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Chalk up Michael Tsonton and Copper Blue as the second restaurant accused of serving banned foie gras. Unlike Block 44, however, Tsonton may also be guilty of trying to parse the English language as a way around the ban. As vocal as Tsonton has been opposing the ban, it's surprising that one of his restaurants wasn't the first cited for violating it.
According to this story in today's Sun-Times, two Copper Blue patrons apparently spell "America" with a "k", and reported Tsonton's inclusion of "duck liver" terrine (served with strawberry jam, celery-root orange blossom puree, and grilled country bread) to the city.
Here's where the story takes on a life of its own. When the Sun-Times contacted Tsonton for comment, he responded with snark that was almost worthy of Chicagoist:
"I'm not selling foie gras. It's illegal. You can't sell it. I have duck liver terrine on my menu. But it's not foie gras. It says on my menu that 'It isn't foie gras any Moore' (a reference to 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore, who spearheaded the ordinance). Somebody must be mistaken. Maybe some people aren't real smart. I buy organic duck liver from a farmer in Indiana. We make our terrine out of those. The ducks are so well-fed and taken care of, they're quite delicious. The way we cook it, it has a similar consistency. But it's not foie gras."
Yeah! Organic duck liver, you... STUPID!!!. Nyah, ni-nyah, ni-nyah, nyahhh! Thpbbbpppttt!!
Tsonton is also the president of an ad hoc group called "Chicago Chefs for Choice", which has nothing to do with Roe v. Wade. Tsonton should be commended for his efforts in getting around the ban. However, if you're gonna change your menus to reflect that you're serving "duck liver" terrine, chef, you also need to change your website menu, where it's still listed as "foie gras" terrine. It's probably where you got tripped up and busted.
D'oh!
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Yes, he should damn well be applauded for finding a way around the ban on torturing geese, for stuffing rich assholes' faces with goose liver is very much like opening your home to the Underground Railroad or hiding Jews in your attic. He's a hero for liberty! Chicago chefs cooking without goose liver?! Holy shit! The absurdity of that notion!
Yup, very nearly as absurd as the City Council outlawing foie gras in the first place. We've now been treated to the spectacle of a non-violent non-protest to a law that provides a solution to a non-problem.
The City Council should either try to address important matter, or abolish itself.
My veal doesn't taste the same without a thin slab of foie gras over it. The irony has gotten a little more rich in recent months, though.
Sick of this, Perhaps you see foie gras as a "non-problem," just as others see puppy mills and animal abuse as non-problems, but I actually am concerned with the geese and their welfare. At least I'd prefer they not be stuffed to death so some pompous ass can make "terrine." Trotter stopped using goose liver ages ago, and whadda ya know, he's still the best chef in Chicago. If Tsonton's feeling a bit insecure, maybe he could seek attention by serving penguin or parrot. I mean, they're all just birds.
Of course, banning fg has probably created five times the demand for the product there was before the ban. But showboating aldermen get what they want, the PETA people get a membership drive issue, and chefs pad their profits. Who loses?
Oh yeah, geese.
Is the distinction here between the practice of making foie gras vs. just serving duck or geese liver?
That is, serving liver from foul that haven't had their throats jammed with tubes and pumped with tons of fat?
Now, I did not personally order Tsonton's supply, nor have I ever eaten at his restaurant, so who knows if he's telling the truth, but giving him the benefit of the doubt, there *is* a difference between foie gras and duck/goose liver. You can harvest goose liver without torturing the animal, much the same way as beef liver, as just another product of the cow. Seems like the anti-foie-gras folks on this site are totally ignoring the possibility that this distinction exists.
Also, show me one person who could tell the difference between foie gras and goose liver in a terrine...