Ramsi's Sunday Brunch

People! Did you know about this? I've actually known about for quite some time, since Michelle over at Consuming Louisville blogged about it. But the fact is, despite her glowing review, I was reluctant to try it. I used to eat at Ramsi's a lot, but a combination of weird/bad service, irritating menu changes, and mediocre food added up over time and we stopped going there. But Neil's mom and her partner wanted to take us out today to celebrate my birthday, and there are only a handful of restaurants they really like, including Ramsi's. So we decided to try the brunch.

OMG! This is vegetarian/vegan paradise (although there's plenty for meat-eaters, too). I can't begin to tell you everything that I had, let alone everything that's on the buffet. Here's a sampling:

- Scrambled eggs
- Tofu scramble
- Bacon and sausage
- Spinach alfredo eggs benedict
- Vegan huevos rancheros
- Vegan biscuits and gravy (!!!)
- Black bean cakes (which I topped with vegan queso)
- Blackened grouper
- Some kind of pot roast-looking meat
- Tortellini salad
- Croissants
- Beignets
- Fresh fruit
- Banana pudding, carrot cake, vegan chocolate mousse, and other desserts

And that's probably not even half of it. And there's an omelet bar! Everything was fresh and hot, unlike the food on a lot of brunch buffets. This is definitely our new favorite brunch destination. (I'm also happy to say that we received great service from Neil's sister Rachel.)

I really highly recommend this brunch to everyone, and especially vegetarians and vegans. Delish!

Zen Tea House

A few weeks ago I lunched with a couple of my fellow freelancers at Zen Tea House. It was my first time there, and I was so impressed with it that I decided to take Neil there for my birthday lunch on Thursday. He loved it as much as I do. I could easily see this becoming one of my favorite restaurants.

Before we get to the food, let me say a bit about the experience. Because it does feel like an experience, rather than just a meal. The decor is soothing and sparse, tranquilly Asian. I understand that farther back in the restaurant there's pillow seating, which, in retrospect, we should have tried, since it was my birthday and that seems like a fun thing to do. But we opted to sit up front, next to the window, where we could watch the cool rainy day outside. It was quite cozy.

The other defining characteristic of the Zen Tea House experience is the service. It's definitely leisurely and not always quite as attentive as it maybe should be, but the folks who work there are extremely welcoming and knowledgeable. There's no need to be intimidated by the lengthy tea menu; they will be happy to help you choose, as well as enthusiastically answer any food questions. It's a pleasure to be served by these people.

So, the food! On both visits we started with the mushroom pate, "A delicate combination of fresh mushrooms, mixed nuts, spices, cream cheese and olive oil blended together and served with toasted bread." Oh. My. God. This stuff could almost pass for real pate. It reminds me a bit of liverwurst, and I mean that in the best way possible. Delish.

On my first visit I had the Roasted Portabella & Caramelized Onion Panini, "A creamy spread made from Boursin cheese, sun-dried tomato and garlic layered on our herb focaccia bread, topped with roasted portabella mushroom, caramelized onions, fresh Mozzarella cheese, mesclun greens and sliced tomatoes then pressed and grilled to perfection." That was really good, but good panini are pretty easy to come by. One of my dining companions that day had the Steamed Banana Leaf with Lotus Seeds & Vegetable Rice, "Vegetable rice cooked with tofu, veggie meats, and lotus seeds is wrapped in a banana leaf, steamed, and then topped with a drizzle of olive oil infused with roasted garlic and scallions." To be honest, on the menu I thought it sounded a little boring. And watching my friend eat it I thought it looked a bit bland. But she insisted that it was fantastic, so on my second trip I tried it for myself. And it was just as good as she had promised. I know a lot of people aren't huge fans of fake meat, but the way it was mixed in with the rice and other stuff made it very subtle and rather believably meat-like, which is something that this reluctant vegetarian appreciated very much. The garlic-and-scallion-infused olive oil added a real depth of flavor to the whole thing. When it arrived in front me I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish it, but I had no trouble with it.

Neil had a cup of the soup of the day, a compilation of veggies in a light ginger broth. It was a very simple, clean-tasting soup, and he slurped it right down. For his entree, he chose the Curry Tofu & Carrot Salad Sandwich, "Tofu and carrot salad seasoned with mayonnaise and curry spread on a toasted baguette and topped with green leaf lettuce, tomato, pickled carrot & daikon and fresh basil leaves." This was sort of a cross between a carrot salad and curried egg salad, both of which I love. I will have a hard time choosing between that and the banana leaf the next time we go. Both our entrees and the pate were served with crisp pickled vegetables, which were a nice complement to the meal.

To drink, I had the Keemun Imperial, a strong black tea that felt just right for a gross rainy day, while Neil chose the GenMai-Cha, a brown rice tea with a wonderful smoky flavor.

With appetizer, two entrees, two cups of tea, and one (amazing) vegan chocolate cupcake, the bill came to a little over $40 with tip. A bit on the pricey side for lunch, maybe, but worth every penny. I can't wait to go back.

Sweet Potato Gratin... and more!

This entry will cover a lot of territory, so here's a quick overview:
1. Sweet potato gratin.
2. Tomato soup.
3. Vegetable bouillon and vegetarian gravy.

Ready, go!

Earlier today I Tweeted/Facebooked about the awesome sweet potato gratin I made last night. A ton of people requested the recipe, and I'm more than happy to share it. Alas, I can't take credit for this one; it's another tremendously successful selection from Vegetarian Suppers From Deborah Madison's Kitchen.

I don't know about you all, but the changing weather has had me craving warm, hearty comfort food. I went cruising through Ms. Madison's cookbook yesterday and landed on the following recipe. We served it as an entree with a side of kale, but it would be fantastic as a side dish, especially if you're getting sick of the ubiquitous sweet potato casserole that always shows up at Thanksgiving.

Sweet Potato Gratin with Onions and Sage

2 teaspoons oil, plus a little for the dish
1 large onion, chopped into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons chopped sage or 2 teaspoons dried
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), thinly sliced
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
a large handful of parsley leaves, chopped with 1 plump garlic clove
3/4 cup grated Gruyere or smoked mozzarella cheese (Kroger actually had smoked Gruyere, so I used that!)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cream or half-and-half, warmed (I never told you this was healthy!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly oil a 2-quart gratin dish and put a moderately large pot of water on to boil.
2. Put 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the onion and sage. Cook, giving them an occasional stir, until soft and golden, about 12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes, then slice them as thinly as you can manage. Salt the water, then drop them in. Allow the water to return to a boil, which may take a few minutes. Boil for a minute or until the potatoes are partly tender when pierced with a knife, then drain. Toss them with the onions, chopped parsley, and garlic.
4. Scoop a third of the potatoes into the prepared dish and even them out. Season with salt and pepper, add half the Gruyere, and grate over a little Parmesan. Repeat, making two more layers and covering the last with a dusting of the Parmesan. Pour the warm cream over all, cover with foil, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the potatoes are utterly soft and the gratin has browned, another 25 minutes or so. Let the gratin stand a few minutes before serving.

A few things I will do differently next time:
1. Add walnuts. Neil and I agree they would be great in this.
2. Drain the potatoes better and/or let it cook a little longer. It was a little watery on the bottom.
3. Add more cheese (maybe). It's perfectly good as it is, but if you want to make it really obnoxiously fattening and delicious, more cheese would be the way to go.

So today, after a heaping bowl of leftover gratin for lunch, I got to thinking about what I wanted to make for dinner. I couldn't stop thinking about that delicious smoked Gruyere. I started thinking grilled cheese and tomato soup. I spent some time looking for a tomato soup recipe that did not require a food processor or immersion blender, neither of which I own (yet - hello, wedding registry!). I found this recipe for Hot and Healing Tomato Soup. I was a little concerned that it would be weird in a New Agey, earnestly healthy kind of way, what with its six cloves of garlic and handful of celery leaves. But it was actually really good, quite chunky and thick. Neil suggested that it would be good over pasta as well. To go with it, I sliced some of the Moroccan olive bread that Kroger makes (which is way better than it has any right to be), sprinkled shredded Gruyere on top, and stuck them in a hot oven until the cheese was melty and golden. I've taken to calling this deconstructed grilled cheese, because I occasionally enjoy being a pretentious asshole. (You're welcome to call it cheese bread.)

If you looked at the soup recipe, you may have noticed that it involves a roux, to which vegetable broth is added. Let me first say that today, instead of buying a package of vegetable broth, using half a cup, and putting the rest in the fridge to sit until it went bad, I wised up and bought some bouillon cubes. Specifically, Edward & Sons Garden Veggie. I mixed up half of one with some hot water to make broth for the soup and it smelled really good, better than vegetable broth usually does. Once I mixed it into the roux it smelled fantastic, so I gave it a taste. Sacrebleu! It was like a delicious gravy! I cannot wait to make some mashed potatoes to put this on!

Erin's Vegetarian Gravy
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup to 1 cup vegetable broth, depending on how thick you like it

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Slowly add flour, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until mixture turns golden. Slowly stir in vegetable broth until gravy reaches the desired consistency. (Note: I can't vouch for the tastiness of this if you don't use Edward & Sons bouillon. Like I said, it's better than any vegetable broth I've ever used. I found it at Kroger in the organic/natural section, with the soups.)

So, that's been my two days of culinary excitement. Now that I sit down and think about it, there are multiple things that I meant to write about on Blog Tartare, like my visits to Dragon King's Daughter, Zen Tea House, and a much-improved Zeppelin Cafe (whose website is so abjectly bad and lacking in content that I won't even bother to link to it). Expect restaurant reviews soon!