Mother’s Day
Yesterday was Mother’s Day and my brother and I got together to treat my mother to lunch. We decided to go to Mimi’s Cafe. We knew there’d be a HUGE wait, so my brother thought it best to get there at 11am and put our name on the waiting list. I got there at 11:00 but had to circle the parking lot for a few minutes to find a parking spot. Thankfully my brother had arrived earlier and was already waiting in the lobby area with my mom.
So after about an hour of waiting our name was called (this we expected). When we were seated we were handed a one page menu (it looked like a selection of lunch specials). The lady took our drink orders and left. She came back a few minutes later with our drinks and asked if we were ready to order. My brother’s girlfriend said we had not yet received our menus (normally they have a pretty good selection of entrees on their menu). The waitress informed us that the menu we were handed WAS their menu for that day. Since it was Mother’s Day and it was going to by busy, the restaurant had condensed their menu to the most popular items. However, if we knew of a meal on their full menu that we wanted, they could prepare that meal special order.
This was the first time I’d ever heard of a restaurant condensing their menu. I think we all thought it best just to order from the small menu or risk waiting longer for the food that was prepared “special order”. Oh well…
So we put in our orders and commenced waiting. After about 45 minutes we noticed an older family at a nearby table get up and walk out (I say “older” because the parents appeared to be in their late 50s with adult children and maybe one or two grandchildren in the group). I didn’t notice but according to my mother, the older couple complained to a manager that they had been waiting for their food for over an hour and were walking out. When I looked over I saw the couple speaking to a manager and he did appear to be in damage control by the look of his body language. Not two minutes later, a waiter (not ours) comes to our table and asks if we need anything. He then offers a complimentary bread basket, which he brings after a couple of minutes.
Um ok sure.
Our waitress arrives and also asks if we need anything and says the kitchen is backed up and asks if we want a salad or soup “on the house”. We declined but I thought it was interestingly timed to start receiving all this “on the house” food after a family walked out complaining of bad service. Oh and apparently the family that walked out said it was their first time visiting the restaurant and that they will NEVER come back. To each their own I guess. But seriously what do you expect when you go out to eat on Mother’s Day??
Well after awhile our food arrives. Lo and behold my food is somewhere between COLD and WARM. It was not quite cold but not quite warm either. My brother said his was the same. Thankfully my mother said her meal was nice and HOT. Praise God for small miracles. I managed to pick at half of my meal because not only was it not hot, it wasn’t that good either. Oh well …
Overall it was a bearable but not all that good meal at Mimi’s. My mother enjoyed her meal and she said she was just happy to spend time with her family. In the end I think that’s what was important.
