Paul's

Doughnuts, Subs and Gyros... breakfast tacos, baklava, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns. Seriously, Paul (I didn't meet any Paul while there) would make you a lasagna if you asked.

Paul's is on Hemphill, just south of Magnolia and is a medium sized, any meal of the day, diner. I haven't made it for any of the other meals of the day, but I have been for breakfast. In my time in the southside of Fort Worth, I was not propositioned by a homeless man for change, nor was I shot at. See, its coming around. Paul's is helping the area change, one gyro baklava sub at a time.

I ordered a breakfast plate and a cinnamon sugar cake doughnut. The breakfast plate comes with two eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and toast. The doughnut comes with that nagging sensation that maybe the plate was enough food.

You know how some places do one thing really well (Babe's Chicken House)? And you know how some places do lots of things sort of mediocre/poorly (dallas)? Paul falls in the middle. The doughnut was delicious (although I'm partial to cinnamon sugar cake doughnuts so it had an advantage going in).

The breakfast plate was sort of a mixed bag. It came with two eggs and they were prepared just like I like them (covered in queso). The bacon was crispy, which isn't how I like it, but it wasn't burned, so that's ok. The sausage was dry and the hash browns were not dry enough. The toast was perfect. If Texas Monthly ever gets some serious journalists, they'll do a Toast edition and Paul's will show.

I think one of the biggest downsides is the plate. It's styrofoam. I have no problems using styrofoam. I usually load my groceries into styrofoam containers instead of plastic bags, then throw them away when I get home - or burn them. I wish toilet paper came in styrofoam. I love the stuff. But not as a plate. In law school, a friend and I went to a breakfast place that we had heard so much about. We ordered our pancakes and sat down. When the pancakes came, they were on styrofoam plates. You ever try to eat something that needs to be cut on styrofoam? There's always a mess on the table afterwards. I quickly dropped that restaurant. However, that also had to do with the coffee.

Paul's coffee is fine. And the plate thing wasn't a huge deal since I don't generally cut my bacon with a knife. I'm just pointing that out.

All in all, Paul, you pass. I will definitely go again. the atmosphere is great with the open kitchen, the noisy police officers, the somewhat stoned looking hippie eating his eighth bear claw, the yuppie couple in the corner reading the newspaper (wait, that was me). Also, the building is really nice. It's got a lot of windows, there's an open kitchen so you can keep an eye on Paul and you're gyro breakfast doughnut plate.

This seems like a great place to go grab some coffee, some type of food and read a paper. Plus, you know its safe - there are always police there.