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| - We must have been at a completely different Mike's Bistro than all the other reviewers. We went in this afternoon around 4 for a late lunch/early dinner and while we were big fans of Mike's Greek and Italian (same Mike) before it closed a few years ago, this meal won't bring us back to the new 'bistro.'
First, 'bistro' is generous... it STILL has the same paint job it had when it was Quiznos. It was dank, mushroom-growing dark, and quite a pained mish-mash of shabby, sad decor. It was uncomfortably warm and smelled of vaguely of grease and body odor. There was NOTHING 'bistro' about it.
We entered and Mike, who seemed to know english just fine when he was on the north side of Bell, now barely pushes out an understandable word. We were handed paper menus and advised to 'sit anywhere.' After perusing the menu we decided to overlook the first impression and actually eat because, well, we were hungry and the descriptions were quite similar to the old Mike's. We waited for service and waited for service and waited for service until we noticed Mike appeared to be taking a cat nap near the register. We approached and he awoke and asked if we were going to eat. Did I miss something? We came in, we were given menus, we selected seats, we never got service... yes, we would like to eat. We place our order and pay at the counter then reselect our seats after grabbing our own beverages. NOT A BISTRO!
We keep a watchful eye on the counter as we now think we are at some sort of Mike's deli style joint. But then here comes some guy who looks like he could be anyone from a customer to the A/C repair guy with a basket of what we think was supposed to be garlic bread. I mean it was bread, it had a good crunch and was tender inside, it was yellowish on top indicating some sort of transfat substance had been placed on it, but it tasted like the same baguette I buy at Fry's except I actually use seasoning, garlic, and olive oil to make it into garlic bread! Where is the awesome house-made butter Mike used to bring with his fresh bread????
Then our food arrives... oh the disappointment... it was painful to look at it. The depressed decor combined with the plastic drink cups and the Goodwill-recycled-looking plates were no help to the mono-chromatic meals with no garnish. I had the Mykonos Chicken and the Main Man had the Penne with sausage, mushrooms, cheese, and peppers. First, the Mykonos was supposed to come with my choice of spaghetti or herb potatoes (Mike never asked when we ordered and I ended up with some Chef Boyardee looking shit on my plate). The previously frozen chicken was nicely roasted but the tomatoes, artichokes, and sauce were very clearly canned. And as for the feta it was supposed to be topped with (I say supposed because there was so little that I could see it but not taste it, but I had to look hard), can we, just for a minute, pretend I am paying for this meal?? Oh yeah, I already paid, at the counter!!!!
The Main Man's penne had far more flavor and was closer to the Mike's we once knew and loved. His portion was very good for the price tag but the peppers, mushrooms, and onions were sauteed until droopy and limp and mixed with the same sad, canned tomatoes and sauce that was also feloniously assaulting my plate. The saving grace was that the pasta was perfectly al dente and the cheese was melty and creamy and flavorful enough against the sausage to overcome the canny flavor it was tainted with.
Mike, who always used to come seek feedback during the meal never made another appearance. We left without seeing anyone at the counter, being thanked for our $28 donation, or even told not to let the door hit us on the butt!
Our overall impression is that Mike is or was a very good cook but that he is so bad a businessman and so lazy that it has come to this... frozen, canned food reheated in a desperate attempt to hang onto the memory of better days. All I can say is that a call to Robert Irvine and Restaurant Impossible would be the best use of some of the $28 bucks we gave him! Visit at your own risk... but given the choice of this or Jim's Burgers and Eggs, I can actually say Jim's warrants the win. Ouch.
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