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Au Revoir To Foie Gras

Ban Goes Into Effect Tuesday, But Many Restaurants Fight It

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CHICAGO (CBS) ― Saying the City Council stuck its beak where it doesn't belong, a restaurant association sued the city Tuesday in the hopes of making foie gras legal again, while a handful of chefs said they will continue to serve the duck and goose liver delicacy -- it just won't appear on the bill.

CBS 2's Jon Duncanson reports on how saying "no" to the gourmet dish is uniting Chicago's restaurant community.

"We may put some in your pocket before you go home or sneak it on your plate when you're not looking," said Michael Tsonton, chef and partner at Copperblue, who made it clear that foie gras is not going to simply duck out of town.

"The law says we can't charge for it," he said. "It doesn't say we can't give it away."

A press conference, which featured several white-jacketed chefs standing before a banner that read "Freedom Of Choice On The Menu," was the latest example of how chefs aren't content muttering in their kitchens about the ban approved by the council in April and implemented Tuesday.

While some chefs said they'll stop serving foie gras, others said it'll appear on plates as a garnish. Customers will get a bill for the garnish, but restaurants won't charge for the foie gras.

"On the check you won't see foie gras," Didier Durand, chef and owner of Cyrano's Bistrot & Wine Bar, said before the news conference. "You will see roasted potatoes $16."

The lawsuit follows months of restaurateurs complaining about the ordinance, fund raisers and petitions to drum up support and special events with names like "Foie Gras, Farewell To Our Good Friend" and "A Festival Of Foie Gras." Fans of the expensive treat have been gobbling it up like never before in anticipation of the day the ordinance kicked in and it became duckus non gratis in the city.

"Why would they pick this and not anything else? How 'bout veal? How 'bout chicken? How 'bout steak?" Daley said.

Ald. Joe Moore (49th), who proposed the ban, said the ordinance will likely be enforced with the help of residents calling to complain if they see an establishment serving it up.

Across the city, Chicagoans of a foie gras persuasion are wondering if a law is a law if the city doesn't enforce it.

"No," Daley said. "We have other real issues confronting the people of Chicago."

Since the City Council voted 48-1 to ban foie gras, chefs CBS 2 met said they have been selling more of it.

Chefs have talked about the ban as an attack on the rights of consumers to eat what they choose to eat and their right to create the kinds of dishes they want to create. They also say the ban has a chilling effect on the city, pointing out that it will cost more than $18 million a year in lost sales, tax revenues and tips. And, they say the ban has made Chicago a laughingstock around the world and may even dissuade chefs from opening restaurants in the city.

"There isn't a voter in Chicago who elected his alderman to tell him what he can or cannot eat," said Ivan Matsunaga with the Illinois Restaurant Association.

In a show of solidarity, for one day restaurants that don't typically serve foie gras, including one pizzeria, are giving diners what may be their only chance in city history to utter the phrase, "Mushroom, sausage and foie gras pizza, please."

At Harry Caray's, Dutchie Carey celebrated a birthday with her first taste of the city's illegal delicacy.

"They have gone too far. What's next? Is it going to be green beans, brussel sprouts, tofu?" asked Harry Caray's Grant DePorter.

The lawsuit, filed by the Illinois Restaurant Association and one restaurant, argues that the City Council overstepped its authority as laid out in the state constitution with the ban. Aldermen may agree with animal rights activists that the production of foie gras -- which involves force feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers -- is inhumane but the council doesn't have the legal authority to ban it because none of that force feeding, not to mention slaughtering, happens anywhere near Chicago or even Illinois.

"Whether the treatment of animals in Canada, France or New York leading to the production of foie gras is or is not humane is not a problem suitable for legislation by the City of Chicago, let alone a substantial Chicago problem," the lawsuit argues.

Some restaurateurs said they did not feel animal cruelty was the issue.

"If I felt this was truly a pro-cruelty to animal issue, I wouldn't be doing this," said Allen Sternweiller of Allen's The New American Café, at 217 W. Huron St. "Most chefs wouldn't be doing this; we'd be saying, 'Let's figure out a way to make it right.'" He said that meant another way to raise the animals.

Although Sternweiller is a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the ban, he said he would abide by the ordinance, which the city Department of Public Health will enforce, reportedly starting on Wednesday.

The lawsuit contends the city has no right to regulate the sale of a product that is lawfully produced.

"This is not a local problem for the city of Chicago," said attorney Barry Rosen, who represents the restaurant association in the lawsuit.

A spokeswoman for the city's law department said the argument that the city can't regulate a product because it is not produced here simply does not fly.

"Fireworks, guns, we regulate all those things and they aren't produced in Chicago," said Jennifer Hoyle, who said she had not seen the lawsuit.

Moore agreed. "We feel that this is a constitutional ordinance and an ordinance well within the city's power to enact so we're not concerned about it," he said of the lawsuit.

What happens next is unclear. Rosen said he expects to file a motion for a preliminary injunction in the next few weeks. As for the restaurants that are concerned diners will go elsewhere, putting foie gras in garnishes may be a solution, at least until the legal battle plays out.

"The ordinance prohibits the sale of foie gras,' said Tim Hadac, spokesman for the city's health department, which beginning Wednesday will be in charge of enforcement. "If, in fact they do that (give it away for free), that may be a way for them to fly under the radar."

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)