Mimi Ahmedi has been working in restaurants since he was eight years old.
“I’ve been here for about 30 years,” Ahmedi says. “My dad opened a restaurant here in ‘91 called Joe’s Pizza, so I’ve always worked for him. So I wanted to branch out and do my own thing.”
At Ahmedi’s namesake Mimi’s Pizzeria in our neighborhood, the dough and sauce are made in-house daily. It’s a simple set-up: The kitchen is open, and guests can see cooks tossing dough, saucing up the pizzas and baking them in large ovens.
The slices themselves are big enough that if you only ordered one, you might feel satisfied. The sauce-to-cheese ratio is just right — not too greasy and not too stringy.
“You have to have that skill to know how to make that New York pizza,” Ahmedi says. “A lot of people make it too thick at the edges. So it’s got to be not-too-thin and not-too-thick.”
Mimi’s also offers salads, sandwiches and traditional pastas such as chicken parmigiana, fettuccine alfredo, lasagna and spaghetti. They also feature some rare Italian dishes, including chicken Murphy, a plate of chicken, mushrooms, red peppers, onions and jalapeños in a pink penne sauce.
Ahmedi’s signature dish is chicken Mimi’s, a plate consisting of chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, artichokes, basil, spinach and garlic. Guests can order the chicken Mimi’s served over fettuccine or linguine noodles.
During the pandemic, Mimi’s has made donations to neighborhood schools, including to Alex Perry and Alexis Smith’s Kids Save Dallas Restaurants fundraiser in partnership with Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. Mimi’s also recently donated $2,000 to The Family Place, a shelter for families affected by domestic violence.
Ahmedi estimates the restaurant has provided more than 550 meals to essential workers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.
“We love the community, and we love the people,” Ahmedi says. “They’ve been very generous during this time.”
Mimi’s Pizzeria Shop, 6801 W Northwest Hwy., 972.215.7290, mimispizzeriadallas.com
