Come fall in love with Cafe Mimosa’s six-course prix fixe tasting menu featuring Fromage Blanc Agnolotti, New Caledonia Blue Prawns and Tahitian Vanilla Bean Crème Brulée for dessert. Yum! (See full menu below.)

Our special Valentine’s Day menu will be offered both on Saturday, February 13th and Sunday, February 14th.
(On Saturday, we will also be serving our regular dinner menu.)

Reserve a table today: 949.481.6780

Valentine’s Day Six-Course Prix-Fixe Tasting Menu

Amuse Bouche
Jidori Chicken and Jamon Croquette

• • • • • • •

Salt Roasted Heirloom Beets
fromage blanc agnolotti      lemon emulsion       toasted pistachios

Veloute of Celery Root
shaved sun-dried tuna       black truffle oil

“Corned” Hudson Valley Duck Breast
toasted rye      violet mustard      horseradish cream

Pan-Roasted Maine Diver Scallop
black mussels      new caledonia blue prawns      smoked paprika-fennel broth

Duo of New York Strip Steak and Slow Braised Short Rib
creamy polenta       cipollini onions      homemade romesco sauce

• • • • •

“Cheese and Crackers”
la serena    flur de sel

or

Tahitian Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee
gianduja chocolate mousse

or

Flourless Valrhona Chocolate Cake
crème anglaise       fresh whipped cream

Come celebrate The New Year with seared diver scallops, fromage blanc agnolotti, and stuffed baby calamari. Prepared by Chef Nolan, the $65 prix fixe menu includes sparkling wine.

Make your reservation today: 949.481.6780

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

New Year’s Eve Six-Course Prix-Fixe Tasting Menu

Amuse Bouche
Salt Cod Fritter
smoked paprika aioli

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
brown-butter crème fraiche • crispy sage

Salt Roasted Heirloom Beets
fromage blanc agnolotti • lemon emulsion • whipped pine nut oil

Stuffed Baby Calamari
caramelized cipollini onions • bilbao chorizo • piquillo peppers

Hand-Harvested Diver Scallop
yukon gold potato purée • forest mushroom fricassee • veal reduction

Duo of Pork Tenderloin Confit and Crispy Belly
kalamata olive spaetzle • bloomsdale spinach • salbixtada

••••••••••

Drunken Goat Cheese
marcona almond-honey tapenade • picos bread sticks
or
Chocolate Layers
espresso anglaise • chantilly crème

Pictured above: Stuffed Baby Calamari. Pictured below: Seared Diver Scallop.

Butternut Squash Soup with Brown-Butter Crème Fraiche and Crispy Sage:

Duo of Pork Tenderloin Confit and Crispy Belly:

Cheese Course:

Just a quick note here to remind you of some upcoming events at Cafe Mimosa as well as to alert you of an addition to our dessert menu: Chocolate Layers. In this above-pictured creation, a crunchy mixture of peanut butter and gianduja chocolate — hazelnut-flavored milk chocolate — sits below a light layer of dark chocolate mousse. Arranged on a pool of espresso crème anglaise, this Chef Nolan invention of double-chocolate goodness has been a welcomed addition by every sampler thus far. Needing a chocolate fix? A plate of these layers paired with a creamy mocha latte should do the trick.

Are you planning a holiday party this year? The Christmas lights are lining Del Mar, the temperature is dropping and the holiday season is rapidly approaching. Call Cafe Mimosa today to reserve a date: 949.481.6780

And finally, stay tuned for the release of our New Year’s Eve prixe fixe menu. Like all of Chef Nolan’s tasting menus, this New Year’s Eve dinner is sure to be creative, original and delectable.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! We hope to see you soon.

Many of you may recognize the lovely musician pictured above. If you’ve dined at Café Mimosa for lunch, brunch or dinner in the past year, chances are you’ve had Melody Merritt as a server once or twice.

What you might not know, however, is that Melody performs at the café every Thursday evening. Strumming her guitar, our very own Melody sings whimsical original numbers as well as covers ranging from Jason Mraz to Joni Mitchell to Elvis Presley. If you’ve yet to see a Thursday night live performance, you’re in for a real treat. Stop by for a plate of crispy tempura squash blossoms and enjoy the music!

Also, I’d like to remind you about a staple on our lunch menu — the Mimosa BLT. Does any combination better celebrate the summer season than heirloom tomatoes, crispy iceberg lettuce and apple-wood smoked bacon sandwiched between toasted slices of wheat bread? This timeless creation is hard to beat. Chef Nolan keeps his BLT simple, not straying from the classic players but using the highest quality ingredients throughout. A slathering of his homemade wholegrain mustard aioli on each slice of bread makes the Mimosa BLT one to truly rival. Come by and see for yourself. 

Have you ever seen a summer supply of squash blossoms at a local farmers’ market? In mid-summer, these bright-orange, delicate flowers are all but spilling off the Valdivia farmstand table at the San Clemente farmers’ market. And Cafe Mimosa’s Chef Nolan is right there sweeping them up.

On Sundays, these blossoms star in the Mimosa Omelette with fromage blanc and a salad of market greens. But during the rest of the week, they get a little more pampering. Stuffed with house-made ricotta cheese seasoned with fines herbes, the squash blossoms are coated in a light, tempura batter and quickly fried. They emerge crispy on the exterior, oozing with cheese bursting with tarragon flavor. Accompanied by a whole-grain mustard aioli, this combination is out of this world … a must-try on the Mimosa dinner menu. 

In addition to the squash blossoms, Chef Nolan has created a number of other appetizers, perfect for sharing with friends on a summer night on an outdoor patio. Today we’ve showcased a few: Stuffed Baby Calamari served with Grilled Artichoke Hearts and Piquillo Peppers, Seared Foie Gras over White Georgia Peaches on Toasted Brioche, and Crispy Pork Belly served with Petit Pois and Lardons. 

Happy Fourth of July! We hope to see you soon.

Blossoms at the Valdivia Farm’s farmstand at the San Clemente Farmers’ Market:

Stuffed Baby Calamari served with Grilled Artichoke Hearts and Piquillo Peppers:

Seared Foie Gras over White Georgia Peaches on Toasted Brioche:

Crispy Pork Belly served with Petit Pois and Lardons:

It’s hard to find fault with Chef Nolan’s French toast, a composition of two croissants, halved lengthwise, perfectly browned and served on a crème anglaise drizzled plate. But never is this dish as tasty as it is this time of year, when those croissants are covered with farm-fresh strawberries.

Every Sunday, when Erik Hart (pictured below) of Valdivia Farms briefly steps away from his stall at the San Clemente Farmers’ Market to order a “Mexi-Scramble” to go, he delivers a flat of fresh produce to the kitchen. In the past few weeks, that flat has been filled with strawberries — sweet, fragrant perfect strawberries. Spring, it appears, is officially here.

On another note, many of you have been inquiring about our hours on Easter Sunday. Cafe Mimosa is indeed open this Sunday from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm. We will be offering our traditional Sunday brunch menu.

Above: Strawberries Strawberries Strawberries. After a long winter, these sweet berries have returned to the market and are now topping the Cafe Mimosa croissant French toast.

Below: Erik Hart of Valdivia Farms in Carlsbad holds strawberries at the San Clemente Farmers’ Market.

Fresh Squeezed OJ. Champagne. And a plate of Croissant French Toast. Could there be a better way to celebrate Easter Sunday? We’d love to see you this weekend and we wish you a very Happy Easter.

KOBE. BEEF. BURGER. Need we say more?

Yesterday, a traveling business man popped into Cafe Mimosa for his weekly fix: the Kobe burger cooked medium rare smothered with Gruyère cheese. Every Friday, he noted, before embarking on his weekly journey from L.A. to San Diego, he envisions Cafe Mimosa’s burger, a dish he says will fuel his travels for years to come. As he wiped the juices streaming across his plate with the last of his toasted brioche bun, he declared Chef Nolan’s creation as the “best burger south of Napa.”

Mimosa Patrons, if you care to test this affirmation, stop by the cafe for lunch any Wednesday through Friday, 11:00 am to 2:30 pm … remember the burger has yet to appear on the weekend brunch menu.

Or if you care for something a tad lighter, the seared Albacore salad — an amalgam of hearts of palm, cucumbers and tomatoes drizzled with Banylus vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil — will do just the trick. Light and tasty, this salad is guaranteed to please. 

Four-Course Valentine’s Day Dinner Tasting Menu

February 13th & 14th 

$65 person

Seventy degrees. Sunny. What else could make January in San Clemente better? Not much. A five-course dinner for $40, however, couldn’t hurt. Every Wednesday through Saturday, in addition to a full dinner menu, Chef Nolan will be offering a five-course, prix fixe tasting menu. The menu will change daily. Here’s a sample:

Amuse Bouche

•••

Sesame Seared Albacore
english cucumber blood orange and cilantro salad

Warm Roasted Beet Salad
fromage blanc baby frisee lemon mosto oil

Pan-Roasted Diver Scallop
butternut squash bisque lomo chip jordon almonds

Pork Tenderloin with Pork and Black Truffle Sausage
foie gras cipollini peewee potates mustard jus

Croissant Pan Perdu
fuji apples calvados ice cream

•••

$40 per person
For Entire Table Only

Come celebrate the New Year with Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Berkshire Pork and Black Truffle Sausage and Hudson Valley Duck Confit. Prepared by Chef Nolan, the $60 prix fixe menu includes sparkling wine.

View the entire menu here.

Everyone at Cafe Mimosa is wishing you a safe and happy New Year. If we don’t see you this evening, we hope to see you at the cafe soon, warming up with a mocha latte, a bowl of creamy, forest mushroom soup or a plate of slow-braised lamb osso buco.

Happy New Year!