Ramsii's

The family had an excellent dinner last night at Ramsii's. Daughter was thrilled with a dozen or so vegan options. Not just vegetarian, but vegan! Usually she has a salad and some grilled veggies, but last night there were so many options it was mind bogling! It would seem that a few more restaurants might look into offering a more creative option or two. I know this isn't a major dining out segment, but vegans do exist and they dine with their carnivorus friends. But I digress.

Daughter enjoyed a seitan Parmesan pannini with "mozzarella cheese" that was actually quite good. Lots of flavor and a huge sandwich. I had the Thai noodles with a peanut sauce and veggies. I'm just really getting into peanut sauce on noodles of any kind. I know its quite traditional fare in many cuisines, but I'm just learning to appreciate it. Anyway, not too peanutty--just creamy and earthy. The slivered cucumbers and letuce were fresh and noodles cooked prefectly. And after dinner I still have two lunch portions left over. Good deal for $9 I think.

Hubby had a shrimp and chicken curried rice concoction that he claimed tasted great, although it didn't look too pretty just thrown into the bowl. Really, a little presentation is needed on this one.

SIL had Empress chicken. Looked good, every morsel was happily eaten, but since I don't eat chicken I can't tell you what was in it. The chicken was in chunks, battered and fried.

Interestingly we started off with a vegan focaccia with pesto and vegan feta cheese that was excellent. Neither daughter nor I had ever run into vegan feta before.

We ended with desserts. The kids had plantains served in a sweet maple syrup with whipped cream. Hubby and I got the chocolae pannini. Yeah, oh yeah. A slab of semiswet chocolate betwen two slices of bread (sourdough maybe) and grilled in a press. Ooy-gooey chocolately goodness.

I know that some of the regulars on here are not big Ramsii fans, but when you got a carnivore, a vegetarian, a vegan and a low fat diet in your party of four, this place is a miracle!

Ramsi's is a great place, and one of my favorites. Great atmosphere, especially on the patio, and the food is fantastic.

I highly recommend the Pollo Nuevo Havana -- blackened breast of chicken topped with a tamarindo jalapeno sauce and melted Boursin cheese, and served over Basmati rice with a side of vegetables (from the menu). It's incredibly delicious!

The various salads I have had there have been excellent too. Very good bread as well. Asparagus Fritti is a great appetizer.

Everyone go there if you haven't gone there yet.

I know this isn't a major dining out segment, but vegans do exist and they dine with their carnivorus friends. But I digress.

And yet I was told by a few people in this forum it wouldnt be worth it for even one pizza location to try a few other things to this demographic.

Other restaurants are doing it and making it just fine as outlined by this post.

Ramsi's is always good stuff, even if they did give me real chicken in my sandwich once.

One might argue that vegans even have more dining dollars to spend, since they're not buying $30 steaks.

humor, folks.

I wasn't too impressed with this place the first time I went, but I went again last week with some friends and everything was really delicious. We started with the Brie Bernadette (brie encrusted in chopped almonds and pecans, fried, and drizzled with honey), which was very sweet but good! I had the chicken gorgonzola, also good, except that it could have used about 1/4c. less sauce. My friends had the Cubean burrito, Shanghai stir fry, and the majestic sea bass (by far the best--the fish just melted in your mouth). Service was very attentive, as well. My only complaint was that the noise level was pretty loud, and the addition of a piano player only made it harder to hear (we were on the enclosed patio). Overall, however, I would definitely go back again soon. I normally consider places with such varied menus a bad thing since the kitchen is not concentrating on one specific cuisine, but in this case, everything was very good!

Tanya, I normally agree with you about the too many cuisines represented on a menu generally equalls a lack of attention to everything. But like I pointed out, we're got so many special considerations in our family, that it is really welcome.

The last time the kids (adult children) went to Ramsi's they waited over an hour to ge their food. Obviously the service was not good. We had a similar problem on another occasion, so it took some convincing of each other to go back this time.

This experience was excellent and we're inclined to go again.

ie Ramsis- fish tacooooooooooooos!


ie Mike G- I don't think that a place with numerous vegan options is a bad idea, but what everyone on the board may have been talking about is that puely vegan/vegetarian restaurants don't seem to have much staying power in Louisville...if you open up a vegan Pizza place, you'll have a very limited number of customers, spread over a further radius of the city, but if you open up a Pizza place with non vegan pizza as well as a large number of vegan options, you'll most likely get the vegans in there, as well as the (much larger) non-vegan population which would probably keep you in business a lot longer

if eating out during regular dinner hours it's rare for me to go to ramsi's. for a city our size we've got a ton of great restaurant options...and i have a hard time being a regular at any one spot. but if im looking for a place to eat after 10:00pm(which is fairly often, atleast once a week)...then ramsi's quickly rises to the top of my list. compared to other late night places their food is pretty good. lots and lots of options and most everything is good...though i would say nothing is great.

one small nit to pick though. their wine glasses may be the worst in town. especially for a place with a pretty decent wine list...well i should say decent "by the bottle" list...their "by the glass" list is always pretty bland. that being said im probably a lot pickier than most folks when it comes to wine...as i sell the stuff.

[Robin Garr]

I'm probably a lot pickier than most folks when it comes to wine...as i sell the stuff.

Welcome to the forum, Paul. Glad you're here! From one wine geek to another, where do you work? Retail or distributor?

I used to adore Ramsi's but not so much anymore. Three things that stink:

1. The piano player. I can't stand that guy. He's way too loud and goes on and on and on. If I wanted to hear music to the exclusion of dinner conversation with my companions, I'd go to a music venue. We complained (nicely) to our server and she said that people complain all the time but that there's really nothing they can do.

2. They changed their menu recently and got rid of two of my very favorite things, the Cafe on the World Salad and Anisa Focaccia. I know that's their prerogative but it still makes me less inclined to eat there now, since those were dishes I used to frequently get cravings for. I miss them very much.

3. After we realized that the menu had changed, my boyfriend was relieved to find that the Isabelle Panini had made the cut. At least, until it showed up at the table with completely different contents. He asked the server if they'd brought the wrong sandwich and she said, "Oh, I forgot to mention that. They kept the name but changed all the ingredients." ???

There are still a lot of things on the menu that I like, the service is generally quite good, and I like the ambiance on nights when the piano guy isn't there. But I don't eat there nearly as much as I used to.

When is the piano guy there? I'd definitely choose to avoid those nights.

ie Ramsis- fish tacooooooooooooos!


ie Mike G- I don't think that a place with numerous vegan options is a bad idea, but what everyone on the board may have been talking about is that puely vegan/vegetarian restaurants don't seem to have much staying power in Louisville...if you open up a vegan Pizza place, you'll have a very limited number of customers, spread over a further radius of the city, but if you open up a Pizza place with non vegan pizza as well as a large number of vegan options, you'll most likely get the vegans in there, as well as the (much larger) non-vegan population which would probably keep you in business a lot longer

That was exactly my point. I guess it got lost in the translation from my head to the keyboard.

[Robin Garr]

purely vegan/vegetarian restaurants don't seem to have much staying power in Louisville...

Two words: Zen Garden. Going strong in Clifton since October 2000.

I'm probably a lot pickier than most folks when it comes to wine...as i sell the stuff.

Welcome to the forum, Paul. Glad you're here! From one wine geek to another, where do you work? Retail or distributor?

thanks robin! i work retail at Whole Foods. been working in wine for a few years now...ever since i shelled out the big bucks to get a culinary degree from sullivan and promptly decided that the stress of restaurant kitchens isnt for me. ha, great huh? but seriously. i couldnt be happier with the choices i've made, i love the wine trade and hope to be in it for a long time to come.

[Robin Garr]

i work retail at Whole Foods.

Ahh! I've probably seen you in there, then. I drop in fairly regularly. I won't say it's my absolute favorite wine shop - a question of inventory and selection - but I don't hesitate to drop in when I'm looking for something good to go with whatever I just bought inside the store for dinner. And on occasion you guys will have something interesting that I haven't seen anywhere else.