DINING OUT -- Mary Furr

Why not give Thanksgiving a French accent this holiday season and take

the family and friends to Mimi’s Cafe, a French-style restaurant on

Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley?

Mimi’s welcomes you with a smile and wink and its glossy menu where o7

pain perduf7 doesn’t mean a lost sauce pan, but wonderful French toast.

You can begin the day with this selection ($6.10), a great dish with two

eggs, bacon or sausage and French toast stuffed with cream cheese and

orange marmalade. The menu calls it “bruncheon,” and it will certainly

hold you until the big feast begins.

Manager Jamie Corbett, a Huntington Beach High School grad and local

resident, will make you feel at home in Mimi’s. He calls it a real family

restaurant, with its warm pink and maroon dining rooms and glassed-in

patio.

The Thanksgiving dinner ($12.95), begins with soup or salad. An excellent

choice is a crock of New Orleans gumbo with thick tomato, okra, and onion

with baby shrimp. The Caesar salad’s dark romaine leaves are tossed with

garlic vinaigrette and showered with grated Parmesan.

Generous servings crowd the plate, just as they would at home home.

Leo, who has managed the kitchen for 18 years, roasts his own turkeys

daily. Five slices of breast top the corn bread stuffing with lots of

smooth gravy. Forget the diet, this is a holiday! The mashed red potatoes

are great. The peel adds flavor, and bright green steamed broccoli is

just the reminder mom needs for you to eat healthy.

There’s pumpkin or chocolate mousse pie for dessert. New Orleans homemade

bread pudding ($3.50) with whiskey sauce is a rare treat: a hefty square

of bread, raisins and nuts in a potent golden sauce, a perfect marriage

of home cooking and sophisticated flavor.

Mimi’s plans to serve the regular menu with nearly a dozen sandwich

choices ($5.25-$5.75), and eight great salads ($5.45-$7.95). A hearty

rustic style dish, pasta jambalaya, ($9.95), will really fill you up.

It’s a spicy Creole dish that combines tomatoes, onions, red and green

peppers and rice with shrimp, shellfish, sausage, chicken and sometimes

ham, or o7 jambonf7 in French, where the name jambalaya comes from.

Mimi’s is the creation of veteran restaurateur Arthur Simms, now retired,

who was the driving force of the MGM commissary years ago, serving

legendary stars such as Clark Gable and Judy Garland. His son Thomas is

now the guiding light of the cafes, which are named for a girl his father

met in Paris and never forgot.

With such a romantic story, you can regale your guests as you enjoy your

turkey at Mimi’s.

Mary Furr is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments or

suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

Mimi’s Cafe

Where: 18461 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley

Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Thanksgiving reservations are recommended.

Phone: 964-2533