Try these floral foods and drinks around Buffalo

They have found their way into many foods and drinks around Buffalo, from lattes to cocktails, and rice pudding to ceviche.

For example, at Las Puertas, where chef Victor Parra Gonzalez changes the menu every five weeks, edible flowers usually crop up in at least one dish or two. He’s been sourcing edible flowers from Buffalo-based Rooted Locally for eight years.

“(In) summer, there’s such an abundance of ingredients that we have our pick of the litter,” Parra Gonzalez said.

Waxlight Wine Bar chef Edward Forster cooks with flowers throughout the summer, whether he’s making dandelion sorbet or lavender mustard.

“Ingredients like these are a huge inspiration for us,” Forster said.

Chef Jessica Arends of Cornelia at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum garnishes meals with edible flowers sourced from Eden-based Crown Hill Farm. Arends intends for them to contribute to each dish’s flavor but found that many diners are hesitant to eat them.

“People are kind of afraid and they’re like, ‘What does it taste like?’ ” said Arends, who added she tells them to “Eat it and find out.”

Nasturtiums, which have a peppery, almost arugula-like flavor, are currently in season locally, according to Missy Singer DuMars, owner of Crown Hill Farm. Marigolds and sunflowers will soon be ready to hop from farm to table. Meanwhile, plenty of flavors, such as rose and lavender, are used year-round in syrups and liqueurs by many local businesses.

Whether you’re inspired by the colorful sights you’ve seen on a local garden walk or looking for a particularly pretty plate of food, here are some ideas of where to find floral foods. (The specials listed here will be available at least through the end of July, as some bars and restaurants rotate their menus throughout the summer.)

Cornelia at the Buffalo AKG Museum (1285 Elmwood Ave.) uses edible flowers in three dishes. Edible pansies or nasturtiums top a citrusy Shrimp Ceviche Tostada and the petals are sprinkled on a peach burrata salad with blueberry balsamic. Pastry chef Stephanie Balk also uses them to adorn a dessert, mango colada panna cotta, which is a mango coconut custard with mango chutney and coconut whipped cream.

Graylynn Gin Bar (537 Main St.) uses edible garnish on several dishes, including its baby gem salad with toasted spice vinaigrette, candied spiced nuts and nutritional yeast.

In July, The Doors (385 Rhode Island St.) Parra Gonzalez grinds dehydrated nasturtiums into a powder that he adds to a ceviche dish with strawberries, micro cilantro and other vegetables. Flowers are in the Alligator Strawberry cocktail, which is pink vodka, lychee, lime and rosé cocktail garnished with a pink flower.

Marble + Rye (112 Genesee St.) Chef Michael Dimmer also utilizes flowers in his ceviche, which includes cilantro flowers, scallops, charred poblano peppers, shallots, citrus and rice crackers.

Tiny Thai’s (27 Chandler St.) Chor Muang dumplings are floral in two ways. Owner Kae Baramee sculpts each dumpling to resemble a petaled flower and also uses butterfly pea blossom flour to give them their signature periwinkle hue. The dumplings are filled with a mixture of peanuts, chicken and vegetables.

Waxlight Wine Bar (27 Chandler St.) uses squash blossoms – edible yellow flowers that blossom on zucchini – to fortify its ricotta cheese spread, which is served with summer squash and herbs on top of a dense piece of toast.

CocktailsThe Grange Community Kitchen’s (22 Main St., Hamburg) Beesting cocktail includes gin, lavender, cardamaro (a wine-based aperitif) and honey.

Graylynn Uses butterfly pea tea and orange blossom foam to mix a vibrant hot pink and blue gin-based cocktail, Nickel City Flora. It also features local rose jam, grapefruit, lime, elderflower and Crème de Violette.

High Violet (710 Elmwood Ave.) has a Red Sea cocktail that includes hibiscus rose and raspberry-infused gin, sake, Bitter Bianco liqueur, honey and orange.

Judas Tree (1507 Pine Ave., Niagara Falls) makes two floral spritzes. Prosecco and soda blends with hibiscus orange blossom liqueur in Risato spritz, and elderflower liqueur in Fiorente spritz.

Siena’s (4516 Main St., Snyder) Bella Luna cocktail is a mix of violet gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon and a splash of prosecco.

Lavender is a popular flavor to mix with espresso. Many local coffee shops, such as JAM Parkside, Kornerstone Coffee, Penny’s, Remedy House and Unapologetic Coffee, make lavender lattes.

Blue Eyed Baker (636 E. Fillmore Ave., East Aurora) offers two floral lemonades, a blueberry lavender lemonade and a hibiscus lemonade.

Cup of Community (5416 Main St., Williamsville) uses florals, such as butterfly pea flower, lavender, rose and marigold, in its loose-leaf teas that are available for purchase. At the drink counter, the tea shop sells a blueberry violet lemonade.

Nellai Banana Leaf (4303 Transit Road, Amherst) serves a bubblegum pink rose milk drink, which is rose syrup mixed with milk.

DessertsAlmaza Grill (9370 Transit Road, East Amherst), a Lebanese restaurant, has rice pudding made with rose water, infusing a strong floral flavor into the creamy and sweet dessert.

Blue Table Chocolates (799 Seneca St.) steeps dried violet flowers in oat milk to make one of its colorful vegan chocolates, the red-speckled raspberry-blueberry-violet chocolate.

Golden Hour Treats (735 Sycamore St.) makes a rose falooda milkshake inspired by a popular South Indian dessert. It includes rose syrup, vanilla ice cream, basil seeds and vermicelli pasta at the bottom.

Harvest (444 Main St., Medina) executive pastry chef Mary Sandy is baking a Persian Love Cake throughout July. It’s a nut flour-based white cake made with rose water, covered in rose-and-citrus icing and finished with dried rose petals and pistachios.