Louisville hides culinary gems in nearly every neighborhood. At the corner of Oak and Shelby in the Shelby Park neighborhood, you will find one of my new favorites: Perso. My wife, Hope, and I recently booked a table for a slow, relaxing dinner. Our mission was simple. We wanted to see if this arti san kitchen could accommodate our highly specific dietary requirements. What happens when a gluten-free vegetarian and a dedicated fish-lover walk into a meat-heavy artisan haven? You might expect a salad. . . at best. Instead, we were treated to some amazing flavors, high-end dishes, and some imbibing opportunities that “got the job done.” Here is how our evening unfolded, complete with strategic cracker hoarding and a healthy respect for alien sea creatures. Perso Drinks Setting the Stage with Sips We kicked off our evening by diving straight into the beverage menu. Hope started with a crisp, refreshing glass of Sauvignon Blanc. It perfectly matched her seafood intentions for the night and set a bright, zesty tone for the meal ahead. Also, it was vino, so she was in her happy place. I opted to start the repast with a classic rye Manhattan. Perso makes theirs with a house well rye, Old Forester, lavender bitters, smoked lavender, and literally a cherry on top. With our drinks sorted and our initial thirst thoroughly quenched, we turned our attention to the food. Perso heavily promotes its land and sea dishes, but a gluten-free vegetarian can explore a surprisingly deep bench of artisan starters, sides, and entrées. Perso Goat Cheese The Great Cheese Debate and Mushroom Magic Perso takes its cheese program seriously. They boast two distinct, house-made options. You have the rich, velvety ricotta and their glorious take on stracciatella. If you avoid gluten, take note of this crucial detail. Only the ricotta is completely gluten-free.  Swords, Salads, and Sweats: Surviving Gaucho Urbano Perso GF Cracker Cheese Not Your Mom’s  Ricotta We ordered the house-made ricotta, which arrived crowned with a vibrant, zippy chutney. The sweet and tangy flavors cut through the rich cheese beautifully. It came served alongside homemade gluten-free seed crackers that provided a sturdy crunch as a food delivery mechanism. If you do not use all the seed crackers for the appetizer, definitely hang onto those crispy squares for future bite building purposes.  Perso Mushrooms. Marvelous Miso Mushrooms To pair with our ricotta masterpiece, we ordered the marinated miso mushrooms. We received hearty, meaty cuts of mushroom swimming in a puréed mushroom broth. The chefs topped the dish with fresh microgreens, adding a lovely pop of color and a bright zip of flavor to the fungi. Mixing and matching the rich ricotta with the savory, umami-packed mushrooms created some interesting pairing combinations.  Perso Salad Mission MeeshMeesh: A Birthday Quest For Mediterranean Magic In NULU Entrées: From Alien Warnings to Veggie Victories When you look at the meat-eating side of the menu, you will see plenty of pork, duck, lamb, and choice aged steaks. You will also see octopus. Allow me to offer a brief public service announcement regarding the octopus. Please do not eat these guys. They are incredibly smart, solve puzzles, hold grudges, and are quite possibly aliens.  Perso Shrimp A Seafood Lover’s Delight Hope, who normally defaults to salmon whenever possible, decided to branch out. She ordered the Florida royal red shrimp. The kitchen served these succulent beauties over a bed of warm, comforting buckwheat polenta and chives. She asked the kitchen to hold the nduja (a spicy, spreadable pork sausage from Calabria). Her Sauvignon Blanc proved to be the perfect companion to the rich shrimp and polenta. The Romanesco Broccoli Triumph On the entrée side, two of the three vegetarian dishes are entirely gluten-free: the Romanesco broccoli and the butternut squash velouté. I went for the broccoli, baby! The kitchen roasted the visually stunning Romanesco and mixed it with Brussels sprouts, a smoky piquillo pepper sauce, and slivered almonds for crunch. Remember those leftover seed crackers I told you to hoard? This piquillo pepper sauce is exactly why you save them. Dinner and a Show Hope and I were not in a hurry to give up our seats. We sat comfortably close to the open kitchen, granting prime viewing for the culinary theater unfolding before us. We arrived as one of the first reservations of the evening. Over the next hour plus, we watched the relatively empty restaurant gradually fill with vibrant energy. We spotted folks pregaming before a local show, at least one birthday celebration, and a raucous group eagerly exploring both the wine list and the craft cocktail offerings. We each ordered another glass of wine for dessert. Did we really need it? Probably not. But we definitely needed to justify spending twenty more minutes taking in “the show.”  Ramsi’s Café of the World: Global Comfort Food and Fine Art Encore Perso delivers an exceptional dining experience, even if your dietary needs are a bit complicated. The staff is excellent, highly accommodating, and knowledgeable about the menu. The chefs curate their ingredients with obvious care, and the resulting food tastes amazing. When you do go, try ordering several things family-style. Exploring their starters and sides by sharing is the best way to uncover the hidden gems on the menu. Remember: save your crackers, enjoy the show, and please, spare the octopus. Perso Restaurant Address: 741 E Oak St, Louisville, KY 40203  Neighborhood: Shelby Park Zip Code: 40203 Latest stories: Perso Louisville: A Dietary Odd Couple’s Dream Step into FirstBuild Makerspace Homegrown Distiller Produces World-Class Gin in the Heart of Bourbon Country How AI Drug Discovery Software Brings Safer Medicines Faster The World of HYROX Our latest video: The post Perso Louisville: A Dietary Odd Couple’s Dream appeared first on LEO Weekly | Louisville Eccentric Observer. ...read more read less