Restaurants -- Newsday.com

Mim's
235 Roslyn Rd.
Roslyn Heights, NY 11577-1339
516-625-7305

Hours: Lunch, Monday to Friday dinner, nightly.

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From the moment the breadbasket arrives, filled with warm focaccia, paired with a crock of garlicky hummus, you sense that the new Roslyn branch of Mim's (a Syosset standby) will feed you generously. Go on a weekend, and you'll feel as if half the population of Nassau County has joined you in the handsome (and often noisy) space to wait for a table. While Mim's offers valet parking, this is the kind of casual American bistro to which you can bring the kids, dressed in jeans and sneakers.

Start with the fine crab cakes made with panko (Japanese bread crumbs) and served with a feisty Asian slaw and ginger-wasabi dipping sauce. Asian lobster and shrimp spring rolls are slightly oily but good, paired with a spicy miso dip. Vegetarians will enjoy the blackened portobello mushroom quesadilla with grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers and mozzarella.

The kitchen, which uses high-quality ingredients in auspicious combinations, can be lax about timing. Fried items, especially in the appetizer sample, are often overcoked.

Overcooking can also sabotage an otherwise savory entree of salmon with raspberry thyme butter over a lively asparagus and toasted almond salad. Sliced marinated Romanian skirt steak offers beefy gratification; accompanying garlic-sauteed spinach emphasizes the pungent bulb. Double-cut pork chops, brushed with chipotle barbecue sauce, have heft and juiciness; a side of Cheddar-scallion mashed potatoes is smooth, lush.

Old-fashioned apple crisp brings the meal to a pleasing conclusion. A warm brownie sundae topped with M&Ms has the necessary ingredients to delight children as well as adults. The best finale, though, is a luxuriant Belgian white chocolate bread pudding with white chocolate cream and raspberry sauce.

Joan Reminick