It had been quite a while since I visited Mima in Irvington, so a couple of Fridays ago, I took my book to the bar and had some wine while I waited for Kelli to finish putting her children to bed so she could sneak out and meet me (don’t worry; Patrick was home!).
I got a little peckish, and, knowing Kelli would be coming to help, I ordered the five-by platter of meat and cheese.
I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed sitting at the bar alone, sipping my wine, reading A Moveable Feast (longing to be back in Paris as a 24-year-old!) and nibbling on some great charcuterie. We have, from the left, two cheeses — caciota di tartufi and piave vecchio — and three meats: mortadella, porchetta and speck. Mima has three-ounce pours of wine, so I got to try a couple while I waited.
After a while, Kelli arrived, and we decided on two appetizer and two half-orders of pasta. It was warm out this evening, so she went for the gazpacho.
This is one of those half-smooth, half-chunky versions, and I really liked it. I got the eggplant polpetti with ricotta and San Marzano tomatoes:
This dumbfounded me. How could little balls of eggplant be so tasty? So crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and the tomato sauce was so good I sopped up every last bit.
For my pasta, I got the carbonara:
It’s on the menu as spaghettini, farm fresh egg, black pepper, onion, smoked bacon. Good stuff.
Kelli got a special:
I can’t remember all that was in it, but it’s fettucini, I believe, with ham and peas and a cream sauce. Yeah. It’s decadent. And delicious.
The room was crowded, but except for one rather boisterous table, the volume was quite acceptable:
All in all, another great meal at Mima. If you, like me, haven’t been in a while, get back and give it a try. And don’t forget about it next time!
