Five Reasons

In case you aren't hip to the word, Antoine and I spent this past weekend in Louisville. It was partly a Valentine's Day thing, but mostly it was a way to celebrate my birthday (which was last week) and an excuse to get out of town and explore. Louisville has become one of my favorite places for a close vacation. Actually, this past weekend Antoine and I discussed that Louisville might just be a really cool place to live. And if I didn't have a house that I loved and a job that I loved in Cincinnati I would probably move there ASAP! So, in the spirit of all things fantastic about Louisville here's my list of the top five things that makes the city awesome (in my eyes) and makes me want to pick up the boyfriend and the animals and move there...

1.) FOOD! It only took one trip to Louisville to know that the place has some really fantastic food! But this past trip just reaffirmed how many great restaurants there are in L-ville: Lynn's Paradise Cafe, Hammerheads, and Ramsi's Cafe on the World (to name just a couple of the more casual spots). During our first trip to L-ville we quickly realized just why Lynn's has become such an iconic restaurant there! Its comfort food really packs a punch and even though the prices might be a tad steep the portions, taste and quality certainly make up for it! Plus you can browse through their unique store while you wait to be seated. This time around we decided to try a couple new places, in addition to Lynn's. Hammerheads is literally a little dive bar in a basement! But the looks of the place are certainly deceiving, because the food was phenomenal! My brisket sandwich was probably the best brisket I've ever had; smoky and tender with just a little bit of spice! And the fresh cut duck fat fries rocked my world! Antoine's half slab of ribs were equally delicious and, to our surprise, the bacon brownie was fabulous! For lunch on Sunday we decided to try out the brunch buffet at Ramsi's Cafe. I was skeptical, since buffets in general tend to really suck...but Ramsi's made me a believer! Best buffet EVER! And one of the best brunches I've had too! Seriously, if you haven't been and you have the chance...GO...NOW! Hell, if I could I'd go this weekend!

Behold the uber delicious strawberry and apple spinach salad (with a basil balsamic vinaigrette) from Ramsi's! I went back to the buffet three times to get more salad!

2.) Downtown! Maybe I've just been living in Cincinnati too long, but it's nice to see a downtown area that doesn't shut down by 5pm! And a downtown that you don't have to fear for your life when you go walking around. Downtown Louisville is beautiful, clean, and the perfect place to take a stroll on a Saturday. Main street is my favorite little drag downtown with a variety of hotels and museums to gawk at and enjoy! I have yet to visit the Waterfront park area, but I assume it's lovely on a warm day with it's numerous bike paths and picnicking spots!


3.) Museums! Although the Speed museum doesn't hold a candle to the Cincinnati Art museum, I completely adore downtown L-ville's assortment of different museums and galleries! You've got the Slugger museum, the Ali Center, the Science center, the Frazier International museum, 21c's public galleries, and, my personal favorite, the Museum of Art and Craft (but more on that later)...and again, that's all on Main.

I think the Art and Craft museum is up there in my favorite museums anywhere! It's simple and not at all fussy, yet it always seems to surprise me with its exhibits!

4.) Bardstown Rd.: I had heard about Bardstown Rd. but on our first visit to L-ville we didn't pay much attention to it. But this time around we fell in love with the area! After brunch at Ramsi's we decided to walk off our delicious meal by strolling down Bardstown Rd. First of all, the amount of people out walking their dogs or having lunch outside with their canine friends at their feet was crazy [awesome]! And it made us miss Cheese somethin' fierce. And Bardstown is not only home to fantastic restaurants like Ramsi's, but it also has a plethora of fun little shops and boutiques. A couple of the shops made me feel like I was walking into a physical Etsy store...EEK! And I walked away with selection of earrings to prove it! Next time we go to L-ville we will certainly be trekking back to Bardstown to explore further! (Sorry, I didn't take any pics while we were walking around Bardstown)

5.) Breakfast! Okay, I know I already mentioned "food", but Louisville breakfast really deserves a category of it's own! Being my favorite meal, I'm super critical when it comes to breakfast/brunch spots. Lynn's exhaustive and creative breakfast menu (served all day) is sure to please any breakfast lover! It's the reason there's usually a pretty lengthy wait for breakfast on the weekend (again, their awesome store helps distract from the wait)! I thought nothing could top Lynn's with it's enormous buttermilk biscuits and it's intensely fantastic scramblers...but Ramsi's just might one up Lynn's (but it's a very close margin)! Ramsi's brunch blew me away! The hot and cold brunch bar alone was pretty fantastic, with a variety of breakfast meats (including some delicious/freshly cooked bacon), vegan/vegetarian friendly options, pancakes, fresh fruit and scrumptious salads (seriously, I can't get over how good that spinach salad was)! But then add in a customizable omelet station (Antoine and I had bacon, fresh spinach and cheese omelets that were fantastic; very generous in portion and quantity/quality of ingredients), free OJ and milk, and a dessert bar and you've got a brunch buffet that will knock your socks off! The kitchen staff keep putting out freshly made goodies so there's constantly something new and "just made" to try out! If I lived in Louisville it wouldn't be a stretch to say that I'd go to Ramsi's brunch buffet at least every other weekend. Sure I'd have to fast the rest of the week to make up for it, but it'd be worth it for sure!

Lynn's decor makes me happy!

Seriously, I'm kind of in love with Louisville! I can't wait to visit it again! See you tomorrow with another recap!