Why Foie Gras Costs More Than $250 in Chicago

While the Windy City is famous for world-renown restaurants and high-class fare, you'll have some difficult tracking down foie-gras on area menus. Hot Doug's, one of Chicago's popular hot dog and sausage eateries, underwent a 'foie gras bust' on February 16, 2007. The Chicago Tribune reports that Hot Doug's became the first restaurant fined under the ordinance after the city-wide ban. The price? $250 for a first-time offense. Wolfgang Puck and other notable chefs had already stepped up to the plate and removed the item from their menus.

Foie gras had officially been banned in the city by Alderman Joe Moore in December; the movement was largely inspired by famous chef's such as Charlie Trotter who deemed the practice of making foie gras unethical. Although Mayor Richard Daley is vetoing the effort, it still remains under consideration and the recent confiscation further spurs debates on the topic.

Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago opened in 1987 and has become one of the most well-respected restaurants in the world. When Mr. Trotter proclaimed that the production of foie gras, a duck-liver delicacy, encourages cruelty to animals during production, many chefs in the area staged a lengthy debate over the validity of this statement.

States across the nation have already passed similar bans; Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon have all instilled similar regulations that outlaw production, but it's up to local lawmakers to make a difference at restaurants serving the product at their establishments. While hotspots such as Charlie Trotter's choose not to serve this gourmet delight, the premium dish was served nightly at places such as Hot Doug's.