mmm-yoso!!! is the blog written by Kirk and Friends. As you all know, Kirk and His Missus are on vacation and Cathy is your blogger.
Hello. Hope you aren’t too traumatized that Kirk is away from San Diego for a little while. I am just trying to keep the blog going, with talks of food I ate.
The Mister and I got a gift card from a friend for Christmas and the other night we were hungry and didn’t want to spend any cash, so we ventured into "downtown" Santee and went to Mimi’s, a nationwide chain. We had never been and had not heard anything bad about it, and quite a few people had told us they liked it here. We wanted to try everything on the menu, and decided on a variety of things to share. 
Almost as soon as we sat down, a basket of warm, fresh crusty white bread and some slices of warm date nut bread and a serving of butter were placed on our table. We tasted as we perused the menu.
The bread is excellent, as is the date nut loaf. Both very fresh. The date nut loaf is moist and the nuts are crispy and the dates are not sticky.
I noticed the other tables also had mismatched colors of plates, but the silverware did all match…unlike some other restaurants we have been to. 
I wasn’t sure what to order and the soup and petite salad "Small Bite" looked good ($9.39) It came with a choice of freshly baked muffin, so a carrot raisin nut muffin was ordered. It came out fresh from the oven, had good, deep flavor, a crispy crust (I like crusts and edges of breads, casseroles, and just about everything I eat).
It was also..um..huge.
I chose the French Onion Soup , because I could smell the cooked onions when I walked in the door of the restaurant and suddenly had a craving for it. 
The broth was deep and rich and tasted as if it had been simmered for days to get every last taste of beef from a bone.
It was topped with a nutty tasting Gruyere cheese that was melted and burned so perfectly. Of course under the cheese and on top of the soup was a nicely toasted slice of bread that stayed crispy for a while until it absorbed some broth. This was an excellent soup.
We ordered the golden fried calamari "fritti" style ($ 8.49) which you will note is not on a current menu since the menu changes "seasonally", which, near as I can tell, is every six weeks or so. Fried calamari tossed with garlic butter, green onions and sliced cherry and banana peppers. It was served with a citrus based remoulade and was very, very good. If it is on the menu when you go, do try it.
The Mister got the Half Pound Burger ($7.79) with optional onion rings for an additional 50ยข as the side. He asked for it to be cooked medium rare, and it was! (There has been much frustration when we ask for medium rare and the meat is never cooked that way)
Served with lettuce,tomato, pickle and a thousand island sauce, on a fresh toasted hearty, nicely chewy white bread bun, it was excellent.
The salad I chose was the Bleu cheese and walnut salad, which had dried cranberries, bacon, tomatoes and strawberries in it. It was tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette and though it looked small, was very filling.
Last week I went to lunch with a friend (Mrs. L) and ordered the Pot Roast sandwich for lunch ($8.99). Warm pot roast served on a warm sourdough baguette simply made with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Excellent flavors! I opted for the 50ยข extra onion rings, which were batter fried crispy and had excellent flavor. Sweet onions…
Mrs. L is so kind and thoughtful and decided I needed dessert…but to share, you know, and she let me pick. So as soon as I saw Bananas Foster Mud Pie ($5) listed, I smiled…
Oh yes, it is as large as it looks- more than 6 inches high at its peak. Banana-vanilla swirl ice cream, with sliced bananas in it; caramelized pecans, a graham cracker crust, served with a sliced fresh banana, real whipped cream and carmel sauce. Excellent. We could not finish it all, although I did finish up the bananas and whipped cream…
All in all, the food here has been excellent, fresh and has an attention to detail. I do not consider it to be "Sysco-ised" at all and have liked everything I have tried. Many people tell me they come here for a sit down breakfast (it opens at 6 a.m.) and I do know it is a french roast coffee served. I will return and won’t be afraid.
Mimi’s Cafe website
hey cath, thanks for sharing your recent culinary adventures and for keeping fresh pics ont he blog ๐ I don’t check in as often as I’d like but its been nice to see what the gang have been up to ๐ looks like you had a good find in mimis. That banana pie looks to die for ๐
They opened one of these in Yuma, and reports on it are very positive. The one time I tried to eat there, the wait would have been half an hour, so I decided to wait until summer when no one is in town.
Glad to see some posts while Kirk and the missus are off globe trotting.
My Mister and I have been to the Mimi’s in Mira Mesa a couple of times and we enjoyed it. The Mister loves that french onion soup and I like the fried zucchinis. I got the beef sandwich dip once and it was pretty good, loved the onion rings. I’ll have to remember the Banana Foster pie if we make it back there. I love Banana Foster!
It’s awesome that Mimi’s will cook a burger to med-rare most restaurants won’t do that anymore. I hate med-well done burgers.
We totally agree with you! Gosh, all the dishes look great, especially that dessert. Drooling!
We’ve only been there twice and have been happy with it on both occasions.
I’ve always found that the coffee at Mimi’s was on the weak side. Next time I’ll ask about their coffee.
The Mira Mesa location can get pretty busy, especially for weekend breakfasts, but they do call-ahead seating.
Of all their muffin choices, I like the carrot raisin best. The breads that they serve are yummy so I usually just take the muffin home.
I had the calamari once, but didn’t like the peppers mixed in. I like the French onion soup and their quiches.
Its been a while since visiting Mimi’s. I agree the French Onion was very good.
My last visit was a company breakfast. I remember enjoying the French Toast very much! It was Orange flavored! Very tasty.
Seems like a nice place. I don’t know the mister but I sure like his burger style, medium rare! The only way to have it.
Hi Rachel-glad to see you are around. Thanks for the compliment. Kirk is having far more fun than I am. Thanks for the kind words. I so don’t crave chocolate you know- the banana pie was perfect.
And-AND, ed- it will be all air conditioned too! I like being the “Temp” when Kirk is gone. He always comes back.
Hey, Carol. The pie may be one of the ‘seasonal’ offerings, although they seemed to be pushing a S’mores type dessert more. I always ask if I can get medium rare…nicely…then if they say medium, I ask for that and nicely ask they remove it from the grill jsut before they think it will be medium…usually works.
Hey, WORC- You can go back. Don’t be afraid!
Hi, Omar- You did notice I left out any reference to New Orleans/French Quarter, decor or anything like that, right? It is good food. That’s all that matters to me at this point in time. Sadly, I like Bob Evans, probably because my mom likes to go there when I visit.
Hi Sandy! You must have gotten a bad batch of coffee. I don’t crave French Roast, per se, but every time I have gotten it, it is fresh. The calamari was done differently, which was kind of creative. I suppose the butter saute helped…
Hello, Bri. Welcome to my side of the blog. I have heard many, many good things about the breakfasts and need to stop in at 6 am, right after I fill up with fuel at Costco…
Oh, Bill. Go to the top left corner here, under “Search”. Type in “Pinnacle Peak” to see my steak. We are kindred souls.
Cathy, nice writeup. I’ve been a fan of MiMi’s for a while. At first I thought it was an Applebee’s or a Marie Callender’s type place but I think you got it when you said theya have an eye to detail. I’ve found their French Onion soup as good as the one in the Disney World French Pavilion restaurant; the pot roast is great, better than homemade; my father raves about their pork chops; I’ve had the steak salad which is excellent; their breakfasts are awesome but for the waiting. We live in Phoenix and the wait at the Mesa Mimi’s on a Sunday morning can be up to an hour plus.
My wife totally loves their muffins. I think they are the best “free” appetizers they give you.
I’m back to being agreeable. I agree….Mimi’s is pretty good for a chain or even a non-chain.
Hi Cathy,
Thanks for the post. I’ve always wanted to try Mimi’s but not knowing anyone who has been there, I was unsure. I too, thought it was an Applebee’s type place. All of the food looks great, the prices seem reasonable. That pie got my mouth watering, and I LOVE french onion soup.
Will have to try it out.
Hey, JeffC- I didn’t know you were a Zonie! Yes, muffins as appetizers are kind of perfect!
Hi TLB- Glad you are back on the happy side.
Do try it, Stephen. Even though it is a chain, the variety and quality is an example for others.
Oh, Omar…I wasn’t offended. I like to eat food that others could not handle (Braunschweiger with onions and mustard on white bread is a good example). We can always disagree. Actually what I meant was that I knew better than to even mention the French Quarter/Cajun stuff, because I knew it wasn’t authentic. I sort of try to steer people to what I ate is all and not do a complete “restaurant review” since that is not what the blog is about. This blog is just an open diary of what we ate and if we liked it or not. Yes, Mimi’s does try to portray itself as ‘authentic’ and we both know it isn’t, but I didn’t even want to get into that. I think I will have to do a Bob Evans post on my next trip to Detroit. My physician would freak if he saw what I ate.
Hi Cathy!
Excellent post! There’s a Mimi’s about 5 minutes away from where I live, so it is a good go to when CP and I don’t know where to eat. And now after seeing the picture of that Banana’s foster pie…I must have it!
Also, even tho I’m a HUGE fan of onion rings, you have to try the fries next time. The fry them just the way I like them – EXTRA crispy!
And I recommend trying Mimi’s for breakfast. I had the pain perdu and coffee…all delicious! I even recently posted on my breakfast adventures on my blog, take a look!
Thanks for the review! It all looks so good. Coincidentally, I just came across the page on Health.com that ranks national sit-down chain restaurants, and Mimi’s is one of them!
http://www.health.com/health/slideshow/0,26086,1720887-3,00.html
Wow! That pie!
That is why we must try and report on all of our good food finds, Omar! You just never know.
Very cool blog, May. I know I have to do breakfast at Mimi’s soon…
Thanks for the link, maidmoronbackwards. I just happened upon Mimi’s because of a friend.
Hey, Sher- Yes! If you have paid attention you know I don’t have chocolate cravings…this was a perfect dessert