As the July 1 deadline for California’s much-debated foie gras ban approaches, San Francisco restaurants have been stuffing menus with all the goose diners can handle. And as expected, the result has been an absolute feeding frenzy.
Next week, Senate Bill 1520, the 2004 ban on foie gras (the controversially harvested fatty liver of ducks and geese), will take effect, forcing any restaurant that serves the dish to pay a $1000 fine.
Chefs and foie advocates have spent the last year organizing a repeal, while animal rights activists have taken to the blogosphere (and the streets) to block any hurdles to the ban.
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On Thursday night, costumers attending a "thank you" dinner at foie gras distributer Mirepoix USA were met with a picket line of protesters with bullhorns on Maiden Lane.
"If you knew that you were actually destroying an animal's liver just to make it taste better, no humane person would support that," said protester Carter Dillard to ABC outside of the dinner. "You're either uneducated or deeply cruel."
Meanwhile, the dish has become as popular as ever.
According to KTVU, Sonoma Artisan Foie Gras, the state’s only producer, had nearly exhausted its supply by last week.
“We have seen a steady growth in demand,” said Sonoma Artisan Foie Gras Founder Guillermo Gonzalez in an interview with The Blaze. “[There was] a significant increase in sales in the month of May.”
“The price has doubled,” sad Tracy Lee of dining service company Dishcrawl to the Blaze. Dishcrawl has organized more than a dozen sold-out secret foie gras dinners. “People are finding it hard to get it because the demand is so high.”
And this week, San Francisco diners might think the city lives on fatty liver. Secret dinners (dually designed to avoid protesters and attract exclusivity) have kept chefs moonlighting nightly, and nearly every restaurant in town has introduced specialty items to send the dish off with a bang.
Check out our slideshow below for a few of the local restaurants celebrating the dish in style. Then watch ABC's video of the Thursday protest below.
Au revoir, foie gras.
