La Pomme Rouge "gives away" foie gras.
It may be illegal to feature foie gras on Chicago restaurant menus, but some chefs aren’t quite ready to kiss it goodbye. Instead, they are transforming their restaurants into “duckeasies” (to borrow a term coined by crusading chef Didier Durand), a phenomenon recently documented in the Chicago Tribune.
Since it’s technically illegal only to sell foie gras, some eateries are “giving” it away: La Pomme Rouge charges only for the “accompaniments” (i.e. French green lentils, red onion preserve, Sauternes gelée and housemade brioche); the just-opened Paramount Room beefs up its burger with freebie bourbon-cured foie; and at Cyrano’s Bistrot, the “grilled brioche, one slice only,” arrives with foie gras two ways. Or at least it did: last week, Cyrano’s was visited by city officials looking for the illegal lobes. They didn’t find any, but did shut down the restaurant for health violations. Cyrano’s is reopening this week according to a message on its answering machine.
Of course, it’s still perfectly legal to dine on the controversial delicacy outside city limits. In Highland Park, you can find it on the menu at Carlos' prepared two ways – seared and as a cold terrine.
Or you can forgo the gras altogether and order the next best thing. At NoMI, chef Christophe David offers an approximation made with chicken livers: Burgundy truffle and “foie blond” crème brûlée with caramelized hazelnuts and petite herbs. Think of it as faux gras.
– Alice Van Housen