We spend so much time in the summer trying to hide belly fat, and now restaurants are putting it right in the middle of our plates. Local chefs are going against the epicurean grain by sending typical lamb chops and racks to the backseat and moving more adventurous (and usually less expensive) off-cuts, like lamb belly, toward the meat mainstream. If belly isn’t your thing, try the Vermontorganic lamb three ways — roasted loin, crispy confit, and spicy merguez sausage — at Craigie Street Bistrot (5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, 617.497.5511). Or order Ana Sortun’s bread-wrapped and pomegranate-molasses-glazed lamb, braised in beer and cumin, at Oleana (134 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, 617.661.0505), or the baked rigatoni with lamb sausage at Eastern Standard (528 Comm Ave, Boston, 617.532.9100). We’re pretty sure Mary never had lamb like this.
