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Restaurants Are Ramping Up For Spring, But One Chef Refuses To Cook Them
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 8, 2011
Modified Apr 8, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 8, 2011
Modified Apr 8, 2011
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Besides pretty flowers peeking out from the ground and slightly warmer weather, there is another way you can tell that spring is starting to spring: Ramps on restaurant menus. Though we still haven't gotten to the markets early enough to see the wild leeks for ourselves (not surprising since it is still a little too early for local ramps to be showing up) they are starting to sprout up on restaurant menus across town.
Last weekend Eater rounded up ten spots with the greens on their menus, to which we can add Roberta's (where a ramp pizza runs $14), Oceana (where you can get crispy soft shell crabs with morels, ramps, fiddlehead ferns, and stinging nettle jus or tapioca-crusted wild striped bass with morels, ramps, fiddlehead ferns, and stinging nettle jus for $34) and Dell'Anima (where they are serving them in a carbonara that we really want to try).
But with restaurants ramping up their dishes, we thought it would be fun to maybe see if any chefs wanted to share a recipe or two with y'all. We'll get to those when the green is more readily available, but in the meantime, we thought that the response from Dirt Candy's Amanda Cohen to our request was simply too good to not share:
Hey Garth,
Cook with ramps? Are you crazy? Cook with the God of All Vegetables
whose coming is greeted every spring with hosannas and hymns? I
wouldn't dare to cook with the most holy of all vegetables. I have a
shrine to ramps and I pray to them three times a day and you want me
to lay hands on them and COOK them? Ramps are for worship, not for
dinner.I am outraged by this email and I'm only going to assume that your
sick and blasphemous suggestion was made because you're young and
trying to get some "shock value."Ramps see all and they are not happy with you. Pray for forgiveness,
young Garth. Pray to the ramps against which you have sinned,Amanda
Another reason we are so fond of Dirt Candy. Amanda, we promise to flagellate ourselves constantly with the wild greens—the minute we get our hands on some.
Tagged
amanda cohen
dell'anima
dirt candy
greenmarket
oceana
ramps
roberta's
Garth Johnston
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