I TEETERED BEHIND the edge of the counter in anticipation, trying to catch a better glimpse of the man shaving thick slices of the simmering meat just a few feet away from me. Tummy rumbling, I ordered everything that looked good from the customers around me, including a collection of falafels, the gyro sandwich, a falafel sandwich, and crispy baklava. In quick time after being seated, my eyes feasted on the arrangement atop the platter set at my table. Acknowledging what I had been previously fawning over, with its contents of meat, salad, cheese, tzatziki sauce, and sliced onions all spilling juice and filling over the wrapper keeping them contained, the gyro sandwich was enjoyed through to the very last tender morsel. Enough to feed an adult belly to the brim, I was told the gyro sandwich was an all-time favorite for regular patrons of this Greek American Restaurant, and its savory contents did not disappoint.
Between bites of the perfectly spiced gyro meat and crunchy french fries was another star of the meal, the falafel. This mixture of the fluffy chickpea and herb interior with the tanginess of the yogurt sauce they gave me to dip was almost too delicate, too “good” to merely devour. Even better than just the falafel by itself was the falafel as a sandwich. Containing the same fillings as the gyro sandwich except for the gyro meat itself, the falafel sandwich is a vegetarian’s dainty great-food-induced dream. At this point, my tastebuds were nearly reaching the end of its meal, but not before the prize of dessert, baklava. Rich in flavor and layers of paper-thin pastry beckoning you to bite into its nutty, sweet interior, the baklava itself spoke of my whole dining experience at Ramsey Grill. Tasty, comforting, and the culmination of international flavors brought to America for us to enjoy what they have become today. GN