The Non-Review of "Hooked"
A while back I mentioned that I thought I might go to a local seafood restaurant called "Hooked" and a friend recently asked me whether I'd been. I still haven't. I decided instead to have lunch at another local place I hadn't tried before called "Mimi's Cafe." I did satisfy my desire for meatloaf but I was decidedly underwhelmed with the place. The decor is New Orleans/Mardi Gras inspired and it comes across as a little ... 'forced' I guess would be the word. Famous Dave's barbecue places have a similarly constructed ambiance but there it doesn't across as forced (and they serve mac-n-cheese with jalapeno in it, oh yeah!)
It was lunch on a rainy Saturday and when we showed up it was remarkably full which I really don't understand as the food was not exceptional and the prices are not so great as to pull crowds in this economy. But it does offer a lot of what's characterized as 'comfort food,' though it pales in comparison to the all-time champ for that (the Black-Eyed Pea restaurant). I opted for the veg with my meatloaf and what I got was some carrot coins and broccoli florets that were undercooked (just a little) and kind of flabby. Outback just schools them when it comes to the veg side. The meatloaf was OK albeit generic. The executive chef for this place must not have much imagination. It doesn't take a lot to stamp a signature on something as flexible as the loaf de meat.
Bottom line: Meh. It's OK. Not special. A decent family place but not as inexpensive as I'd expect a family place to be. You could do worse. But it wouldn't be hard to do better either.