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So goes a bit of magic as Puck forgoes foie gras

By JIM WEBSTER
Published April 25, 2007

I don't really like liver. But when the people at a fancy restaurant put foie gras down in front of me, I'm happy to partake.

Three of the six times I've eaten foie gras were at Spago in Beverly Hills. All at the same meal. When I hadn't ordered it. Every bite was fabulous.

That's why last month's announcement by Wolfgang Puck that he is no longer serving the controversial delicacy at his restaurants, including Spago, took me by surprise.

Foie gras is the fattened liver of a duck or goose. Foie gras means "fat liver" in French. To fatten the organ, the animal is force-fed, which some people believe is cruel. Proponents say that ducks and geese are designed to eat this way, and no undue harm is done.

I don't know if the procedure is cruel or not. I've never seen it. I've read opinions on both sides that seem reasonable. To the largest degree, I'm okay with whatever the process is that results in food appearing in my butcher's case - as long as my ultimate safety is being looked after. And I'm certain I wouldn't want to watch most of those processes.

My trip to Spago was pretty much defined by the three foie gras plates.

A friend and I went there with the sole intent of trying the chef's tasting menu. This is where you cede control of your meal to the chef, blissfully indulging in whatever the kitchen sends out. On the Spago menu, you practically have to bring a magnifying glass to know this is an option. It's written at the bottom of the menu in small print with no description beyond the $100-plus price.

The advertised eight-course tasting menu didn't mention seven rounds of amuse bouche, the one- or two-bite gifts from the chef to start the meal. It also didn't mention a cheese course. And it counted "dessert" as one course. There were two desserts. They say eight courses, I say 17.

The foie gras plates were offered as amuses.

The first was a tiny pastry filled with kumquat and topped with a mousse made of foie gras. The tart fruit exploded on the tongue, and the mousse wrapped your tongue like a blanket.

Next was my favorite, foie gras pastrami on toasted rye crisp. The only way I can describe it is that it looked like a Kit Kat bar without the chocolate coating. Layers of the toasted rye crisp alternated with foie flavored with pastrami spices. It tasted every bit like the smallest, crispiest, most luscious pastrami sandwich you could imagine.

Several plates later, our final amuse was a grilled foie gras with rhubarb compote. It was a little spoon filled with the jellylike rhubarb and topped with a sliver of the grilled liver.

In banning foie gras, Puck says he was responding to his conscience and not protesters. I can respect that. But I can't imagine that meal without those three courses. And I trust that those three spots on the menu will be filled with something equally fabulous, undoubtedly more healthy, and definitely more politically correct.

But what a shame. I'm a big fan of giving a craftsman access to every tool in the box. I always get a little sad when one is taken away.

Jim Webster can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 24, 2007, 20:20:26]