes”