Dinner and a movie

If you haven't been to the theater to see "The Help," you must go. It is such a good movie that I've been twice, and I never do that. It's against the financial laws that my daddy instilled in me to pay to see the same movie twice. But I did, and it was just as good the second time around.

My husband and I have some friends who wanted to see the movie as well, so we made it a dinner and a movie night.

For dinner, we chose Mint - The Restaurant, which is located in Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland. It's a sister to Julep in Highland Village.

I've eaten at Mint several times and have never been disappointed. The words that come to mind when thinking of the atmosphere and decor are upscale eclectic. One of my favorite things is their red chandelier. I've never seen one like it before. It's stunning, to say the least.

The food is as impressive as the decor. Among the dishes at our table were Shrimp and Grits, Double Cut Pork Chop, and Seared Tuna. It must have all been good because every morsel was eaten.

The Shrimp and Grits consisted of house-made tasso, Mississippi mushrooms, bacon lardons, vidalia onions, rosemary, and Original Grit Girl cheese grits.

Shrimp and Grits

The Double Cut Duroc Pork Chop was served with creamy asiago polenta, roasted pepper peperonata, and sherry gastrique.

Double Cut Duroc Pork Chop

Ginger beer BBQ sauce accompanied the Seared Tuna along with pickled radish & jalapeño, sautéed swiss chard, and Original Grit Girl cheese grits.

Seared Tuna

The #1 thing that brings me to Mint is the Chocolate Hammer Cake. Anyone I've recommended this restaurant to will tell you that I always tell them they MUST get a piece of this cake. It's the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten.

I had heard there was a new chef in the kitchen and that his wife was handling the pastries now. I kept my fingers crossed that the Hammer Cake was still on the menu. Well, sadly, it's not. I wanted to cry. It's just that good. They do, however, have a chocolate cake, just not the one I love.

So, I gave the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake a whirl. It consisted of layers of devil's food cake, milk chocolate mousse and peanut butter ganache. Plus, it had the most unusual garnish - caramel popcorn. At first, I thought it was a candied nut, but, no, it was caramel popcorn. I've never seen it used as a garnish before. It was a great compliment to the cake, adding a tinge of saltiness. This cake didn't bump the Hammer off my list, but it runs a close second.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

I've been told for some time that their beignets and cheesecake were excellent. So, that's what my friend and my husband got, respectively.

House made Creole cream cheese is used in the batter, layered over a pecan cracker crust, and served with minted strawberries. It was delicious, but just wasn't as pretty as the chocolate cake. I like for my desserts to look as good as they taste.

Cheesecake

Our waiter was confused about the beignets and didn't order them. So, we had to run another waiter down to get them. That was our only negative of the night. They were worth the wait, though. They were light and fluffy and served with raspberry and caramel bourbon dipping sauces. I don't know how I managed to not get a photo.

Mint is in a class of its own with their atmosphere, decor, and upscale Southern menu. If they would just bring back that Hammer Cake, they would be in "mint" condition.