California: you win. Today, foie gras is officially illegal in the Golden State.
Congratulations.
To celebrate your victory, I went on a foie gras bender in the month of June. I made it my goal to eat as much foie gras as possible.
You know, so it wouldn’t go to waste.
I had it seared.
I had it as a mousse.
I had it as an ice cream.
I had it in ravioli.
I had it in a soup.
I had it in a custard.
I had it in a beignet.
I had it with scallops.
I had it with figs.
I had it with duck.
I had it with poached apricots.
I had it with kobe beef tartare.
I even had it on a stick.
That’s right. A foie gras lollipop. A chilled, decadent mousse rolled up in a ball and dipped in candy cocoa butter…oozing with a heavenly rich, fatty, creaminess…and devoured entirely by a very happy me.
Oh my foie, it might’ve been the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted. To think the chef there almost didn’t let me have it (long story)!
I sought out my foie eats this month in two of the best culinary cities on the west coast: Los Angeles and San Francisco. Here’s a little taste of how yummy my month was:
Seared foie gras, blueberries, sauternes gelée, candied brioche, walnut oil (Chez Papa Resto, SF)
Sunchoke soup, foie gras (West at Hotel Angeleno, LA)
Truffle custard, foie shavings, candied corn (West at Hotel Angeleno, LA)
Foie gras parfait, peanut butter, strawberry jam, brioche (West at Hotel Angeleno, LA)
Duck confit, foie gras gel, curried duck skin, pickled cherry (West at Hotel Angeleno, LA)
Foie gras ravioli, beef fillet, sauteed morels (Petrossian, West Hollywood)
Seared foie gras, apple compote, figs, grapes (Baker Street Bistro, SF)
Seared foie gras, honey poached apricots, brioche pan perdu, pistachios (Waterbar, SF)
Seared foie gras, brentwood corn relish, jalapeno-green onion cornbread, miso barbeque sauce (Chaya Brasserie, SF)
Foie gras ice cream, roasted peach, rhubarb crisp (Petrossian, West Hollywood)
You may think you’ve won, California. But I think the winner here is pretty clear.
(Psst, it’s me)
WINNER WINNER FOIE GRAS DINNERS!
And fortunately, these will not be my last. I can get my foie fix in Vegas. And no doubt, foie gras and I will meet again someday in France.
Until then, it’s au revoir to foie. I think I gave it a pretty good send off, don’t you?
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Thank you to wifey, Chandra and Dennis, who shared in these delights and endured my obnoxious mmm’ing and oh-my-gawd’ing and holy-crap’ing.
And a special BIG BIG thank you to Matt and Lauren. I think I love you guys.
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UPDATE: California’s ban on foie gras was overturned in 2015.