{"id":6757,"date":"2014-11-10T23:14:05","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T07:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/?p=6757"},"modified":"2017-05-23T11:31:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-23T18:31:19","slug":"romancing-the-frites-at-mimis-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/?p=6757","title":{"rendered":"Romancing The Frites at Mimi&#8217;s Cafe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Please don&#8217;t call them fries. They are FRITES!<\/p>\n<p>The frites recipe is a result of more than two months of traveling throughout France this past spring, where the Mimi\u2019s Cafe culinary team sampled authentic French frites and talked with local chefs in brasseries, bistros and Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, Brittany and Normandy. It was in France that the Mimi\u2019s Cafe team learned of the French government\u2019s designation of fait maison law, which is given only to food that is \u201chomemade\u201d or made \u201cin-house,\u201d not off-site. That was the inspiration for Mimi\u2019s Cafe to hand-cut and double-fry their frites fresh, everyday, in each restaurant.<\/p>\n<p>Made with real Russet potatoes grown on a collective of four family farms in Idaho, the frites are hand-cut, larger than half an inch, which are double cooked &#8211; first blanched and cooled, then fried to order, never frozen,\u00a0yielding frites that are crispy and golden on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside. Finally, the frites are seasoned with sea salt and fresh herbs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">(Photos by <a href=\"http:\/\/allentaylorphotography.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Allen Taylor Photography<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Collages127.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"575\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been awhile since I last saw Executive Chef Katie. We got to chat with her throughout dinner, it was such a treat to say the least. I mean, how often do you get to sit and dine with THE CHEF? It was also great to catch up with all my beautiful friends.\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mimis2014-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"456\" height=\"700\" \/>You know the evening was going to be great when you&#8217;re greeted with a glass of wine upon arrival.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Collages125.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"548\" height=\"700\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Frites Grill menu features five new classic meat and potato combinations including Steak Frites, Roasted Chicken &amp; Frites, Grilled Chicken &amp; Frites, Grilled Atlantic Salmon &amp; Frites and Meyer Lemon Mussels &amp; Frites.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/jpg146.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"548\" height=\"700\" \/>Although not part of The Frites Grill menu, you can request to substitute frites with salad. Each of the Frite Grill entree comes with half a pound of frites. Yes, you heard it right &#8211; 1\/2 pound! I so appreciate having this option so that when I dine with Allen, we can share his frites and I get to have my salad, too.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mimis2014-46.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"490\" \/>The <strong>Grilled Chicken &amp; Frites\u00a0<\/strong>is a 1\/2 lb of all-white meat, lean and savory chicken breast grilled with house-made rosemary herbs de Provence butter, served \u00a0with the new hand-cut frites.\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mimis2014-58.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"456\" height=\"700\" \/>If you have special dietary restriction, just ask. One of the guests at our table\u00a0is a vegetarian and ordered this delicious <strong>Fettuccine in Marinara Sauce<\/strong>.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mimis2014-64.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"490\" \/>Love seafood? Try this <strong>Grilled Salmon &amp; Frites<\/strong>.\u00a0Fresh Atlantic Salmon is grilled to perfection and served with lemon garlic butter and authentic, crispy, golden frites, with a colorful garnish of saut\u00e9ed spinach.\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mimis2014-68.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"490\" \/>Steak lovers don&#8217;t fret.\u00a0Mimi\u2019s Cafe is proud to bring this delicious<strong> Steak Frites<\/strong> to you and serves it with a flavorful 28-day aged 10-ounce New York strip steak, along with house-made thyme garlic butter and over a half pound of the new classic frites.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mimis2014-77.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"490\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t miss this amazing <strong>Roast Chicken &amp; Frites<\/strong>. It is a\u00a0slow-roasted half chicken served with house-made rosemary herbs de Provence butter and the new rustic-cut frites. I would absolutely order this again. As I mentioned before, if you want a lighter meal, ask to substitute the frites with salad. To me, that is a perfect meal!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6762\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/jpg147.jpg\" alt=\"jpg147\" width=\"548\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/jpg147.jpg 548w, https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/jpg147-234x300.jpg 234w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 548px) 100vw, 548px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Mussels &amp; Frites<\/strong> is also a must-try. We skipped the frites for this because there were so much frites already.\u00a0Mimi\u2019s Cafe\u2019s version of this classic comfort food adds the sweetness of Meyer lemon to create an ambrosial American-French classic. The Meyer Lemon Mussels &amp; Frites are served in a white wine, lemon broth with fresh herbs, those divine frites and garlic crostini. I am not kidding you when I say it can turn a non-mussle-lover into a mussle-lover.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mimis2014-94.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"490\" \/>Chef Katie told us we had to try the Creme Brulee Cheesecake.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">French vanilla custard cheesecake with a caramelized sugar crust. Served with strawberry pur\u00e9e. Oh my goodness. It&#8217;s double delicious!\u00a0<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"pp-insert-all size-full aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Collages126.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"548\" height=\"700\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We always walked away with great swag bag with lots of goodies and souvenirs. We got to enjoy these delicious muffins and pastries for breakfast the next day!<\/p>\n<p>Thank you so much to Mimi&#8217;s Cafe, Chef Katie and the entire staff for your hospitality! I love Mimi&#8217;s Cafe and now I have 5 more reasons to visit.<\/p>\n<p>Have you visited Mimi&#8217;s Cafe lately? If not, it&#8217;s time to go and try the new Frites Grill menu. Let me know which dish is your favorite.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #333333;\">Bon App\u00e9tit!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.urbanspoon.com\/r\/20\/245517\/restaurant\/OC\/Mimis-Cafe-Tustin\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none;\" src=\"http:\/\/rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/cm?t=wendworl03-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=48&amp;l=ur1&amp;category=gift_certificates&amp;banner=1G274HKHXM7QERC7YAG2&amp;f=ifr&amp;linkID=YGNZ6OEYGZ27RDK6\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/ad.groupon.com\/runs\/114\/202532\/?i_width=728&amp;i_height=90&amp;variation=1HE&amp;category=restaurants&amp;cachedOnly=true\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Please don&#8217;t call them fries. They are FRITES! The frites recipe is a result of more than two months of traveling throughout France this past spring, where the Mimi\u2019s Cafe culinary team sampled authentic French frites and talked with local chefs in brasseries, bistros and Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, Brittany and Normandy. It was in...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"pp_embeds":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1000],"tags":[199,632,302,1018,1019,1020,342,257],"class_list":["post-6757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media-tasting","tag-cafe","tag-french","tag-fries","tag-frites","tag-orrange-county","tag-salmon-roast-chicken","tag-steak","tag-tustin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Mimis2014-77.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3lTx3-1KZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6757"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9580,"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6757\/revisions\/9580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wendyfulworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}