Nobody Likes A Tattle Tale

By Erin in Food on Aug 29, 2006 12:18PM

OK. Who told?

It seems on Friday night, Rick Spiros, the chef at Lincoln Square's Block 44, served up a couple of orders of foie gras, after the ban went into effect, thus triggering some persnickety Sally Do-Right to call the city's 311 non-emergency system and complain. Spiros told the Sun-Times that selling the fatty delicacy was not his way of sticking to the The Man, but rather was an effort to "avoid wasting" the expensive product.

Spiros told the S-T: "I had a couple pieces left over, and I just got rid of it. I just did it. I'm a bad chef, I guess. People loved it. People bought it. One person complained? I'll take the slap on the wrist. I'm not in fourth grade. I had the decision to make, and I served it. Whatever the repercussions are, I'll deal with it."

Chicagoist rather enjoys how said repercussions shake down, as the punishment being delved out seems as life-altering and as threatening as an after-school detention. According to the S-T, the city's health department will send what we can only guess is a strongly worded letter to Block 44, reminding them of the law. If there is a second complaint, however, and they find a violation, it's a $250 ticket. We're not saying that $250 is anything to sneeze at, considering how every penny counts when you're running a restaurant. But for all of the time and money that's been spent on outlawing this stuff, not to mention all of the healthy doses of self-righteous indignation being tossed around, you'd think the consequence of such defiance would include something of biblical proportions.

And we're not even convinced that the majority of chefs and owners would allow the situation to escalate to the point of tickets and fines, but for all of the hoopla over duck liver, we thought that maybe someone would be turned into a pillar of salt or something, that's all. But a letter and a fine?

We'd even settle for a public stoning or banishment. We're not picky.