About Paulie's
Paulie's is the kind of restaurant every neighborhood needs—comfortable and casual, serving great food at reasonable prices. That it succeeds is not a surprise, given the talents of its founders, Kathy and Bernard Petronella.
The Petronellas have practically two lifetimes of foodservice experience between them. Kathy Craft Petronella started in the restaurant business immediately after high school and spent more than 20 years with Butera's Deli. When she left Butera's and went out on her own, she operated Kathy Craft Cooks, a full-service catering company with a specialty serving food for movie production companies and music videos. Husband Bernard spent 15 years in catering with Ninfa's, a Houston dining institution.
After socking away savings for several years and then finding just the right location in the heart of Montrose on Westheimer, Paulie's debuted in April 1998.
"We were both raised on home-style Italian food," says Kathy. "So, it was natural that our own restaurant reflected that background." The menu is straightforward and appealing, just like the Petronellas. The offerings include pastas, sandwiches, paninis, pizzas, salads, soups and desserts, with a special section of dinner entrees.
The key to irresistible food is the high quality of every ingredient, from the herbs to the vegetables, meats and seafood, as well as the attention to preparation. Says Bernard, "We're not reinventing the wheel here. We're just serving the best possible rendition of updated Italian classics."
The original Paulie's caught on immediately with neighborhood diners and thrived. The hard-working duo saw that their popular concept would be equally well-received in other Houston neighborhoods. In April 2004, Paulie's on Holcombe opened, and it too was a hit with the neighborhood.
The appeal of the easy-to-like café is obvious. The ambiance is low-key, with walls of exposed bricks, track lighting, simple black tables and chairs, and a rotating schedule of original artwork. Diners place their orders at the counter and retrieve their food when their buzzer flashes. But the food is the real draw—hearty, healthy, fresh and irresistible.
Pastas at Paulie's. which are the restaurant's best-selling items, are generous bowls of delectable fettuccini, fusilli and spaghetti topped with full-flavored sauces. The classic Fettuccini Alfredo is exactly what it should be—tender fettuccini in a mouthwatering cream sauce. Primavera Aglio e Olio features fusilli pasta with grilled vegetables and plenty of garlic. Other pasta bowls include Fettuccini Scampi with shrimp and mushrooms; Pasta Portabello with portabello mushrooms and grilled red pepper in a creamy sherry sauce; and possibly Houston's best Spaghetti Marinara, a special Petronella family recipe.
Salads at Paulie's start with crisp-fresh greens and vegetables and are distinguished by the unbeatable vinaigrettes that make each one distinctive. The popular "Big Salad" includes a hefty portion of romaine with tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, carrots, mushrooms, avocado, and feta cheese. The Italian Family Salad is similar, but with Italian cold cuts tossed with a Black Olive Vinaigrette. Another winning combination is the Mediterranean Pasta Salad, which includes artichoke hearts, spinach, red bells, celery, calamata olives and feta cheese in a fragrant pesto vinaigrette. All salads can be personalized with the addition of grilled chicken, shrimp, grilled salmon, tuna or a scoop of the stellar chicken salad.
The star of the sandwich selections is a Paulie's signature, the Grilled Shrimp BLT. Needing no further description, suffice it to say that the shrimp are perfectly plump and tender and assertively complemented by the "B". The Pork Tenderloin sandwich—grilled and slathered with Cajun mustard—is another winning offering. Also on the menu are Grilled Tuna with wasabi mayo and fresh ginger; Grill Roasted Salmon with remoulade and onion and the Shrimp Cake Burger, similar to a crab cake, "only better," according to the menu, with remoulade and onion.
Paninis, the now-popular grilled sandwiches, have varied fillings, but at Paulie's they all have the same, great Tuscan bread, crisped and flavored over the grill. Panini choices, all served with a generous scoop of Pasta Salad, include the Yezzi, with fresh spinach, roasted tomatoes and feta cheese; the Principe, with Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, grilled onions and peppers; and the Torregrossa, with ham, salami, Swiss cheese and olivada.
Paulie's offers five great pizzas. Starting with a tender, in-house made crust, pizza choices include the Donatela, with just cheese, the Eleni, with pepperoni and cheese; and the Vinnie, topped with Italian sausage and cheese.
For vegetarians, the easy-to-love café offers the Grilled Vegetable Platter with an array of seasonal vegetables with feta cheese; Vegetable Burritos with tomatillo sauce and black bean salad, and any number of pasta, pizza, sandwich, and panini combinations.
At dinner, Paulie's brings out a heartier array of specials from traditional Italian offerings to updated classics. Grill Roasted Salmon, Shrimp Cakes & Grilled Shrimp, Veal Chops and sautéed mushrooms and spaghetti, roasted tomato slices and calamata olives tossed in a light, Caesar-y sauce; a meaty Porterhouse Pork Chop and Ribeye Steak served with pesto gnocchi and grilled tomatoes. A fresh steamed vegetable and Parmesan potatoes accompany most entrees.
For dessert, the runaway favorite since Paulie's opened its doors are the charmingly decorated shortbread cookies. Now a trademark of the restaurant's, the melt-in-your-mouth cookies change with the seasons, tempting diners with designs such as meticulously iced school buses, Easter rabbits and Christmas trees. Other temptations include cream cheese brownies and assorted tarts and cakes.
With the popularity of Paulie's lunchtime offerings, the owners were compelled to create their in-demand Box Lunch Menu, including eight selections of their best-selling sandwiches and salads, prepared and boxed for pick-up. Box Lunch Menu items include side servings of pasta salad, fresh fruit salad, bottled water and a cookie.
Son Paul now runs his parents' creation.