Mimi's Cafe?

[little audrey]

A Mimi's Cafe recently opened near us. What's good there, if anything? Thanks!

[ReelMike84]

I was there not to long ago and tried one of their seasonal items, the "Pesto Chicken Patty Melt." I didn't really enjoy it. It was surprisingly messy and all the ratios were off between the bread, chicken, and cheese. Next time I'll stick with the patty melt if a melt is what I'm craving.

Has anyone had the "French Quarter" or one of their burgers for that matter? I always seem to think about ordering it but end up with something else.

[Big Bad Voodoo Lou]

I was there the other night and got the French Quarter burger. It is really solid, for a chain restaurant burger. It comes on thick sourdough bread, grilled with garlic butter, and includes avocado and Thousand Island dressing, among other things. Those two toppings, plus the great buttery bread, really make it something unique and special. Not nearly as good as a Fuddruckers burger, but far better than similar offerings from your typical "T.G.I. McScratchy's" chain. Their fries are pretty good too, and of course the muffins and baked goods are always great.

[Mag454]

I really like it and I'm not a chain person....

But the soups, salads and muffins are really good! HUGE portions but its nice to eat leftover muffin for breakfast the next day.

[Big N Fat]

Great fish 'n' chips. Crunchy white fish with a good tasting tarter sauce. Not a cheeseburger but still, good.
-BnF

[starbucksbrew]

Mimi's has outstanding corned beef hash. TRUST ME on this. It is made from scratch and is nothing like what comes out of a can.

In the fall, the pumpkin pancakes with caramel apples are about the best thing I have ever eaten.

Lunch and dinner items are hit or miss. The thai chicken wrap is great. The french onion soup sux.

[AlyKen]

I agree about the corned beef hash. That's what I almost always order. I definitely prefer the breakfasts to the other meals.

[Beach Chick]

Pain Perdu for breakfast is really good..
Overall, I think Mimi's does a pretty good job..

[Diane in Bexley]

We went to Mimi's Cafe last night for dinner as it got a good review in the local paper and it is at Polaris Mall, where we had to run an errand. Don't usually frequent chain restos, and when I heard this was owned by Bob Evans, really didn't want to go (their breakfasts suck!). But, I am pleasantly surprised to say, my chicken piccata with grilled asparagus & mashed potatoes was very tasty. The price seemed reasonable and we had to wait for a table at 6 p.m. because they were so busy (a good sign in my book). This is only location in Columbus so far, but might make a trip there for breakfast, as our town sorely needs a good place or two for morning food.

[TampaAurora]

Is it just me, or does it smell and look like a rehabbed Denny's? I've been told they have decent baked goods, but I can't get over the first impression to even walk in the door.

[RobynS]

That's a connection that I would never have made and still don't see. At all.

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

Nope. Around here, about half of the Denny's locations in town look like a remodeled Carl's Jr. because they are.

Wait a sec... you think it looks like a rehabbed Denny's and you've only ever driven past?

[destiny smith]

I love their french onion soup. For dinner i recommend their chicken pot pie its great.

[baseballfan]

The roast half chicken dinner with mashed potatoes is quite good. Unfortunately the location near me (SF Bay Area/East Bay) has gone way downhill in the cleanliness department. After a recent lunch there, I will not be back. Crap all over the floor, dirty silverware and worst of all, lipstick mark on the coffee cup. Yuck!

[AlyKen]

Audrey, are you near the one in Elkridge, MD? In general, I love the chain. The ones in the Orlando area have decent service and food. I am addicted to the oat bran muffins. However, my husband and I went to the one in Elkridge 2 weeks ago. We got there at 7am on a Sunday, right when they opened. We were the second group of customers in the restaurant. Our food took over an hour to arrive and when it did, it was ice cold. (Few things are worse than cold scrambled eggs). We complained and the manager took care of it, but my family is now a little turned off by the experience. I'm not sure I'd go back unless it was take out for a muffin.

[little audrey]

Yes, it was the one at the new Lowes/Trader Joes shopping center. We went in the early evening and had to wait about 15 minutes, but service was great and the food was hot.

Sorry your experience wasn't good. For breakfast, I'd rather go to Frank's Diner which is just down the road.

[sazcuy]

I'll second the Pot Roast, I've had it several times and it's always been very good.

[ReelMike84]

I just went to one in Anaheim near Disneyland and had the "Pot Roast Sandwich" and was thoroughly unimpressed, bland and tasteless. I reached for the salt fast. I even found the fries kinda bleh and generic, but honestly I wasn't expecting much. The blueberry muffin and the hot baked sourdough were good though.

The one saving grace was a limited item, the "Mimi's S'mores." Described in the menu as "layers of toasted marshmallow cream, chocolate crunch and cinnamon graham crust. Served warm and topped with caramel & chocolate sauces." Sure the graham crust didn't have much of a graham taste, but still it was pretty great.

[Oh Robin]

Just order the bread basket and call it a day. :)

[sistinas]

I love the muffins there. The last time I was there I was with two coworkers who'd never been there before. They were commenting about this to our waiter while poring over the breakfast and lunch menus, which are pretty large and take some time to go through. Right before we left, the manager came over and asked how they liked their first time at Mimi's while giving them each a box of four of those giant muffins. I don't know if it's something they regularly do to get people to come back, but it's one of the cooler restaurant/service gestures I've seen anywhere.

[little audrey]

Thanks for all the suggestions! We went there over the weekend and I tried the sweet and sour coconut shrimp. WOW! This is now my favorite chain shrimp dish, even better than Bonefish Grill bang bang shrimp. You all didn't warn me about the hot raisin bread in the bread basket - it's addictive! I didn't have room for a muffin, though I saw a few going by and they looked awesome. My kids got fresh fruit on the side and I couldn't believe how much fruit they got: big slices of melon and fresh pineapple. I will certainly be going back.

[mdepsmom]

It's my favorite place to go for breakfast. Love love love their pain perdu (sp.) - french toast stuffed w/ cream cheese and orange marmalade. Also, this time of the year they have pumpkin pancakes that are soooo good.

[Kam7185]

The french onion soup is great!!

[asiansensation007]

their pot roast is great! tender, juicy and it absolutely falls apart. Like others have said, the corn chowder is also decent and i always get a cup added on for $1.00

[ziggylu]

We go every once in a while for breakfast. I like the crab omelette mentioned above. I also like that they'll make breakfast(other than waffles) all day long.

The soup and salad combo is a pretty good option too. And I have to admit that about once every couple months I get a craving for stuffing and mashed potatoes and go have their turkey dinner.

Certainly not the best place out there but for the type of chain it is definitely one of the better ones.

[silleehillee]

I love their corn chowder - it's super-creamy and has whole corn kernels in it.

[Kari]

I like their breakfast food, though a tad high priced. For lunch/dinner I like the corn chowder, but it always needs salt and pepper. I like the carrot loaf as well.

[vttp926]

i had their broccoli and cheese soup and a muffin there last time. it was so so good. another girl had their crabcake and loved every bite of it.

[mr.entertainment]

They have a crab and avacdo omelet that's great........

[CapeCodChowHound]

I love their salads, but ask for the dressing on the side because they tend to pour far too much on them. Also Mimi's muffins are addictive!