By Patrick McDowell
Culture is something we must seek out, and as college students, many of us don’t have the money for extensive travel. However, you don’t have to break the bank to take a trip to Ramsi’s Café on the World on Bardstown Road.
Ramsi’s has brought culture to Louisville for years now, and if you haven’t stopped by yet, now is the time to do yourself a favor.
The name is in reference to the broad variety of food the menu offers. With cuisine from nearly every recognizable culture, you may have to make more than one trip.
From a logistical point of view, the restaurant’s concept is one that people tend to shy away from. Committing to a menu with as many different food items as Ramsi’s offers can be a food cost nightmare and too tall of an order for most restaurants to handle. This is not the case with Ramsi’s Café.
This was not my first time to eat at Ramsi’s , and neither was it the first time I was blown away by my meal. I ordered the Louis Marsala, a chicken-and shrimp-based dish that originates from Italian culture. It was served atop mashed potatoes and covered with a sauce.
I brought my girlfriend, Jessica Day, as this is her favorite restaurant in all of Louisville. She had the Shanghai stir-fry. I sampled it, and the dish was as tasty as it was complex. “The portion size was huge, and it was so good I was eager to eat my leftovers the next day,” Day said. “Definitely one of the better things on the menu.”
We even saved room for dessert, the caramelized banana trifle. This dessert was perfectly described on the Ramsi’s menu as “a marriage of cultures: Caribbean rum bananas, English custard, whipped cream and American graham crackers.” Though this was merely a culinary take on banana pudding, it was just the kind of sweet treat we needed to wrap up our meal.
Every option at Ramsi’s isn’t inexpensive, but there are more than enough choices to accommodate any budget.
Ramsi’s Café is open Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. It is open for Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and again for dinner from 4 to 11 p.m.
Ramsi’s Café on the World is located at 1293 Bardstown Road.
Find Ramsi’s on the web at ramsiscafe.com or on its Facebook page.