Archive for May 2nd, 2009

Despite the odd coloring on the outside of the building, we were drawn to the lastest Short Pump magnets like the rest of the far west-enders. We visitied Mimi’s Café on a busy weekend night.

Mimi’s is a chain, and in regards to our Mimi’s, is so new that wrinkles were still in the process of being ironed out on the evening we visited. On the way out, I heard a manager lecturing another employee on how to handle a particular situation. Service for us was devastatingly slow.

One thing I found interesting at Mimi’s was the decor. They seated us in a back room with a curved brick ceiling. Eclectic French country might be one way to describe the decor, with well-padded, dark-patterned carpets, an exciting use of color, and the sense that you were visiting perhaps someone named “Mimi” in her forest cottage.

All this quaintness didn’t exactly translate to the menu. The presentation of 3 or 4 different menus when we sat down was both confusing and nonsensical. They had a special menu, a healthy menu, the regular menu, and there might have been more - yes - a menu with a “3 course menu special.” The prices were reasonable in today’s climate, but then again, you typically get what you pay for.

We both ordered salads that came with muffins. I am not sure eating a muffin (an awful, fat-free blueberry muffin at that) at night, with dinner, is normal. They serve you bread, but most of it was sweet. Then a big, giant muffin. Odd.

The salads were lackluster, but passing. They took forever to come out; while drinks and bread was timed fine. We also tried their fried zucchini appetizer which was served hot, but again, took a lot of time to come from the kitchen, and in my opinion, is a failed menu item. The thick zucchini slices were more like large dill pickles, and despite the crunchy coating falling off, the insides were still mushy - as a watery zucchini “spear” is likely to be. It came with two sauces, a creamy sauce and a tomato-based sauce.

Despite having a server who was trying hard and who was friendly, we decided Mimi’s wasn’t our type of place. They do serve breakfast, and we may return to try that (where muffins are more welcome). My ultimate hunch is that Mimi’s was designed to cater to retired women who like to lunch. It’s certainly a family-oriented place, but not the hidden-French cabin that serves gustatory delights we’d label gourmet.