This past New Year’s Eve, as restaurants throughout the city offered prix fixe menus and fulfilled reservations taken weeks in advance, Alexander Michael’s treated it as any other Wednesday night. No reservations, no exceptions. The blackened catfish was cooked just right, as it always is at this Fourth Ward institution, and the Cajun pasta arrived piping hot. Pints of beer flowed at the bar, and light-hearted chatter filled the dining room. As much as Charlotteans like progress, we return to 32-year-old Alexander Michael’s because it’s just the way we remember it.