A Ramp Festival

 The Blog Tech and I headed out early yesterday to go to our first ramp festival.  In case you are not familiar with ramps, here is what wiki has to say about them:

Allium tricoccum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wild leek or ramp
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Allioideae
Genus: Allium
Species: A. tricoccum
Binomial name
Allium tricoccum
Ait.[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Aglitheis tricoccum (Aiton) Raf.
  • Allium pictum Moldenke
  • Allium tricoccum f. pictum Moldenke
  • Allium triflorum Raf.
  • Ophioscorodon tricoccon (Aiton) Wallr.
  • Validallium tricoccum (Aiton) Small
Allium tricoccum (commonly known as ramp,[3] ramps, spring onion, ramson, wild leek,[3] wood leek,[3] and wild garlic) is an early spring vegetable, a perennial wild onion with a strong garlic-like odor and a pronounced onion flavor.[4] Ramps are found across much of the eastern United States and eastern Canada, from Alabama to Nova Scotia to Manitoba to Oklahoma. They are popular in the cuisines of the rural uplands of the American South, and also in the Canadian province of Quebec. Ramps also have a growing popularity in upscale restaurants throughout North America.

 We love ramps in our part of the world and when you have to buy them in markets, they are around $15.00 a pound.  If you know where they grow and forage for them, they grow like weeds.  Just before we arrived at the festival, we saw signs along the side of the road for ramp hot dogs and ramp hamburgers.  We made a beeline to this place.  Bob's Hot Dogs.  A little gem in the hills of West Virginia.

 This is the best hot dog spot we have ever found.

 Click on any of the pics for a better look.  Anyone want a Viagra Dog?

 Though Bob was a little chubby, he didn't look like he ate this very often.

 This is the ramp menu.

 Bob offers a lot of food for a very small place.

 And he has a lot of fun naming his food.

 This is quite  a popular spot.  It was packed by the time we left.


 Check out the sign below the shake glass.

 The locals love him.

 Which dog would you order?


 What do you think this is?

 Ramp jam and we bought some.

 The biscuit menu.

 Inside Bob's.   And what did we order?

 A ramp dog.

 A ramp burger.

 Ramp homefries.

 And of course, someone got the ramp milkshake!  I tasted it and it was actually very good up front with a rather, rampy aftertaste.

Bob's wife makes homemade ramp bread.  We bought this fresh out of the oven.
I will show you the festival tomorrow.

Comments

I would love to try the ramp dog and burger - they look very tasty!
Alicia Foodycat said…
I'm glad you tried the milkshake! I wouldn't have been brave enough. I haven't seen any wild garlic this year, unfortunately.
I LOVE places like this! Gimme a viagra dog! And some of that ramp bread -- it looks so good. Must confess: this is the first time I've ever heard of ramps.
Anonymous said…
There are too few places like that left in the world! I love to go to them but I've never seen any plave with such a big variety in the menue :-) :-) :-)

I wonder why we never have anything like this over here. We have another wild onion growing here, Allium ursinum, that could be used in much the same way. It spreads like crazy so it's nothing one wants in the garden :-) I have to admit that I most likely never would try the ramp milkshake though :-) :-) :-)

Looking forward to see photos from the festival!

Have a great day!
Christer.
Unknown said…
What a great way to spend a Saturday! Our wild onions won't be out for another month or so, but it makes me itch to go find some. They are so yummy!
Anonymous said…
what a great place, Ihave never saw Ramps done to nines before , this is amazing, like you said they grow like weeds, in spring we have people all over our property harvesting Ramps, they grow like crazy, especially along the boggy areas, If you lived closer I could give you all the ramps you could eat, we make soup generally, cream of ramp soup, they are a great food for spring cleaning of the system, or so the old timers said, I always stayed away from anything they say cleans the system, that always means one thing, no thank you! Garry said the ramp burger sounds great but the milk, shake, not to sure about that!!!!
I've eaten ramps--not a big fan, a little strong. They grow wild in the mountains (Tennessee-North Carolina, West Virginia)
What a fun place! Such personality! Looks like you struck "ramp gold" on your outing!
Ellen in Oregon said…
This is the 1st time I ever heard of ramps. Bob's ginormous menu is a fun read.The jam would be great with an omelette or . The bread looked great. I'll wait for your to do a taste test & then come up with your improved recipe. I sure admire the Blog Tech's adventurous pallet on trying the milkshake (arggh!).
Mary Ann said…
I believe Bob's has been on Diner's Driveins and Dives, on Food network, and I saw it there. I'm going to have to pass on the ramps, though!
brokenteepee said…
Well you are all ramped up!
TARYTERRE said…
LOVE Bob's. Glad you got your fill of RAMP inspired food. That milkshake sparked my imagination.
I have never heard of ramps. I love when I learn something new about food. Great post!
PansWife said…
Actually, they don't grow like weeds and wild populations are being threatened by over harvesting. This is a very good article on the subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/dining/20forage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
PansWife said…
Apparently link will have to be cut and pasted into a browser to work. The article is from the New York Times and is entitled "When Digging for Ramps Goes Too Deep" and can also be found with a Google search.
Another food item I have never heard of! I get all sorts of information by visiting your blog..I'm a little wiser and a better cook than I was a couple of years ago. Hanging around blogs like yours (yours being #1, is an edcutation in itself.)
I need to drop you a note.. I'll do it tomorrow when I am more awake.
:)
Herbalgirl said…
That ramp bread looks gorgeous. We have lots of them in England--they're called ramsons here. I've heard they're good on a peanut butter sandwich!
Anonymous said…
Get out of town, I can't get over the prices on what we take advantage of just growing right on the hill!

http://awesomesontheroad.blogspot.com/2014/04/ramps.html

Ramps in potatoes are a must for anyone to try!!

Just told Captain about this place, looks like we're heading there tomorrow!
Kay said…
Thank you for the ramp explanation. $15 a pound? Wow! It looks so delicious! I've just had dinner, but it's making my mouth water to look at your gorgeous photos.
chickpea678 said…
Yum! Ramp hot dog, burger, fries and bread look delicious! I would have passed on the shake....