Ramp Fest Hudson 2013: Food, Fun, And Music

There couldn't be a better way to enjoy a beautiful spring day in New York's Hudson Valley than attending Ramp Fest Hudson 2013.

Click here to see the Ramp Fest Hudson 2013 Slideshow!

The festival was held at The Basilica on Front Street in historic Hudson, N.Y.

For those that don't know, the ramp is a glorious allium whose taste has been described as a cross between garlic and onion.  Other names for the ramp are wild leeks, ramsons, and wood leeks. It looks like a scallion with broader green leaves and a hint of red in the stem and  it grows from the mid-southern United States to Canada. The ramp's popularity is growing in upscale restaurants, as evidenced by the participants and their dishes in this year's festival.

Participants included many local Hudson Valley restaurants (Gigi, Panzur, and Ca'Mea) as well as some from as far south as New York City, like The Farm on Adderley and Gallow Green. 

Attendees included people of all ages, and they were all enthusiastic about tasting the chefs' creations.  A band was on hand to provide live music to accompany the ramp-filled samplings.

Just a few of many delicacies to be sampled included smoked bluefish with pickled ramps with crème fraîche, blueberry pancake sandwiches filled with maple/ramp sausage, and pork belly with ramp kimchee.