Mäni’s Blog Café

We have a Brand New Menu for You!

On Monday Mäni's on Fairfax introduced a brand new Café menu and we are thrilled.  In keeping with our mandate to create healthier alternatives for you, we have revamped our menu and after months of development, have created 13 new choices for you.

You'll notice we've added more whole wheat products and created some really great new vegetarian selections.

With one day under our belt, we're already getting rave reviews on the Crepes, made with whole wheat, sprinkled with wheat germ and created how you like it -- you choose the fruit topping you like best.

We've also added more breakfast wraps:  Vegetarian and Yam.  Another instant hit is Black Bean Cakes 'n Eggs.  The black bean cakes are sautéed with a light coating of organic bread crumbs, veggie bacon, poached eggs, and topped with a chipotle marinada salsa.  How can you resist?

Several new salads grace the new menu

Grape Spinach Salad - spinach, walnuts, grapes and feta cheese with a light raspberry vinaigrette on the side
Arugula Artichoke Salad - marinated artichoke hearts, grilled chicken breast, green beans, parmesan cheese on a bed of arugula
Cous cous Salad - cous cous made with whole wheat semolina, dried apricots, cucumbers, grape tomatoes and red onions over mixed greens
Barley Salad - barley steamed with crispy asparagus, celery and a ginger soy dressing
You can download a copy of the new menu, study it, and then come on over for breakfast, lunch or dinner this week and let us know what you think about our new entrees.

Be sure to try our new sodas and juices as well.  This week we're featuring our exquisite pomegranate juice.  Your server will be happy to give you a sample.  You can read about the new juice here - featured a couple of weeks ago.

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet!

Well, maybe not quite that fast! We are pleased though, to announce that we have installed a new Point of Sale (POS) system at Mäni's on Fairfax.  The new hardware means you spend much less time waiting in line at the counter.  From better touch screens and faster printers, to faster, secure credit card processing lines, we think you'll notice a difference the next time you make a purchase at the counter. 

 

Spotlight on Sergio Garcia

In late 2003, we featured Sergio Garcia in one of our first Morsels.  At that time, Sergio had been promoted to Café Team Leader.  Now, nearly two years later we feel it's appropriate to put the spotlight back on Sergio for those who missed that early Morsel and for those who may be new to Mäni's.  Last month, Sergio was promoted to the Senior Management Team and after you read his story, you'll know why everyone at Mäni's is so proud and honored to have him on the team.

Here's Sergio's story, in his own words.

I am from Guatemala. I started to work at Mäni's when I was 17 years old as a Busser-Dishwasher. I barely spoke English, but as time passed by my English got better and better and here I am, now speaking good English and Spanish.

I have seen all the changes that Mäni's has gone through, from having a small single page menu to now having a 6 page menu. My priority has always been customer service and I have done everything I can so our costumers are always happy when they leave this place. We can say that I had a lot to do with Mäni's being a little bakery around the corner to becoming a full service restaurant. I enjoy and love working at Mäni's so much because all of our costumers are very nice and friendly people.

Now I have become one of the Senior Managers and I will do everything I can to make sure everybody that comes to Mäni's leaves with a smile on their face.

I would like to thank our costumers for their loyalty and for taking the time to read this mini-bio about me. If there is anything I can do for you when you are at Mäni's to make you happier, please talk to me.

New Beverages on Tap and More

A number of changes, for the better we might add, have been made to the beverage menu at Mäni's.

For juice lovers, we have switched to Evolution Fresh Juices which are flash pasteurized to retain the natural flavors of the fruits.

What is flash pasteurization? It is a process that brings the juice up to a certain temperature very quickly and then cools it very quickly. It is based on the idea you don't need to "cook" a juice for a long time in order to successfully kill the organisms. Rather, if you just expose the organism briefly to its worst heat, it will die and the juice flavor won't change a lot.

Mäni's is introducing these brand new juices: Pomegranate, Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice, Apple, Tangerine, Lemonade, Grapefruit and Carrot.  Ask your server for a sample the next time you're in the Café.

We've also just replaced our fountain beverages and are proud to feature award-winning Virgil's Root Beer and China Cola, both on tap.  Both sodas are from Reed's, a Los Angeles company.  If you're a Root Beer connoisseur, you can read more about Virgil's hand-crafted and brewed root beer here.

Good News!  Original Recipe Tuna Salad Sandwich is back.

Due to popular demand, we've brought back the original tuna salad sandwich.  Now we offer two versions of one of our most popular sandwiches:  original and "lite." 

The "lite" version uses light canola mayonnaise which has 68% less fat than regular mayo.  It is made with non-genetically engineered canola seed and soy protein.  No preservatives are used.

The next time you're in the mood for a tuna salad sandwich, come on in and ask your server for a taste test, then you decide which is best for you.

Mäni's Spotlight

Eight months ago, Eric Dyrhsen joined the Mäni's counter team and in March he was promoted to Counter Team Leader.  Eric's positive and motivating attitude has manifested in some exciting new changes, most notable in the introduction of new beverages on the menu.

In his own words Eric says:

I cut my coffee teeth in Seattle, which is the bane of my friends’ existence when we go out for that black gold because coffee is where my assery comes out. Sometimes I’m a little too particular for my own good, but I like what I like, yeah?

I’ve been cooking longer than I have been slinging coffee. I spent some time in culinary school, but never finished, and I’ve been cooking at Table 8 for the last year and some change. While I love to cook I rarely do it for myself, and if you were to look in my fridge, you’d hear the crickets playing some melancholy tune about the cold, empty dark of my life, I mean refrigerator.

The goal is to own my own café down the road.