By Pamela Brownstein
The little white, one-room school house on Parris Avenue that once was the location for Suwan Thai has re-emerged as Mikki’s Schoolhouse Diner, where all-American cuisine is served seven days a week.
The chef and owner, Mikki Rolain, said she has always loved to cook and decided to put her many years of experience working in the food and beverage industry to good use by opening her own restaurant.
The Lunch Bunch was treated to big portions of homemade meals that were big on flavor and variety.
We started by sharing a mushroom pierogi appetizer that pleased each of our diverse palates. The pierogis with generous mushroom filling were from the neighboring Cori’s Pierogi Hut, and topped with Mikki’s own yummy sauce.
For the main course, David was excited to order off the breakfast menu, which is served all day, and thoroughly enjoyed his meat lovers omelet made with bacon, sausage, ham, cheese and tomatoes, and a side of toast.
Buck was equally enthusiastic at the sight of his Monte Cristo sandwich, one of his all-time favorites. Between the thick slices of French toast oozed ham and melted Swiss cheese, and with a dollop of sweet preserves, each bite was more irresistible than the next.
We were lucky to have guest Lunch Buncher Victoria Boone (wife of Buck and mother
of David!) join us for the first time. She ordered the Eden salad, and the colorful dish with green apples, mandarin oranges, strawberries, walnuts, fried goat cheese and shredded mozzarella not only looked good, but tasted good too. Victoria appreciated that the signature raspberry vinaigrette dressing was lightly applied so that it enhanced the freshness of the salad, instead of overpowering the flavors or weighing it down, as is often the case.
Nikki tried the Rolanti sub, served warm with ham, turkey, salami, Swiss cheese and signature sauce on a hoagie roll and a side of chips. Other enticing sandwiches include fried peanut butter and jelly, the “Uncle Harold,” and the Polish Boy.
With choices like that, I was torn about what to order, so Mikki suggested her homemade broccolini carbanera. The pasta dish tossed with red roasted peppers, mushrooms, broccoli and prosciutto in an aioli sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese did not disappoint, and was very plentiful.
Mikki, originally from Ohio, lives in Port Royal with her husband and 10-year-old son, and her mother, Pat, helps out at the restaurant. She is partnering with other locals such as Cori Fulton with the Pierogi Hut, as mentioned earlier, and by displaying the beautiful photography of Dr. Marikay Campbell from down the street at the Port Royal Veterinary Hospital.
When asked what her secret is for good food, Mikki says with a smile, “That I cook from the heart.”
Mikki’s is at 1638 Paris Ave., Port Royal, and is open Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m. to
9 p.m., and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
