Mille's turn of the century cafe

This week we continued our tour of all the cool local places downtown by heading to Mille's.  I had been there once for a wedding reception a couple of years ago, but neither of us had actually dined there.  It was also a pretty big change from Maria's from last week.

The restaurant itself was a really neat little place.  The first room you walk into has a big bar and there is another room that is more a traditional dining area.  Lining the walls are all kinds of different prints, old political cartoons, and signs.  We were greeted by our server and seated immediately.  She was incredibly friendly and our experience was off to a good start.

We sat down at our table and looked at the menu. I am going to sound like a cheapskate here but the first thing I noticed was the prices.  It was significantly more expensive than any other place that we have went.  The sticker shock was lowered a bit when we found the lunch menu on the back side of the menu, but the lunch stuff wasn't nearly as exciting as the standard menu.  So this week (because I'm cheap) we skipped out on our usual appetizer and dessert since most of the meals were in the $15 plus range.  There were burgers and lunch specials for about $10 a plate as well.  So it's possible to eat a bit cheaper there but it's not a place you'd just grab a quick inexpensive bite to eat.

Now that I've complained about the price of the food, let me tell you that the food was totally worth it.  The portions were huge and absolutely incredible.  Sarai ordered Chipotle Pork Chops and I ordered their Monterrey Chicken.  Both were awesome and really unique.  Sarai's meal had this ridiculously good citrus salsa sauce on the chops themselves that neither of us had ever tasted anything like before.  My chicken was also very well cooked and had a great flavor to it.  More on those later.

Our server was consistently good.  I established myself as a drinker and she kept up admirably and was always happy to answer any of our questions.

Overall we'd definitely recommend Mille's to anyone as long as they are aware that the prices higher than a lot of other places downtown.  The atmosphere is nice and quiet and the service was very good.

Overall Experience:  ★    ★    ★    ★    ☆  

Service:  ★    ★    ★    ★    ☆  

Food:  ★    ★    ★    ★    ★   

Atmosphere:  ★    ★    ★    ☆   ☆  

Justin's Impressions

So I ordered this Monterrey Chicken thing because it had all the ingredients to make something awesome.  Chicken, cheese, vegetables, cheese sauce, all cooked into a bread crust.  It was awesome.  It made me think of a high class pot pie.  Everything was incredibly well cooked, even the asparagus that came with the meal was great.

I also stole a couple bites of Sarai's pork chops and thought they were great.  The fruity taste was a lot stronger than I expected but it was really good after you got over the initial punch in the taste buds.

Mille's has Schafly beers on tap which made it difficult not to order one, but I had a date with five awesome kids to jump around at Wacky World, so I passed.  Uncle Justin would not have been as much fun if he had drank a couple beers.

Overall, Mille's was a great place.  Our service was awesome and every person on the staff was nice to us every chance they got.  I'm pretty sure it's because people are realizing we are becoming really important people.  I mean we are bloggers now.  That means something right?  That's what I'm going to tell myself anyway.

Sarai's Impressions

I ordered the Chipotle Pork Chops. I have had very few dishes with the unique flavor combination that this one had. Grilled pork chops covered in a citrus salsa served with rice and asparagus. I did, however, order mashed potatoes instead of the rice.

I am really skeptical when it comes to covering pork with anything because I am traditional when it comes to food. ("Picky" is how some people choose to describe me.) So when I tried this dish I was blown away. My taste buds didn't know what to do, but in a good way. I immediately insisted that Justin try it. It was sweet, salty, and tangy. Also, it was cooked just perfect.

I thought the server was very friendly. She was nice, helpful, and offered specials (which we love). I don't down my beverages as fast as Justin, but she always made sure I had a fresh drink.

Cost was one of the only issues I seemed to find at Mille's.  My dish was $17.00. Whew. It was worth the money paid for it, but considerably higher than most of the places we have visited. Maybe that's why we were only one of three small groups there during what should have been lunch rush.

Overall, I would say that I want to go back because I want to try most everything on the menu. After grabbing a bite of Justin's I realized that most items on the menu must be just mind blowing. We will return, possibly when we have the money to do so.

Thanks for reading this week. Stop by soon for a special posting. This will be fun, you won't want to miss it!