Foie gras returns to city dining scene

'STRANGE ERA' | Chefs revamp menus and bring delicacy back; others never stopped

Fee, fi, foe, foie . . . You don't need to know the secret password to get foie gras anymore.

The era of the "duckeasy," as Cyrano's Bistrot chef Didier Durand called it, is over, now that the Chicago City Council sharply reversed a citywide ban instituted two years ago.

"It was an era in Chicago that was so strange," commented chef Carrie Nahabedian of Naha, one of the "underground" chefs who continued to serve the controversial fattened duck liver. "It even feels strange now that foie is back!"

Local chefs are rushing to rework menus.

"Of course, we're going to serve it again," said chef Christian Gosselin of the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower. "We're a French hotel! I just ordered some today."

Given the state of the economy, will diners buy the pricey offal? "I would like to think so," said Bin 36 chef John Caputo. The ban led to increased interest in foie gras, he said. "There'll be some great excitement at first. People who haven't tried it want to know, 'What is this stuff?' "

Copperblue chef Michael Tsonton, another who served foie gras all along, said his sales haven't been affected by the economy more than other dishes. And because of foie gras' richness and flavor, "a little bit goes a long way."

Chefs noted that foie gras is very versatile. You can sear in slices, roast it whole, poach it, press it into chilled terrines, roll it into torchons, mix it into pates and forcemeats and whisk it into sauces.

Don't rule out a sweet treatment, either. Chef Michael Fiorello of Mercat a la Planxa said he used to make foie gras ice cream.

Leah A. Zeldes is a local free-lance writer.