Switching to a to-go only menu for a spell, Karen introduced domes and greenhouses to help people stay safe and fed. “This life is really nuts, actually”, she would later reflect. After several more “itches”, including the creation of Mollie Fontaine’s from the ashes of Cielo, a global pandemic arose and it was time to “really pivot”. This general store–now Bar DKDC (“I don’t know and I don’t care- her words when asked to name the place)–was a female-run sushi bar before it was a stage for Memphis musicians and artists alike. The Beauty Shop Restaurant launched in 2002 with a general store next door selling everything from candy to bikes (and, yes, hats). Meaning “heaven” in Spanish, Cielo opened in ‘96 and was soon followed by yet another itch. That is, until she turned her house into a new place: ‘Cielo’, in one of her so-called “six year itch” phases. It was a “good ol’ boys” world so they didn’t give this tiny-but-mighty woman much time in the industry. People didn’t know what to think about this place. Yet she wanted more, and with an eclectic mix of funky food and a very artsy crew, came Automatic Slim’s, opening in 1991. She married Bob, a fellow Memphian, and with a bun in the oven, returned to our fair city determined to set the Memphis catering scene ablaze. On July 4th of 1986, she opened her first spot in New York, Automatic Slim’s, using a shoe box as a cash register. She rose through the ranks, even catering Calvin Klein’s 50th birthday party. One pair of rickety stairs later, having met women from all over the globe, she entered the world of catering and graduate school was a thing of the past. ![]() Wanting a joint, she had followed the smell of ganja to the women’s room, and walked out having gained work with Susanna at Seasons of My Heart catering, located in the Skid Row district. It would be in the restroom of a trendy restaurant where KBC met Susanna Trilling (a top NYC caterer) and her path entirely changed. In NYC, on a scholarship for a painting master’s, she enrolled at the New York Cooking School for an immersive 6 week course–but she needed money. KBC is a fashionable character with food on the brain and a take-no-crap attitude, which makes working with her a safe place for any walk of weird.įor over 35 years, KBC has created art–from eccentric dishes to a first love of painting and glasswork. With a heart as immense and open as her collection of Amy Downs hats, Karen is the mama you are graced with. I still refer to her staff as the “Island of Misfit Toys”, due to KBC’s accumulation of wonderfully distinct folx who unwittingly become family. I started working for Karen Blockman Carrier, or KBC, in 2015 when I needed a safe haven, which KBC provided as she’d done to many before me. I would definitely go back to Automatic Slim's.By Devinn Schwarzman | photo by Jonathan Postal They both bent over backwards to accommodate our "quest". Bob was our bartender both nights, and Jeff our server on Saturday. I can't overstate how helpful the bartender, Bob, and our server, Jeff, were to us. ![]() The chicken curry pasta was a little heavy on the curry side for some, but my taste of it was good. Four of the party ordered beef tenderloin, both the standard menu item (quite delicious I was told) and the crab meat topped special, which was also quite good. I ordered the shrimp (tasty but spicy hot), which I wish had been served with some kind of vegetable. After viewing the menu on Friday we decided to come back for dinner on Saturday. With the exception of 2 or 3, at least one of our party liked each martini, with some, like the Key Lime Pie, being big hits. Their list of 40-50 martini's brought out the competitors in us, and we decided we would have one of each over the course of the weekend. On a recent girls trip weekend, we discovered Automatic Slim's happy hour lasts from 11am until 7pm every day, offering $5 martini's during that time.
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