Dinner at the Red Roost Tavern: New farm-to-table downtown

Red Roost Quinoa Salad

For our 18th wedding anniversary, my husband and I dined at the new restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown, the Red Roost Tavern.

It's an impressive operation, combining a front-of-the-house sports bar atmosphere with an expansive bar and a dozen large-screen TVs and a more intimate dining room facing the open kitchen in the rear. On our Monday night visit the bar area definitely had a lot more patrons, but on other nights the dining room also fills up, according to staffers.

How to describe the Roost in a nutshell? What impressed me, at least, is its farm-to-table orientation, a varied menu that includes plenty of healthy choices but also heartier and more casual fare, and an environmentally conscious approach to everything from sourcing of ingredients to recycled materials in the decor and an Eco-friendly kitchen.

We started by sharing one of the entrees as an appetizer -- an organic grit cake that turned out to be our favorite dish of the evening. The grits are enriched by a touch of smoked Gouda, and is presented with fava bean and corn succotash (also available as a side), crunchy kale chips and dried cherries. Highly recommended!

There are three salads on the dinner menu, and we each had one. The Quinoa Salad my husband had was a winner--lightly dressed, a tasty combination of chewy grains and crisp veggies. The grilled radicchio on my Baby Romaine Hearts salad was the bomb -- I just wished there had been more of it and less of the relatively boring romaine.

Organic Grit Cake

For entrees, he had a big, fat, juicy burger -- not a beef but a bison burger, layered with avocado, arugula  and Gouda. My Salt Grilled Shrimp was more than I could finish, as were the sides I had chosen, but it went home with me for future consumption.

We appreciated that each entree comes with two side dishes, and the choices included the expected mashed or roasted potatoes as well as a few more unusual options, such as "crunchy cauliflower" and pan-fried quinoa or peppered pappardelle.

Grilled shrimp, with potatoes and cauliflower sides

I thought that the cocktail list was adequate -- I had a serviceable mint julep -- and the wine list barely so. (My husband suggested that the restaurant doesn't aspire to offering significant wines, just enough familiar varietals to provide acceptable accompaniment to the food.) I would add that an upgrade in the glassware would make me happier. All they had were small, white wine type glasses -- which I don't even like for white wine -- that diminish one's enjoyment of a wine's bouquet and taste.

We'd had a big meal and shouldn't even have ordered dessert....but we did share (and only half eat) a lemon enhanced creme brûlée that would have been delicious under other circumstances.

Overall, I think Red Roost Tavern will and should be a success in its location. The hotel chain has invested millions in refurbishing the lobby, meeting space and guest rooms here, and being across the street from the Convention Center will bring in lots of business to the restaurant and bar.

Red Roost replaces the old Champ's sports bar, and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week -- another good thing for downtown, since it can be hard to find a nice meal on a Sunday.

Healthy foodies, you're going to be happy here, I think!

To Eat Well, Try Eat Well Cafe

Chef Renee Schuler

Made my second visit to Eat Well Cafe, in O'Bryonville, this week, and had a better chance to sample and appreciate what this bright, pleasant (mostly) lunch spot has to offer. I'd gone once before on a very cold winter day with a friend who doesn't really enjoy eating, which usually holds me back from full enjoyment of my own. This time I went with my ravenous husband, which gave me permission to have more than a cup of soup with a couple of crackers, as on my first visit.
He selected from one of the pasta bowls -- his choice was pearl couscous (the Israeli variety) with roasted veggies, chicken and pesto. The portion was large but, in character, he ate all of it and said "yum" quite a few times as he did so.
I went with one of the salads, also served in a large bowl, the same size as his pasta dish. The choices were called Health, East and West. Each had an interesting combo of ingredients that made it hard to select, but I ended up with the East Salad, in part because it was the only one without cheese, which I wasn't in the mood for.

The salad was impressive in its combination of flavors and textures, as well as the evident care that went into preparing the ingredients. I was especially impressed by the high quality of the pulled chicken, which was lean (all the skin and fat had been removed) even though it included bits of dark meat, and clearly not some kind of industrial meat. The other notable ingredient was what they called orange supremes, which was slices of fresh oranges with the white membrane removed -- something that you almost never see anywhere. I know the amount of labor it takes to slice an orange that way, and appreciated every bite. Rounding out the salad were sliced almonds and a nice sprinkling of fried wontons.
Along with the salad, I had a large mug of chamomile tea, which hit the spot on another cold, wintery day (even though it's the end of March).
While I don't think the cafe itself has a website, the venture that includes catering can be found online here.
Chef/owner Renee Schuler was chef at our favorite rural getaway, Murphin Ridge Inn. 
We both really liked our meal here and definitely plan many return visits. Healthy and delicious, too! It's at 3009 O'Bryon Street and is open Monday - Friday 11-8:30 and Saturday 9 - 4.

Seasons 52 Coming Soon

A new option for healthy dining out is coming to Cincinnati. Seasons 52 is a relatively small chain, owned by the company that owns Red Lobster, and they're opening a new location in Cincinnati next month. It's in the new section of Rookwood (Hyde Park).

I've eaten at this chain in both the Atlanta and Chicago areas, and am really very happy that one is coming to my town.
Here's how they bill the chain (from their website):

Seasons 52 is a fresh grill and wine bar that invites guests to discover the sensational flavors of a seasonally-inspired menu and award-winning international wine list in a casually-sophisticated ambiance.

At Seasons 52, we pride ourselves on offering our guests:

• Seasonally-inspired dining choices expertly designed to excite and surprise the palate
• An award-winning international wine list featuring diverse wine selections that personalize the dining experience
• Knowledgeable, approachable service that inspires confidence
• A casually-sophisticated adult ambiance that feels inviting

What did I like about it so very much? The design of the bar and restaurant is quite appealing, but the best thing about Seasons 52 is that the food is HEALTHY and GOOD.
Here's what they say about their menu:

"The Seasons 52 menu is seasonally inspired with the fresh appeal of the farmer's market. . . .  We feature dining choices that are thoughtfully prepared in appropriate portion sizes. So our guests can feel the freedom to indulge in a complete dining experience, including our custom flatbreads and signature mini-indulgence desserts, while still feeling good about themselves and their dining choices. . . . We make a promise that nothing on our menu is over 475 calories. The result is great-tasting, satisfying food that just happens to be good for you."

The Rookwood location should be up and running by the middle of February. See you there, local folks!

T

The Anchor: Excellent new dining option downtown

The Anchor opened on Race Street facing Washington Park in mid-September. My husband and two of our friends had a chance to try it for dinner on Saturday, and we were all completely delighted by this new spot. (No website yet, but they do have a Facebook page.)

The restaurant is in one of the brand-new buildings along the park -- ground floor for some upscale condos. However you may feel about the gentrification of that part of OTR (I like it), this restaurant will be a godsend for Music Hall patrons, who up until now have had zero places to eat within walking distance, which means eating somewhere else, getting in your car, parking and making it to an 8 PM show. Now you can arrive early, get a choice parking spot, and have a lovely time at The Anchor before the symphony, ballet, opera or other event.
As the name suggests, the menu is almost entirely seafood, and it's a small menu of perhaps five appetizers, 3-4 salads, and less than a dozen main courses--the latter of which includes a couple of hearty, filling and less-expensive sandwiches. Our friend had a trout sandwich on thick bread with a bacon aoili; it came with a pile of fried onion rings and amounted to a meal that would satisfy even the biggest appetite. She shared the onion rings and took half the sandwich home.
My husband and I both had the "filet fish of the day," which was a fresh water bass, nicely grilled and set on top of a salad of avocado, corn and other ingredients that melded together beautifully with the buttery fish (that's my dish in the photo).

Fish filet entree at The Anchor

There were rich choices and virtuous ones on the menu, which is a great thing in my book.
The house also features a few interesting cocktail concoctions and a short but well chosen wine list.
We'll be back!!
The Anchor is open Tuesday - Saturday from 5 PM for dinner, and will start serving lunch this coming Thursday - Saturday.

Good Eats: Dutch's Larder

I wouldn't have known about this deli/bar/gourmet food/wine shop if my friend Beth hadn't happened upon it and raved about the quality of the food that Dutch's Larder has been producing for the past few months.
It used to be a beer joint and package store -- and in part it still is. This year they took over the space next door that had been a Starbucks and expanded into a wine and gourmet food store along with a deli.

Dutch's Larder

The main deli case

When another friend who lives in Hyde Park suggested we meet for lunch, I said let's try Dutch's.
Yum!
It's not a restaurant, per se, and indoor seating is limited in the deli area. But as long as the weather stays nice -- a few more months, we can hope -- you can have a pleasant experience at their outdoor patio, in back. 

On the patio

The deli offers a menu of salads, soups, "snacks" and sandwiches. Of the three of us, our light eater had a bowl of tomato soup ("delicious") while the others tried various sandwiches. My smoked chicken with avocado spread, sliced tomato, marinated cabbage and a little bit of bacon was excellent. I'd have a hard time not ordering that again, it was so good.

We also had a glass of wine with lunch from a short but varied list that included a Cava (Spanish sparkler), one rose and about 5-6 each of white and red wine. 
After lunch, I shopped a little and brought home a few gourmet treats, including a pint of (frozen) lobster stock that I don't know what to do with, but am not worried because there are many options. 

Smoked Chicken Sandwich

The location (fairly far from my home or work) will make it hard for me to become a regular at Dutch's, but if your orbit takes you in the Mt. Lookout/Hyde Park area, definitely check the place out. 

As of now, they don't have a website, but you can find Dutch's Larder on Facebook.

Wheatgrass juice and other good-for-you treats from Hunter Greengrass

Barbara and Edward Hunter have been growing, processing and delivering fresh wheatgrass around the Cincinnati area since the late '90s. Earlier this month, they opened a juice bar and vegan deli inside Findlay Market. It's right near the center of the market, adjacent to Bean Haus -- a great location!

Barbara and Edward Hunter at Findlay Market

Huntergreengrass is the name of their company and their juice bar. Check out their website to learn the health benefits of wheatgrass. There's quite a list of good reasons to include it in your diet, most of which seem to revolve around the "living chlorophyll" it contains. Barb mentioned that to really get the full nutritional wallop, you should consume the juice within a few minutes of its being juiced. Their website notes that one ounce of the juice has "the same nutritional value as 2.5 pounds of green garden vegetables." Wow!

Their market stand specializes in juices, smoothies, homemade soup and daily specials. Everything they sell is 100% vegan.

Good luck to the market's newest purveyors of interesting, healthy and locally grown products!

Healthy, delicious dining in Atlanta

Highlights from a short trip to Atlanta: Seasons 52 and Iberian Pig. 

Seasons 52 is a small, newish chain with a decidedly healthy orientation to dining. Their twist: every dish on the menu is 475 calories or less -- or so they claim. And it's a really varied and interesting menu, worth checking out. Click here for a taste of what they offer.
In addition to two Atlanta-area locations, they're also in FLorida, Texas, California, New Jersey and a couple of other locations, the closest of which to me is in Indianapolis.
I managed to hit both Atlanta locations, by chance, for lunch two days in a row. The best thing I tried was this excellent ravioli filled with goat cheese and enhanced by roasted garlic and fresh tomatoes. It was filling, light and delicious.

The other restaurant of note was Iberian Pig in Decatur, just to the east of the city of Atlanta. I'd been there a few months ago and it was soooo good, I had to get back there. It did not disappoint! The Spanish menu offers tapas portions as well as larger plates, and while it seems heavy on the meat/sausage (not my thing), I was able to find plenty of good veggie and seafood options.
Pictured are the fabulous Marcona Ensalada, my friend's octopus (tapas portion), and my whimsical, exotic-veggie laden Quinoa y Verduras.

New "spring" menu at La Poste

La Poste is such a welcome presence in our neighborhood--gaslight Clifton--and I was looking forward to their new menu, which debuted earlier this month.

I've had dinner there twice since the new menu has been available, and have to report that it's rather disappointing. One expects spring/summer dishes to be lighter than what you'd have in the winter months, but it was terribly hard to find what I had hoped to see. No light salads, no veggie-based entrees (except the cheesy, creamy kind), and even the fish preparations were too oily and, well, heavy.

The steamed mussels and clams (pictured) were an exception, and I appreciated that dish as an appetizer on my second trip. I also ordered the mushroom ravioli without the cream sauce, and that was fine. (It was plenty tasty without being sauced in cream.)

Desserts have improved since the place first opened last fall -- not that dessert is going to qualify as something light. I shared a panna cotta with my friend on one of the recent occasions.

One of the wait staff told me they planned to offer lighter fare as specials, but the choices on the two nights I was there didn't qualify as anything light.

I hope this problem will correct itself before the heat of summer settles in.

Dinner at Suzie Wong's Asian Eats

I'm happy to report that Suzie Wong's was packed on Saturday night -- that's good because that stretch of Madison Road has almost no places to get dinner. We hadn't been in a few months, not since they added a wine, sake and beer list, and the food was as good as ever, and at bargain prices, to boot.
Although I've tried different entrees, I keep returning to the delicious Wild Mushroom Trio (top photo; $12.95), on the Veggie Corner part of the menu. The slow-cooked mushrooms are so plump, meaty and full of flavor, it's a wondrous taste treat. I love the veggies that accompany the main ingredient, including baby bok choy and a veggie I had never tried before this dish, lotus root.
The other photo is of a spicy noodle dish with steamed tofu that my daughter ordered. She can't take spice, though, and the menu didn't let on that it was so hot. Our waiter cheerfully replaced the offending noodles with a mild chow mein, also with steamed tofu, and she liked that just fine.
The wine list is minimal, but I did find something to drink, and my son-in-law enjoyed warm plum-scented sake that he said was quite good.
We all had at least a little leftover food to take home to enjoy later.
Suzie Wong's is a little more than a year old now, and the Healthy Foodie can wholeheartedly recommend the eatery for lunch or (especially) dinner.

Manna for Locavores (in Covington KY)

We love Local 127 in downtown Cincinnati for farm-to-table dining.
Another worthy entry on the locavore scene is Chalk Food & Wine in Covington, helmed by Chef Mark Bodenstein. George and I went with our friends (Corina and Michael) for a mid-summer dinner this weekend.

This may sound strange, but the best thing I had -- or most unusual and memorable, at least, was my cocktail (Cucumber Agua Fresca, see sidebar). However, my dining companions were also pretty darn thrilled with their food.

George was the most ambitious, ordering the "Farmers Feast," a "3-course chef tasting menu centered around local ingredients," and opted for the wine pairing with each course. His favorite was the "pork trotter" (used to be called pigs' feet -- we thought the updated nomenclature was a hoot) with zucchini ribbons, top photo.

Our friends split the Martin Farm Prime Black Angus sirloin steak (second photo), accompanied by an array of gorgeous local baby squash, sun gold tomatoes and pureed potatoes. They loved it.

For dessert, George and I split the blueberry Clafoutis (bottom photo), a simple baked batter cake with pistachio gelato.

We sat out back on the vine-covered patio, enjoying the cool evening, good conversation and various wines.

"Chalk Food + Wine is proud to support as many local farms as possible to bring you the best, freshest and most healthful food available," the menu says.

What more could a healthy foodie possibly want?

Eating out on the road: Find Italian!

On travels in central Europe, we learned that when the meat-and-sausage based German or Austrian food got to be too much, seek out the neighborhood Italian restaurant to get a dose of healthier cuisine.

Even the most basic Italian places have such things as arugula salads, vegetarian pasta dishes and/or seafood entrees.

Here on Cape Cod, we needed a break from "family style seafood" restaurants, with few or no vegetable sides (cole slaw and French fries don't cut it) and too much fried food.

Sure enough, the local Italian eatery, Agro Dolce, did the trick.

We split a salad with lots of fresh arugula, strawberries and pecans, followed by farfalle with artichokes and mushrooms and a grilled free-range chicken breast over spinach. Along with some delicious Gavi-di-Gavi wine, it was the exact meal we needed.

Back to seafood today, though. We're heading for a restaurant in Harwich Port that specializes in the style of lobster roll that we crave. Instead of the cold lobster salad roll that many places serve, the one we've spotted also offers hot lobster with butter on a toasted roll.

Um, no, that is not the healthy foodie's best hour.....but it's something you can only get in New England so when in Rome.........you know.

Vout in Northside -- new (cheap) dining option

Vout is the relatively new enterprise sharing the space of the more upscale Slim's, on Hamilton Avenue in the center of Northside's attractive and eclectic dining scene.
On Fridays and Saturdays, the restaurant reverts to the fixed-price, four-course inventive (but still casual) menu of Slim's. But Tuesday through Thursday, it's another concept altogether.
Prices are very low -- $7.50 - $8 for entrees, $5 or so for salads, appetizers in the same range as the salads -- and as with Slim's it's BYO liquor, including beer.
We both had the vegetarian enchiladas and shared a side of rice with kumquats; my starter was a watercress salad with dried figs and blue cheese, and hubby had a chicken and veggie soup.
With the beer and wine we brought along, we got out of there for about $30.
We will return to try some of the other Latin-flavored dishes.

Great locavore dining: Chalk Food + Wine

From the menu -- a joyful read for the locavore foodie -- at Chalk, on Greenup Street in Covington:
"The menu is a collection of small plates inspired by local ingredients and local farms. Menu is created around the week's harvest."

We hadn't eaten at Chalk in quite some time, and finally got back there this weekend.
Many of the menu items say "house made" or "house cured," and words like "seasonal" and "local market" appear throughout. I also like that almost all the entrees tell the source of the main ingredient -- such as Fiedler Farms pork or Ed Hill Farm's chicken.

We tried everything from the house cured ham (pictured at top) with cocktails to garlic gnocchi with spring peas, fennel and lemon balm, spring mushroom salad, arctic char over soy beans and watercress (also pictured) to the chef's tasting menu -- 3 courses with wine for $40, including the bison steak shown in the photo.

PS--Yes, those are potato chips in the background of the first photo, with the house-cured ham. They brought those out with the cocktails, and we tried to minimize that indulgence.

Overall, a really good dining experience..........

How to avoid "restaurant catastrophes"

Although "cook your food" is an important healthy-foodie principle, I can't deny my love for eating out. Trying a new restaurant -- or returning to an old fave -- is my idea of a fun evening out. The Real Age website has some interesting ideas for ways to navigate restaurant meals so that you don't have to atone for your foodie sins for days afterward. They suggest that the first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes of your evening out might be the most important in terms of making healthier choices. Here's a summary of their tips.

Before You Go

Don’t arrive starving! Eat a little healthy fat -- like about six walnut halves -- before a meal. The healthy fat in walnuts triggers a chain reaction that slows the rate at which your stomach empties, so you’ll feel fuller faster. But the chain reaction takes 30 minutes, so plan for it.

The First 10 Minutes

• Raise a glass. Of water. To your lips. This can fill you up, so you don’t overeat.
• Ask for cut-up veggies instead of bread. Most quality restaurants (including inexpensive ones) provide this option.
• Dip in olive oil. If the restaurant brings you whole-grain bread, dip it in olive oil. People who opt for this over butter eat less bread.
• Request the bottles. Order oil and vinegar on the side. Relying on the kitchen to dress your salad -- even with oil and vinegar -- can deliver as many as 450 extra calories!

The Last 10 Minutes

• Share. Get one dessert for every four or five people, and have just a few bites. If there are just two of you, take half of the dessert home, and freeze it for a special occasion.
• Savor your wine. Ending a meal with a glass of wine lets you avoid the cloying aftertaste of sweets . . . and helps you avoid calorie-bombs, too.
• Go European. Do what many Europeans do: Make salad the last thing you eat.

Local restaurants team with Christ Hospital to flag their healthiest dishes

This interesting news was posted today by Enquirer Dining Critic Polly Campbell. Click here to read her full piece.

Healthy foodies, rejoice! Among the restaurants that have participated so far are Chalk Food + Wine, Local 127, Lavomatic and the Summit -- places I already really like. The idea is that the restaurant puts a special Christ Hospital logo next to dishes on its menu that meets certain nutritional standards. For instance, the dish cannot contain more than 650 calories.

I think this is great; let's hope more restaurants sign up. And thanks, Polly, for sharing this news.

Om Cafe --newest hangout for lunch and coffee on Ludlow

In my 'hood -- Gaslight Clifton--there are several places for coffee and pastry, each with a distinct ambiance. Sitwell's has the boho feel of a throwback to the 1960s, Bruegger's Bagels fronts Clifton Avenue and Burnet Woods, Brutopia is a bit more serious about their coffee drinks and has a hole-in-the-wall, away from it all feel.
The most recent addition is Om Cafe, across the street and a few doors down from Sitwell's--or across from the fantastic Esquire Theater, if you're not a Cliftonite.
Here you can browse books about New Age spirituality* and chow down not only on pastries but also on healthy salads and sandwiches. *Om Cafe is within the Aquarius Star store.
Pictured here, a Lebanese wrap (something unique, thanks to the ethnic background of the family that owns the place) and a salmon salad.

Suzie Wong's -- Delicious and Healthy Cooking

My husband and I made our way to Suzie Wong's in East Walnut Hills this weekend, and wow, were we impressed.
Much of what passes as Chinese--or Asian--food in this town is greasy, heavy and unimaginative. With a few exceptions, it's like they're all drawing from the same sloppy kitchen. But Polly Campbell's four-star review in the Cincinnati Enquirer last month promised a vastly better dining experience.
Promise fulfilled!
As we perused the menu, we asked our server to help us find the healthiest food in the house, which seemed like a request she didn't get that often. But she good-naturedly guided our selection from among an extensive but not overwhelming array of appetizers, salads, noodle and rice dishes and entrees.

For starters, my husband first ordered an ahi tuna appetizer, but the kitchen had run out of tuna. So he settled on Suzie's Garden Salad ($4.95), a delightful combo that included mango, mandarin oranges and pomegranate seeds, topped with a ginger-soy dressing (his choice). I went with the Saigon Roll ($6.95), two hefty chicken, shrimp and veggie filled beauties that came with a spicy dipping sauce. (Top photo shows our appetizers.)

His entree came from the Noodles section, Wong's version of Pad Thai ($8.95, middle photo)--frankly, not a dish I usually would recommend because most renditions are piles of too-salty noodles so oily that the food practically slides off the plate. But this Pad Thai was exemplary, studded with crispy veggies and the steamed tofu he chose for protein (it could have been chicken, beef or shrimp for that price, a little more for duck breast or "seafood supreme") --and his empty plate didn't glisten at all.

I took our server's recommendation and tried the Wild Mushroom Trio ($12.95, bottom photo) from the Veggie Corner section of the menu. The description ("sauteed fresh shiitake, oyster and enoki mushrooms in a ginger white wine sauce on a bed of seasonal vegetables") doesn't even hint at the magnificence of this dish, at least to my taste. (Owner Alex Chin walked by as I was digging in and commented that I was eating his favorite dish in the house.) As with most of the entrees, the mushrooms came with a side of white or brown rice, but I didn't want it--the main course was just so perfect as is.
What was so great? Perhaps most notable was the tender meatiness of the 'shrooms themselves, especially the shiitakes, which had an ethereal taste and texture. The veggie combo with the mushrooms was delightful, too, including baby bok choy and the unusual lotus root, while the mild ginger sauce pulled it all together very nicely.

No liquor license yet at Suzie Wong's, which suits us just fine as bringing our own wine helps to keep the tab down--we brought a bottle of very nice Oregon Pinot Noir that set the food off perfectly. That situation won't last forever as the restaurant has applied for a liquor license--when they get it, manager Bill Hatfield says they'll stay open a lot later and serve interesting cocktails as well as beer and wine. Now that's something to look forward to....along with many lunch and dinnertime visits to try more of the amazing food.

Hanging at Olives on Ludlow

We met a group of my husband's gym friends who get together every month for a "final Friday" gathering. Recently their venue has been Olive's, a restaurant that has filled a niche in Clifton for the past couple of years.

While the cooking is serviceable at best, the place has managed to hang in there by doing a few things well. Start with a good location and ambiance for the upstairs sections--as opposed to the chilly and rather gloomy large dining room downstairs-- where a large bar and many bar tables provides a nice perch for watching the sidewalk action on Clifton's main commercial drag. Daily specials -- including two-for-one martinis on Fridays -- are a good idea and I'm sure it's helped keep patrons coming in the door.

The menu is pretty wide-ranging, with appetizers (mostly fat-laden but that's what a lot of people like), salads, sandwiches and a fair number of entrees. The portions generally are large and the kitchen is rather heavy-handed with butter and oil. Therefore, it's a challenge to find healthy options.

Pictured here are a soup special -- it was black bean and red pepper, rather an odd combination and someone overdid the salt, so I could only eat a little of it. My husband often orders the pasta puttanesca, which is a vegan dish--tomatoes, eggplant, and a spicy kick perhaps from cayenne pepper. It's listed as an appetizer for some reason, but it's plenty as an entree. I also got an individual flatbread, kind of like a small pizza with a very thin crust.

Olive's is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, and also serves brunch on Sunday.

Fun & healthy lunch @ PF Chang's

This weekend I met one of my favorite former students -- the beautiful June '09 grad, Reagan Russo (top) -- for wine and healthy food at PF Chang's in Hyde Park. Of course, Chang's is a national chain and an experience similar to ours can be had in multiple locations.

We both wanted a lunch that wouldn't be full of fat and calories, and our server steered us through the best menu choices. Reagan had the lettuce wraps -- which, if you ate the whole thing, you'd be going overboard by our standards. She was able to feel satisfied after eating about half of the filling, so she brought the rest home.

I had my standard order of the Buddha's Feast (pictured), steamed rather than stir-fried. (I've had it both ways.) With brown rice and added shrimp -- it comes with tofu amid the crisp-tender veggies -- and plenty of added soy/mustard sauce, the dish was delish.

Of course, most of the fun was in seeing Reagan again after too long. But we also were happy to have selected a good-for-us meal.

Specials at Mitchell's Fish Market

If you want a healthy meal before or after the movies at Newport on the Levee -- or at any of the seafood chain's 16 other locations -- Mitchell's Fish Market is your best choice. (My last name is Mitchell, but I have no connection.) In addition to an extensive regular menu, daily and weekly specials provide plenty of options. The $19.95, three-course special is hard to beat. Although we didn't see it on the weekend menu, our server was happy to offer this special when we asked. You get a choice of a house or caesar salad, one of three seafood entrees, and a dessert.
I took the deal, and picked the house salad, grilled steelhead (somewhere between salmon and trout) with potatoes and asparagus, and creme brulee.
My husband had a salmon special (also pictured) that was accompanied with sticky rice and steamed Asian veggies.
We like their cocktail, beer and wine choices, too.