Spring is served: Where to eat ramps and other seasonal fare

Spring was late to arrive, and so was its bounty of ramps. But the wild onion has been sighted at greenmarkets and has made its way onto seasonal menus around the city, along with some other missed tastes.

On the lunch menu at Gotham Bar and Grill is a Rabbit Sausage Risotto with fava beans (another spring arrival!), broccoli rabe and preserved lemon Parmesan. There’s also a Sweet Pea Ravioli — get it now, because peas will never taste better.

Black Seed Bagels loves to mix things up with collaborations and unusual ingredients, and they’ve just rolled out three new sandwiches, including burrata, arugula and ramp pesto ($10.25) and smoked salmon salad with quick-pickled cucumber and cream cheese flavored with another spring star, Meyer lemon ($11.50).

Chef David Nichols at newcomer Irvington seems to be taking first dibs on nearby Union Square Greenmarket’s ramps, pickling them to go with marinated Rhode Island squid and charring them with Fiddlehead ferns (then topping off the dish with a ramp vinaigrette). Since the specials depend on what he finds that day, check with the restaurant before arriving in your “I <3 Ramps” T-shirt.

You’ll have to wait a bit longer for ramps to reappear in one of their most beloved forms: in the butter on the Gouda-and-bacon sandwich at Morris Food Truck and, as of December, Sandwich Shop (569 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn). Expect the ramp butter’s return late this month.

Birds & Bubbles, aka fried chicken and Champagne, two of spring’s most of-the-moment things, got their hands on an early supply of ramps and have been serving them in a veggie tartlet. Take it out to the back patio and soak in some vitamin D with your green lunch.

Take a tour of spring with the new lunch tasting menu ($45, four courses) at David Bouley’s Brushstroke. Options include rice with cherry blossom gelée, mountain vegetable tempura with sesame foam and lobster with ramp donabe ($25 extra).

Eva Kis is on Twitter @thisiskis, where she talks about pop culture, cats and media almost as much as food. Looking for something to do? Plan your day, week or month with our events calendar.