LA Chefs Get Playful for Final Days of Foie Gras

In a race against the statewide ban on foie gras effective on July 1, the city’s premier chefs are cooking up a weeklong feast fit for royalty to satisfy diners’ appetite for one final taste of the savory dish.

Due to animal cruelty concerns, California will become the first state to make the production of foie gras illegal when the ban becomes legal this Sunday. In an epicurean send-off, fine restaurants from Sacramento to San Diego will bid au revoir to foie gras by highlighting the fatty duck and goose livers in different dishes. From foie gras sushi to foie gras desserts, there are a number of ways to relish the delicacy this week.

Here are some of our favorites:

Chaya Brasserie

8741 Alden Drive

Beverly Hills

www.thechaya.com

From now until June 30, executive corporate chef Sigefumi Tachibe will offer a Euro-Asian inspired menu that includes: Shaved Foie Gras Parfait with wild argula, strawberries, aged balsamic and olive oil; Pan-Seared Big Eye Tuna with Arare crusted foie-gras; Terrine de Foie Gras with Yellow Peach Chutney and Toasted Brioche; and Seared Foie Gras on Buckwheat Soba Risotto and a Summer Truffle Glaze. The restaurant also serves foie gras nigiri. Prices range from $16 to $49.

Ink

8360 Melrose Ave., Suite 107

Los Angeles

www.mvink.com

Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio’s restaurant serves foie gras as a pate with a waffle cone that’s wafer-thin on both sides, topped with maple syrup and sriracha—a popular Asian hot sauce.

Melisse

1104 Wilshire Blvd.

Santa Monica

www.melisse.com

For $185 per person, this contemporary French eatery is offering a “Foie For All” nightly menu where diners can savor entrees such as the Foie Gras Royale with blackberry gelee and a caramelized buttermilk mousse; Truffled Foie Gras Agnolotti with summer vegetables and toasted pistachio consommé; and Foie Gras Flan glistened with blood orange gelee and toasted hazelnut foam.

The Royce at The Langham

1401 South Oak Knoll Ave.

Pasadena

www.roycela.com

From June 28-30, Chef David Feau will prepare the delicacy in 31 unique ways with $160 dinners. One of the dishes includes a dry-aged beef “boullion” foie gras fondue in which beef boullion is layered over a piece of seared foie gras and snowed in by creminis and foie gras shavings. Tarragon-printed pasta is served with the dish.

Scarpetta

225 N. Canon Dr.

Beverly Hills

www.montagebeverlyhills.com/beverly-hills-restaurants.php

Food Network’s Chopped judge Scott Conant takes pride in his $26-duck and foie gras ravioli which mixes rich duck meat with smooth foie gras over a thick marsala reduction.

Like Haute Living Los Angeles? Join our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @HauteLivingLA. Want Haute Living Los Angeles delivered to your inbox once a week? Sign up for our newsletter.