The Press on Mimi

Mimi’s makes it to go — and tasty
By Deven Black and Jill Rovitzky Black
For The Journal News • April 16, 2010

It must have seemed like a bad news-good news situation for denizens of Tappan: The Baker's Wife closed, but Mimi's Plate filled the vacuum. Like its predecessor, Mimi's Plate carries the lauded loaves of Balthazar Bakery, but it offers a broader menu of salads, sandwiches, soups and snacks.

As such it's a useful local resource for entire takeout meals or side dishes to augment a dinner at home. Chef-owner Mimi Platas keeps the emphasis on fresh and wholesome ingredients, in some cases organic or locally sourced, with a little decadence in the dessert department.

Mimi's Plate carries standard takeout fare like buffalo wings, carrot and raisin slaw, chili, roasted vegetables, even cozy comfort foods like twice-baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and homemade pudding.

Even ordinary sounding dishes are executed skillfully or get an unexpected but tasty touch.

Soft corn tacos, for instance, were filled with refried pintos flecked with cilantro, plus chunks of roast butternut squash and crumbled goat cheese. The tacos were enjoyable but small, so that three of them would make a tasty lunch. At $3.95 each, though, a quick takeout meal quickly becomes pricey, especially if you throw in a drink and a side dish or succumb to one of the tempting desserts.

A better bet might be the grilled-chicken sandwich, which earned its $7.95 price-point by virtue of the bells and whistles that elevate it from the ordinary: grainy seeded bread from Balthazar Bakery, a rosy slice of roasted tomato, roasted artichoke hearts, and a thick layer of mesclun, along with the grilled slices of chicken breast. The bread was spread with herbed, slightly sweet mayonnaise, an interesting counterpart to the faint bitterness of the greens.

Also appealing are the pressed, grilled breakfast sandwiches that include peanut butter and banana on whole-grain bread, and organic eggs with roasted tomato, sautéed spinach and sharp cheddar.

A quartet of seats along the window-side counter and a bench on the sidewalk are available for those who want to stop for a quick sip and nibble, but the bulk of the space is devoted to the kitchen