Duckathlon Recap II: New at Reason.tv
Duckathlon Recap: New at Reason Online
I have a piece up at Reason Online today on D’Artagnan’s great Duckathlon, and how it fits in with–and counteracts–the rise of the food nanny state in New York City. A snippet:
So while the city has hundreds of outstanding restaurants, each likely claiming thousands of devoted customers, it also has millions of residents who can’t afford (or be bothered) to eat in them. Those people instead frequent the inexpensive chain restaurants city regulators target.
New York City might be foodie heaven, but if you’re an eater rather than a gastronome, regulators are increasingly futzing with your food. The food really under fire in New York City right now is not that eaten by, for example, billionaire Michael Bloomberg—whose mayoral manse chefs competed at the Duckathlon—but by everyday diners.
Still, the vigilance of [D'Artagnan's Ariane] Daguin, her staff, and Duckathlon participants is as important as it is admirable.
“In a small little way,” Daguin says, “I hope it’s paving the way to more freedom.”
Crispy previously on the Duckathlon here. D’Artagnan’s Flickr photostream from the event here.
From ‘Lax’ ‘Enforcement’ of ‘Liver Law’ to ‘Liver Libre’ in Chicago
The Wall Street Journal had a great feature on the death of Chicago’s foie gras ban–and the rebirth of culinary liberté du choix–over the weekend.
Repeal is turning into a spur to creativity for Chicago’s many ambitious kitchens. New foie gras dishes are on the menu or in the works at a dozen top eateries, most unashamedly at Moto, the molecular gastronomic laboratory of chef Homaro Cantu. He told local media he intended to offer foie gras in the shape of a duck with a force-feeding tube coming out of its mouth. A spokesman for the restaurant said he could “neither confirm nor deny” such a concoction was in the works.
Get it before it’s locked forever in subscriber hell. The piece pairs nicely with a fascinating little foie gras history that labels Watertown, Wisc. the one-time hub of foie gras in America.
My 2007 piece on Chicago’s ban here.
Thanks to Jackson for the tip.
Chicago’s Foie Gras Ban is Dead!
Minutes ago, Chicago’s dreaded, idiotic foie gras ban died a deservedly graceless death, reports the Chicago Tribune.
With Mayor Richard Daley running the vote, the Chicago City Council on Wednesday repealed its controversial ban on foie gras.
Over the shouted objections of Ald. Joe Moore (49th), the ban’s sponsor, the council used a parliamentary manuever to put the ordinance on the floor for a vote.
On to California!
Congratulations to all who worked to overturn the ban, and especially to Didier Durand and Chicago Chefs for Choice. This is truly a great day for liberté du choix.
Crispy on foie here. Read my 2007 profile of Chicago Chefs for Choice and Durand here.
Crispy Podcast Episode 4
In the fourth episode of our weekly podcast, we discuss the news about food shortages, Burger King’s ill-fated Foie Gras Burger, PETA’s synthetic meat initiative, miracle fruit, Duckathlon IV, the alleged dangers of competitive eating, and this week in bacon - LA bans bacon dogs.
BTW, that’s me with the meat is murder t-shirt recording the podcast. If you ever want to watch and listen to us live as we record the show, just follow me on Twitter (@jerrybrito) and I will tweet when we’re ‘on the air’ and provide a URL. We have a chat room going while we record and we take listener questions and comments. Pretty nerdy, but pretty fun. Live versions of past shows are here.
We hope you enjoy this episode and that you’ll tell us what you think. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show for free. You can grab the RSS feed or click here to subscribe in iTunes. That way you’ll get it every week.
UK BK Flirts with £85 Foie Burger
Best done in the voice of that movie voiceover guy…
In a land ruled by a queen… an upstart king tries to lure customers with a golden goose… against the wishes of a ninny prince… and PETA… and some other, lesser-known group of anti-humans…
This summer, it’s Burger King: Home of the Foie-pper Gras-pper .
Coming soon to a theater theatre near you.
Judge Tosses Foie Suit
Rare good news in the fight to keep foie gras legal, as a NY State judge has tossed a suit against Hudson Valley Foie Gras. Though I can’t find anything online to corroborate the news, a well-placed source tells me this Albany Times-Union blog post is accurate:
According to Patricia Lynch Associates, which represents Hudson Valley Foie Gras, State Supreme Court Judge John Egan Jr., last week rejected a lawsuit against the Sullivan County farm which contended that foie gras was an “adulterated food product.”
The Humane Society of the U.S. tried to say that the delicacy, made from fattened liver, was the product of a diseased animal but Egan disagreed.
I assume Judge Egan granted a motion for summary judgment, prior to trial, but will report back when I see official news. Regardless, good for Hudson Valley and the people who love their food.
Maryland’s Foie Gras Ban Dead
Maryland won’t become the first state to ban all foie gras — at least not this year.
The author of the bill that would have banned one of my favorite foods, Sen. Joan Conway, has withdrawn it, admitting her “bill went a little far”.
Crispy on anti-foie efforts in Md. here and here.
A Prince Unfit for a Meal
With his son Harry serving in the war in Afghanistan, Prince Charles is no doubt preoccupied… with other stuff like foie gras.
Andrew Farquharson, the Deputy Master of the Household at Clarence House, said his chefs were ordered not to buy or serve the food.
“The Prince of Wales has a policy that his chefs should not buy foie gras,” he said.
“His Royal Highness was not aware that the House of Cheese sells foie gras and this will be addressed when their warrant is reviewed.”
Justin Kerswell, of Vegetarians International Voice for Animals, which has campaigned against foie gras, said the move was overdue but welcome.
“We are very pleased but foie gras should have been banned a long time ago,” he said. “There is a groundswell of opinion against the food.
“Foie gras is seen as very posh and the heir to the throne is probably the poshest person in Britain so for him to ban it is very good news.”
More here. Proving he wants to ban not just “posh” foods, Prince Charles last year called for Abu Dhabi to ban McDonald’s, for which he drew round criticism.
In other foie news, Henry Hong, writing in the Baltimore City Paper, has a pretty good piece on the battle over foie in Charm City. Crispy on efforts to keep foie gras legal in Baltimore here.
Foie Gras Protesters Try to Take ‘Charm’ Out of Charm City
Predictably shrill foie gras protesters — of the variety that’s previously yelled at peaceable diners in several U.S. cities — have invaded Baltimore, seeking to force first Salt and now Kali’s Court to stop serving the wonderful delicacy. The Baltimore Sun has a relatively good account of the mess they’re causing — see haggard, whiny-looking megaphone woman above — and of the diners who are fighting back.
Salt, like many restaurants, buys foie gras from Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a farm in New York’s Catskill Mountains, the largest producer in North America. Farm Sanctuary has targeted it.
Marcus Henley is Hudson Valley’s operations director and a member of the Artisan Farmer’s Alliance, a nonprofit charged with countering the protests. Calling objections to his farm “completely unfounded,” Henley repeatedly points out that anyone can visit the farm anytime to see scores of healthy, happy ducks.
“If you could come here, you can go in any building, you can watch every part of the operation,” he says. “The people who come here walk away and say, ‘Wow, that is not like anything depicted on the foie gras Web sites.’”
Protesters incorrectly imagine people in the birds’ place and how torturous it must feel to be force fed, Henley says. The procedure simply doesn’t hurt ducks, he contends.
The activists who’ve taken pictures of sick birds, he says, have documented the exception rather than the rule.
[...]
Meanwhile, Baltimore food enthusiasts are coming to Salt’s defense. In fact, they’ll celebrate foie gras there at a dinner on Thursday - four deluxe courses, starting with sugar cane skewered foie gras and closing with the famous (or infamous) beef slider with foie gras.
Lars Rusins, who founded Baltimore Foodies, said his group’s dinner, which will cost about $100 a person, sold out in 48 hours. As it is, the party of 20 will take up about half the restaurant.
“I have no problem consuming the product - none at all,” said Rusins, who calls foie gras “silky” and “fun on the taste buds.”
Check out the Baltimore Foodies here. Me on similar efforts in Chicago here. The Grinder linked to my piece on Anthony Bourdain in discussing his winning foie gras politics here.
