Budget Beat: Mim's

Sunday: Arizona Wine Growers Festival at the Farm

New in Tempe: Sleepy Dog Saloon & Brewery

Top Five Foods for a Single Person's Kitchen

By Jay Bennett in Budget Beat

Friday, May. 15 2009 @ 10:45AM

Pulled-pork sandwich: Tangy and tender.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a wonderful Creole/Caribbean restaurant on Broadway Road in south Phoenix. I remarked that the eatery, Second Line, was one of a few hidden gems on this busy but sparsely populated stretch of road. Irie, a purveyor of Jamaican cuisine, west of Second Line, is another. And Mim's, at 27th Street and Broadway, is still another.

I wouldn't say Mim's is destination dining, although one patron I talked to probably would disagree ("I drive all the way from Tolleson for this," he said). Fair enough. I recommend Mim's if you work downtown or live in south Phoenix and you're looking for quick, cheap, or maybe just something a little different.

Mim's traffics in burgers, BBQ, catfish, and, somewhat incongruently, Mexican food -- you know, stick-to-your-ribs grub. It also has the killer Terminator 2 pinball machine from the 1990s. I used to love that particular machine, and it was good to see it in working condition in the Mim's dining room. (There's also a more modern pirate-themed machine called Black Rose. It was pretty fun.)

I wanted to see what Mim's barbecue was all about, so I ordered the pulled-pork sandwich. At $4.50, you can't really beat this deal -- a big, toasted bun loaded with pork, a serving of fries, and a drink. The pork was tender and the BBQ sauce was dark and tangy -- quite delicious, actually. It wasn't too sweet, as is some barbecue sauce. I also ordered some potato salad and beans, just to try them. But you can get either of those sides instead of fries. The potato salad came in a huge portion and was pretty standard creamy potato salad -- good but unremarkable. I'd hoped the beans were going to baked beans, which seemed a perfect complement to the BBQ pork, but what was served were Mexican-flavored beans, kinda like frijoles but soupier. They tasted okay but didn't really go with the sandwich. Just saying . . .

Photos by Laura Hahnefeld

Cheeseburger: Loaded.

The missus chowed down on a cheeseburger, which also was $4.50. It was a nice-size hamburger, cooked fresh, and loaded with stuff like pickles, onions, and tomato. As far as cheeseburgers go, this one beats most those at most fast food joints, especially when you consider the price, which also includes fries, potato salad, or beans, plus a drink.

Some of the other barbecue options -- brisket, ribs, etc. -- and the catfish looked intriguing and, of course, reasonably priced. I'd like to go back to check them out. Ditto for some of the breakfast choices -- biscuits and gravy, chicken-fried steak. Those were calling my name but we had just missed the cutoff time for breakfast service, which is 11 a.m. For some reason, the Mexican options just seem that appealing to me, because, I stated, they appear out of place on this menu. But the Tolleson guy said he swears by the green chili burrito.

If any of you have tried Mim's Mexican food or anything else on the menu, I'd love to hear about it. And, as always, I like to hear about new and interesting and inexpensive restaurants to blog about. Drop me a line at jay.bennett@newtimes.com if you have a free moment.

Mim's Burgers & Mexican Food

2707 East Broadway Road

Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.