Thursday, February 21, 2013

Asian, 3 way or 4 way

After a full week of "at home" dining we broke out with an active week of dinners and lunches, a number of which were either at Asian restaurants or had an Asian touch.

Last Saturday, with another couple, we went to a very crowed "China Gourmet", Erie Ave. in East Hyde Park. The owner and manager Tinley Moy was in China with his wife and new baby. The whole operation showed his absence. The staff was stretched and therefore the service and food was not up to their usual standard. I ordered "Mediterranean Sea Bass" which turned out to be Bronzini. Instead of the pan seared, as offered, it came extremely well fried. The table shared two side orders of vegetables, a mixture of bean sprouts and scallions and another plate of Szechwan Green Beans. Both dishes were only luke warm but the tender beans were well prepared, if under seasoned, in my opinion. Others had Walleye and one order of Shrimp Kung Po. The meal was acceptable but not outstanding and as the crowd thinned the service improved.

Sunday it was back to "Seasons 52" the new eatery in the Rookwood Exchange, next to the still unfinished Marriott. It is currently being mobbed, as the "new kid on the block" We had a booth in the bar which turned out to have live music, a distraction for us elderly. The food, as before is good and ample and my Curried Grouper" had a definite Asian taste. To keep to their promise of 475 calories, maximum, in each dish most items are served either fairly bare or on beds of vegetables, this was the case with the fish. The dish turned out to be very satisfactory. Marilyn had a fillet, cooked perfectly. Both the meat and the mashed potato's on which it sat, she reported were flavorful. I indulged in several glasses of wine which increased the calorie count and the bill total.

Monday night we joined another couple at "Sweet Basil" in the strip center just off Buttermilk Pike, in Northern KY. "Sweet Basil" web site give direction using the "Outback Steak House" sign as a landmark. If you go to the website your will see that the menu is extensive and quite reasonable in price. Being a store front restaurant don't go for ambiance but rather for value. My "Hawaiian Sushi Roll", yes they do have a sushi bar, was tasty but I couldn't get away from the cream cheese used to meld the ingredient. The other three had Pad Thai, not an adventurous trio.
The other Asian was "Suzie Wong" at DeSalles Corner( Madison and Woodburn). There at lunch today I had a large serving of chicken and Szechwan green beans, these season with red pepper flakes. A good helping of brown rice helped "sop up" the additional sauce. It was more than enough and quite reasonable at $5.95.

I shouldn't leave without mentioning the fried smelts at "The Anchor" 1401 Race St. an unusual item on a Cincinnati menu as well as a hugh meal at "Bonefish Grill" Madison and Edwards Road last night which finished a full week back in the swing. Last nights meal started with the standard Bombay and a table order of Bang Bang Shrimp( a "come on" special on Wednesday nights) followed by Imperial (stuffed) Wolf Fish and ended with their outstanding warm Brownie accompanied by a ball of Vanilla Ice Cream.
Time to head home for small meals and a weight reduction program.

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