Disclosure: I was invited out for a preview of their new menu items.  All opinions are my own.

When you think of Mimi’s Cafe what are the first words that come to mind?  Well, Mimi’s has been working hard for the past 5 months on bringing the “authentic” back into Mimi’s Cafe.

Phil Costner, President of Mimi’s Cafe since February 2013 when Le Duff America Inc. took ownership simply said, “The goal isn’t to take anything away but instead bring Mimi’s Cafe back to it’s rightful place.”

Chef Katie Sutton, Kirstin from SoCalKidsOutdoorAdventures, Raquel from Organized Island, Melanie from LA Xplorer and Erin from HorsingAroundinLA

And in doing so they are bringing back more classic French inspired cuisine to the menu.  The dishes, headed by Executive Chef Katie Sutton will leave you pleasantly surprised.  And, the quality of dish you are receiving for the price will keep you coming back.

Last week I was invited out to try out the new dishes:

The evening started out with appetizers.  Featured above from the left are the Baked Brie, Seafood Crepe, and The Mussels.

The Baked Brie is served with French Baguette Croutons, Sliced Apples and Apricot Chutney.  The key is to truly have all ingredients together making it a great combination.

The seafood crepe is just that.  A homemade herbe crepe filled with sauteed shrimp, scallops and spinach covered in a lobster sauce.

And the mussels.  That evening was the first time I ever attempted mussels, and Mimi’s Cafe has me sold on having them again.  A favorite appetizer pick for me.

And then it was time for the entrees.  That evening I chose the Brioche Croque Madame which is an open faced ham and swiss sandwich with Mimi’s classic French Mornay sauce served on brioche, topped with a fried egg.  Served with a petite salad.

Other Entrees tried that evening included:

From left to right: Mediterranean Salade with Herbes de Provence Chicken, Grilled Salmon Salade Niciose, and the Bistro Bavette Steak.

The salad came out in a beautiful presentation, and from an outsiders view just made me want to order it.  The Salmon atop mixed greens, and the Bavette Steak came with a side of mushroom infused au gratin potatoes that were a favorite for many that evening.

But the dish that stole the show for me that evening was:

The Saint-Malo Pasta. 

This pasta came out in a beautiful presentation with the mussels surrounding the pasta.  And, if you love spice, you will love this pasta because it definitely has a bite to it, and the Chef made it that way on purpose.

But the launch of these new menu items couldn’t have been done without all the hard work taking place at the test kitchen in Tustin, CA.  For the past 3 months they have been serving these dishes to customers with real cooks and real servers to get the dishes just right for the official launch come October.  All of the dishes served to us that evening were apart of their lunch and dinner menus.

But there was one last surprise for us from their breakfast menu.  The Mini Waffles:

The one on the left is a bacon and apple infused waffle, and the one on the right is strawberry topped.  This dish comes with three waffles served altogether and is apart of their Breakfast menu selections that just launched on September 9th.

The rest of the menu should begin launching October 9th in Mimi’s Cafes across the nation.  And let me tell you, it’s bringing the “authentic” back to Mimi’s Cafe.

Tell me, what are you looking forward to trying?