Big week, part one

Because we are doing so much traveling, four weekends away in June and 8 to 10 days "up North" in both July and August, our time at home is full of dinners out with friends. That's though on the waist line and Sodium count.
Tuesday night it was "Cumin Eclectic Cuisine, 3520 Erie Ave, 45208 513-871-8714. "Cumin" has a new chef and has moved away from some of the Indian Spices and dishes into a broader array. Mung, one of our favorite servers in the city, still handles most of the customers and is a wonderful hostess, server and font of info on the food and it's preparation. Marilyn and I had a very good Gazpacho, slightly thicker than others, well flavored( I added a bit of, house, hot sauce as I like more heat than some) and with small chunks of tomato, peppers, celery and onions which she followed with a Quinoa Rissotto which was excellent. The dish, plenty for one, even if hungry, was rich, in content and flavor, with sauteed mushrooms and onions and had liberal amounts of cream, butter, and cheese( a real diet item). I went with a smoked Salmon Salad, 4 or five slices of Nova Scotia salmon served with greens, reminiscent of watercress, and prepared white beans. a light dish, for me, which left room to help Marilyn with the Quinoa. If any of you aren't familiar, Quinoa is a grain, which I believe originated in Peru, and is high in Protein.
Lunch the next day with a friend, who spends a good deal of the summer in Wyoming, the state not the Cincinnati suburb, called for a visit to one of my stand-by's the "Oriental Wok", Hyde Park. Trying to eat light I had them stir fry some bean sprouts, scallions and Bar-B-Que pork in a light oyster sauce. My companion had the same stir fry with chicken instead of pork. The meal had a fresh light appearance but I am sure contained more than a few hidden calories, oil, pork, etc. I find the OW very accommodating, as they are customer oriented and will to put together any request, if the materials are available.
Dinner that evening, "J. Alexander's Restaurant" 2829 Edmonson Road 45209( Rookwood Shopping Center) 513-531-7495 commenced when we were greeted, at our table, by an exuberant young women, our server, and treated like "members of the family", probably her Grandparents. Her spirit made the evening although the food is always decent or above. It is a well managed chain with all employees visible, concerned and accommodating. Marilyn's favorite at "J Alexander's" is the prime rib sandwich, a beautifully prepared 8oz portion of beef served with potato's or a vegetable. She chose to accompany the beef with a baked potato. After my usual libation I went with the seared Ahi Tuna, medium rare, which comes on a plate with a good sized portion of salad greens tossed in "house dressing". The salad has not only the standard greens( another friend calls them weeds) but crisp nubbins of either potato sticks or French Fried onion strips with give a nice crunch to the mixture. Not being satisfied to behave we brought our dinner companion back to our condo for and array of various flavored ice creams. UDF peach is now in season, adding to the "Graeters" standards which are on hand.
It think I'll take a brake and do the rest of the week either later today or tomorrow.