| Mimi's Has a Screaming Color Scheme, But It's Still a Chain | ||
| By Anne Wilson -- Special To The Tribune | 08/30/2002 | |
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SANDY -- Diners will be forgiven if they assume that Mimi's Café serves French or Cajun-style food. Mimi's colorful décor is just a look, something to distinguish it from the dozens of other chain restaurants in this suburban community of young families. Like many of its competitors, Mimi's offers a big menu of reasonably priced food, and lots of it, plus a service style tailored for families (get 'em in and get 'em out, before anybody starts crying). As the new kid on the block, Mimi's (open since May) has been mobbed. The wait to get in is sometimes upwards of an hour. Is it worth that kind of wait? Certainly not, although it might be worth 15 minutes, unless you have promised Grandma she can be the first in her garden club to brag about her visit to the newest spot in town. Here's the bottom line: Mimi's is cute, offers a lot of choice and serves food in good time. The food is reasonably priced, large-portioned and can be quite tasty, but overall isn't appreciably different from or better than other similar chains (TGI Friday's comes to mind). Two pluses: The children's menu has more variety than most, and a "fitness" menu offers calorie counts and nutritional breakdowns of selected entrées. The downside: Mimi's is noisy and chaotic, some of the food is mediocre and diners are forced to wait for a table because of the no-reservation policy. Mimi's is privately owned and doesn't franchise any of its 60-plus stores, the bulk of them in California where the chain has its headquarters. According to the chain's Web site (www.mimiscafe.com), Mimi's is named after a French woman whom founder Arthur J. Simms met near the end of World War II during one of his spy-pilot missions. What the Simms family set out to create with Mimi's Café was a full-service family restaurant (breakfast through dinner) offering good, but value-priced food, with attentive service and a "fun atmosphere." Judging from our sampling and the speed at which this chain is growing (one new store per month, with a second one planned for Murray later this year), they have mostly succeeded, although Mimi's has the limitations of any chain: The menu doesn't change much and anything that requires finesse (like steamed vegetables or wine sauce) invariably proves too much for the kitchen to handle. Here's an example of the good and bad: Mimi's salmon dinner ($12.49) included a standard salad, a nice-sized piece of fish that was tender and still moist, limp green beans and mashed potatoes. The weird thing is that the potatoes come with beef gravy, although diners can ask for mushroom-wine sauce instead. Go for beef: That wine sauce is vile, with an off flavor that tastes neither of wine nor mushrooms. The menu ranges from a list of rather predictable appetizers to full dinners like pot roast and chicken pot pie, plus a good selection of sandwiches and salads. A rotating lineup of soups is offered daily; the corn chowder we tried was bland, although it was served steaming hot. The chicken pot pie dinner ($9.99), said to be one of Mimi's most popular, was also unremarkable: It had big chunks of chicken, carrots and potato, but the cream sauce was ho-hum and the bottom crust was not thoroughly cooked. One of the restaurant's best offerings is a variation of its popular pot roast dinner, the pot roast sandwich ($7.29). It comes on good French bread, the right size for its generous filling of tender beef and lots of horseradish if you want it. The French dip sandwich ($7.99) is almost as good and can be ordered with such add-ons as Swiss cheese (do) or grilled onions (don't, unless you want to taste only onions). The jus for dipping was nicely flavored, and the fresh fruit that came with it was cold, crisp and delicious. All sandwiches come with a choice of French fries, coleslaw, fruit or soup (slaw or fruit are the best bets). The same fruit sampler came with the appetizer Thai chicken wrap ($7.49), which is big enough for two to share or could easily serve as a complete meal for one. It has the grain group (sundried tomato wrap and rice), the meat group (diced chicken), vegetable group (chopped green cabbage and green onion) and a spicy peanut sauce that blended them beautifully. One thing Mimi's does well is desserts, so don't overdo with dinner. The praline bars ($4.99) are wickedly wonderful (avoid guilt by sharing!), a chocolate-pecan variation on Karo nut pie that is served with vanilla ice cream and a whiskey sauce that has only a hint of liquor flavor. The key lime pie is creamy and rich, but tangy too ($3.99). Mimi's Café 10470 S. State St., phone: 572-5451 Hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Prices: Entrées from $6 to $14 Liquor: Beer and wine Reservations: No Child's Menu: Yes Takeout: Yes Wheelchair Accessible: Yes Outdoor Dining: Yes Parking: On-site lot Credit Cards: All major Anne Wilson is The Tribune's restaurant reviewer. The newspaper covers the cost of meals at restaurants reviewed and there is no connection between reviews and restaurant advertising. Wilson welcomes food and wine news, comments and suggestions at wilwrite99@aol.com. |
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