A Curse of a Different Billy Goat

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Nov 14, 2007 12:18AM

Since splitting from the Ghetto Gourmet, Efrain Cuevas has fashioned a cottage industry for himself. Between "Cook the Vote", a "singles only" underground supper club, private catering and cooking classes, and his own "Ghetto Gourmet"-style undergorund dining club 24 Below, Cuevas has become increasingly busy on the local dining scene.

A dinner Cuevas planned two weeks ago brought about some backlash. Cuevas planned a birria dinner involving a goat he would personally slaughter and butcher. In an interview we arranged with Cuevas last week, he said, "I (promoted) it on the internet and on LTHForum, which probably wasn't a good idea. I wanted to see how far I could take it, see what kind of response I would get."

The response Cuevas received, in addition from the customary criticisms from animal rights advocates, were stern warnings from the the Illinois Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Meat and Poultry Compliance, the USDA and the Chicago Police Department threatening serious fines and arrest if he went through with the slaughter. Cuevas instead used goat he purchased from a butcher for the meal.

The whole experience has led Cuevas to expedite the process of legitimizing his business operations. He's purchased liability insurance and is working on acquiring the requisite licenses for his catering business. "I still want to do the (24 Below) dinners the same way", Cuevas said, "but I run a bigger risk doing it the way I do now."

Just try to avoid the nerdfury in the process.

Image via Jupiter Images.