It could have been any burger spot or barbecue restaurant in Texas: checkered tablecloths with ketchup bottles on the table, limestone building, mature live oaks shading the patio, three different types of iced tea. But Mia’s — the new “family-friendly” restaurant from the Carrabba’s folks — also offers wine by the bottle or glass, snapper tacos and an Italian sausage burger that we’d go back for.
There’s ample parking available in Mia’s own lot and in the new Carrabba’s parking garage just across the street, which is really convenient for both restaurant guests and neighborhood-dwellers. I’m sure many folks in the Montrose area will tell you that restaurant and bar patrons parked in front of their homes is a big fat negative to living in a magnetic part of town. A short distance from Carrabba’s (at Argonne and Branard, to be exact), Mia’s is about a block off Kirby. Ample signage makes it easy to spot.
For patrons desiring an adult beverage versus a sentimental reminder of childhood, Mia’s offers a wine list and beer by the bottle and pitcher.
My companion and I ordered the Italian sausage burger and the cheeseburger, with sides of sweet potato fries and hand-cut French fries. Honestly, I appreciate that my sausage burger didn’t come with a massive amount of fries. I need the limitations. I’ll eat an entire basket of poor French fries, simply because I lack the self control not to. These fries came in what is probably an appropriate portion, and they were really good. They had a crispy exterior and fluffy interior; they were hot and thoroughly salted. The sweet potato fries were really good; they tasted and had the consistency of fresh, but I have no way of knowing if they were peeled and cut in-house.
Why the Italian sausage burger? Because I was at a burger joint owned by Johnny Carrabba and part of the massive Carrabba’s expansion currently underway. Mia’s is the first of the new group of restaurants that will be here on the site of the original Carrabba’s. I thought an Italian sausage burger was the appropriate crossover. My partner opted for the cheeseburger, as it’s standard in the world of iconic American foods.
Both burgers came on oblong torpedo-shaped buns, not the traditional round buns that we’re used to. The bread was fresh, well toasted and buttery. I personally thought it was fantastic, especially because it encased sweet, slightly crunchy, cooked onions and peppers and an Italian sausage patty that was cooked just enough without being dry. I usually have to order my burger medium rare just to try and save it from coming out well-done. My preference wasn’t asked when I placed my order, but I wasn’t disappointed when I cut my sausage burger in half.
My partner likes chopped lettuce, so she was pleased to find an ample allotment — as well as pickles and sweet onions — on her burger. The patties were hand-formed and an equal thickness throughout, so no dry edges or sudden explosive grease on these guys. Just moist and slightly greasy, enough to make us feel like good Texan carnivores but not that we needed to go wash our faces after lunch.
I often get asked for recommendations for kid-friendly restaurants. Mia’s is definitely family-friendly (free soft serve vanilla ice cream, hooray!), it’s not a restaurant where kids run free a la Chuck E. Cheese’s. If your little ones are well behaved when you dine out, this is a good spot to bring the family for burger night or pulled-pork sandwiches.
I’m still thrilled over the darn ice.
MIA’S TABLE 3131 Argonne 713-522-6427 miastable.com