As the Foie Gras Turns

By Peter Mavrik in Food on May 16, 2007 4:00PM

A little over a year ago we collectively sighed with relief when Ald. Joe Moore of the 49th Ward persuaded city councilmen to decide, in a 48-to-1 vote, to ban the sale of foie gras, those delicious fatty livers of geese and ducks. We sighed not because we were happy, but because there was so much talk about it at the time, even we got tired of the whole debate.

But the issue just wouldn't die.

In defiance, before the law took effect in late August of last year, restaurants who had never served the tasty soon-to-be outlawed treat began creating meals around it. And when the law finally did hit the books, there were debates about those yummy morsels of bird and even a citation slapped on Doug of Hot Doug's for fowl play.

Guess what? It's still not over.

Mayor Daley, who found the ban nearly as ridiculous as a runway in downtown Chicago, has predicted that aldermen will repeal the outlawed delicacy ban soon. This came on the tails of Ald. Ed Burke of the 14th Ward (remember how he wanted cabbies to have a dress code?) maneuvering aldermen into voting to repeal the ban.

In perhaps one of the better sound bites this year, Ald. Ed Smith of the 28th Ward, who happens to chair the Health Committee where the ban is upheld, not only threatened to resign if the ban was repealed, he said, "My manhood, my integrity is at stake."

Only in Chicago would you find foie gras pitted against an Alderman's manhood. Be sure to tune in next time for the continuing story of "As the Foie Gras Turns."

Source image via wikimedia.org and manipulated.