Second time I've been to a Mimi's, the first time was in the Laguna area.
The atmosphere and decor was great, especially in the larger dining room. We love a New Orleans theme, even if it is blatantly manufactured by a suit and tie corporation.
The first clunk in the armor was the lack of steaks. They only had a ""Flat Iron"", which always means low quality, and a seared Top Sirloin. I asked if that meant I could get it how I wanted it, the waiter indicated so. I was VERY specific that I wanted VERY RARE, as in rarer than extra rare.
What I wound up with was medium rare, with a grey ring around the outside when I cut into it. It was a good slab of Sirloin, but it passed how I wanted it about 5 minutes before they took it off. The baked potato was slit on the side making it hard to put the toppings in, but that might have not mattered had I not asked for toppings. (You guessed it, there weren't any). The veggies on the side were completely flavorless and under done.
The bread they give you for free was good, but the sourdough rolls in the basket were too hard to cut into.
The wifes ""Santa Fe shrimp and chicken fettucini"" wasn't bad, and even had 2 whole shrimps in it. The chicken in it was charred to a hard shell on the outside of every bite, while still soft enough to eat on the inside. After a couple of attempts, she wound up putting the chicken rocks to the side to finish her noodles in the tasty sauce.
The kids cheeseburgers appeared to be par, but no culinary challenge there. One of the kids took out her meat out yelling: ""Yucky meat"". She had already eaten more than half of it, and the rest of us were leaving, so I didn't even want to know at that point.
The ""Gumbo"", Saturdays soup of the day, was pretty good for not being in the actual South. Not great, but good enough if you don't know the difference. Just like the medium well steak.
I will admit the service was good, and the waiter seemed to do as well as anyone could to make us comfortable. There always seemed to have someone at our table at just the right time, without bombarding us like some places. They get an A+ in that area. The waiter was always personable, even laughing a little when I asked him if any of the kitchen staff had ever eaten at a good restaurant.
Overall, if you're typically impressed at restaurants run by major corporations and found in factory outlets and freeway stops, you'll probably like Mimis.
If you prefer places where the owner knows the place and takes pride in the quality of his/her hospitality, keep moving.
Pros: Decor, service.
Cons: Food. Period.
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