Case in point is an appetizer of grilled rabbit and squash slices with maple walnut butter.

Another bibulous repast started with foie gras, but this time it was wrapped in cabbage, seasoned liberally with cracked pepper and garnished with moist slices of grilled rabbit and purslane.

At Lespinasse, Christian Delouvrier juxtaposes sharp arugula with fatty foie gras in a warm salad with grilled rabbit and porcini mushrooms.

Even better, and worth the splurge, is the Alsatian grilled rabbit ($21), a mustard-coated haunch in an oblong skillet, stuffed with bread and plenty of bacon drippings.

For main courses, grilled rabbit is accompanied by wild mushrooms, asparagus and whipped potatoes, and braised short ribs of beef come with vegetables, smoked onions and mustard-and-chive spaetzle.

The dinner, $35, includes a scallop and salmon mousse, choucroute garni and a choice of grilled rabbit or lamb.

A scattering of peas, fiddlehead ferns, baby carrots and, yes, asparagus tips - all billed as "tiny bursts of spring" - enlivens a plate-filling raviolo with grilled rabbit and langoustines.

Seasonal grilled rabbit, roast duck and venison are prominent, along with grilled fish, as are appetizers of smoked sturgeon and duck confit.

Entrees include seared tuna with escarole and white beans in a lime-marjoram vinaigrette; grilled rabbit with a prune risotto cake, and pan-roasted duck with chickpea pancakes.

Kethry followed, grilled rabbit bundled into a piece of leather.