When Foie Gras Is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Eat Foie Gras

Kerry already blogged about defiance of Chicago's foie gras ban, but here's a little more on creative scofflaws in the Windy City:

Yesterday, when the law formally went into effect, restaurants were given a pass:

"'The city gave them a day of fun, but tomorrow we'll see what happens,'" said Joe Moore, the alderman who first proposed the ban. Moore also said that the method by which foie gras is produced—force-feeding ducks and geese through a pipe that is inserted into the throat—clearly amounts to cruelty to animals.

Moore seems unconcerned about asking a goose to be the last goose to die for a mistake.

The Department of Health will not be conducting raids or assembling a foie gras SWAT team, but will act only in response to customer complains ("Waiter, there's a goose liver in my salad!"). Restaurateurs risk (a) a mean letter, then (b) a $250 to $500 fine.

A few enterprising chefs have already figured out ways to work around the sloppily-worded ban, while they wait for the outcome of their pending lawsuit against the city. Chef Michael Tsonton of Copperblue explains:

I'm usually serving the foie gras with some potatoes, salad and brioche. If we cannot sell the foie gras, I will be giving it away complimentary, and I will be charging $15.99 for the potatoes and salad and brioche.