In just more than four months, Mi Casa Su Café (1835 N. Martin Luther King Drive) has established itself as a premier breakfast, lunch and dinner spot in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood, serving healthy fare with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. The café has quickly become popular among neighborhood residents, city officials and employees from nearby businesses, said Paul Whigham, who owns the restaurant with his cousin, Jameel Trotter.
Mi Casa Su Café (Spanish for “My House Your Café”) lives up to the name with a warm, home-like feel with exposed brick, stylish pub tables, a hardwood floor and art from Whigham’s and Trotter’s homes. Breakfast is served from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Lunch options includes an array of sandwiches, salads, pitas and flatbreads, served from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Due to the popularity of many of the lunch burgers and sandwiches, Whigham said those are also available during dinner hours, which also features entrées, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Some sandwich favorites include the Portabella Burger, a juicy roasted portabella mushroom cap topped with garlic butter and a melted blend of three cheeses, along with green leaf lettuce and tomato. The Jive Turkey Burger is made with Cajun seasoned ground turkey, topped with strips of turkey bacon and coleslaw, garlic mayonnaise, pepper jack cheese and Creole mustard. Salads include Mandarin Orange and Kale, Caesar and Jerk Chicken. Sides such as hand-cut, seasoned grilled potato wedges are also available. Most items can be made vegetarian or gluten free.
Prices for many items average less than $10. Whigham said they strive for consistency and to keep portion size ideal—filling, but not too large. They get fresh produce daily from nearby Pete’s Fruit Market, and bread from Fresh Thyme.
Whigham grew up in a Muslim-Christian household, and he watched his mother and his aunts cook meals for special occasions. He started working in restaurants during his teens. While eating out, he noticed how many dining establishments had under-seasoned the food. “I wanted to open a place where the food is properly seasoned. I’m big on flavor, so I make good, seasoned food,” he said. “We put a healthy spin on the foods, and we don’t serve pork, we don’t serve soda and we don’t have a deep fryer.” Every recipe on the menu is Whigham’s own creation.
Trotter has two business degrees and handles the business end of the café, as well as the beverage program. Mi Casa Su Café carries Stone Creek Coffee. Fresh fruit smoothies are made to order, and they have several varietals of wine, including four vegan wines.
When Mi Casa Su Café opened at the end of December, they started out just serving lunch from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Once kitchen operations fell into place and they got a feel for what customers wanted, hours were expanded for breakfast and dinner, the latter with choices like shrimp and grits, or salmon croquette.
Weekly specials include Healthy Hump Day on Wednesday, featuring $3 smoothies, and salads and vegetarian menu items for $5. Sunday is vegan day, and chef Rain Truth of The Cultured Vegan comes in to prepare vegan brunch and dinner specials such as eggplant lasagna.
Summer will bring patio seating, and Whigham said they plan to expand into the space next door. He’s excited to be part of the neighborhood revitalization, especially with the nearby Bucks arena almost complete.
For more information, call 414-488-9916 or visit facebook.com/micasasucafe/.
