Well, at least a free taste of foie gras at Georgetown’s 1789 restaurant for any guest who presents a California ID. Now that the ban has officially gone into effect in the Golden State, 1789 chef Anthony Lombardo is extending his condolences to any foie gras-loving Californians through the month of October.
Reports Eater,
[T]he classic Georgetown restaurant will give legit Californians a free order of Lombardo’s foie gras torchon brioche with chestnut short bread and barrel-aged maple syrup. Lombardo explains he was inspired by some recent guests visiting from California who were thrilled at the chance to order foie gras and even asked him if they could buy some to take home. So, he says, while he’s “all about humanely raising animals… We respect the tradition. Culinary traditions are very important.” [Bold emphasis theirs]
As for the state of California, it’s important to remember that prohibition isn’t going to be easy to enforce (was it ever?). When I lunched with Jacques Pépin last summer, the French chef reminded me of Chicago’s failed foie gras ban. “It was banned in Chicago for three years,” he said. “They never sold as much foie gras as during those three years. The chef put it on the menu as ‘specialty of the chef,’ $45. Everyone knew it was foie gras [even though] he didn’t put the word foie gras, and … it’s ridiculous.”