Let Them Eat Foie

Where to Find Foie Gras in Southern California

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Despite the state ban on the production and sale of foie gras that went into effect on July 1, the system still can’t keep foie off of our plates. Skirting the statute through clever M.O.s that exploit its loopholes, several area restaurants continue serving the stuff without exactly breaking the law. Here we offer a running tally of who is still serving foie gras out there and how you can get your hands on it. Some of the spots are outspoken about their outlaw activities, while others are still flying under the radar. And since we don’t want to blow up anyone’s spot, we’re enshrouding the identity of anyone still skittish through a blind item. Here now, our running guide to finding foie in the Southland.

We’ll be updating this list as more news arrives, rumors circulate, or as we discover new spots who are quietly flouting the law.

And here’s where it’s still being served in San Francisco, too.

Los Angeles

As we reported last week, Hot’s Kitchen chef-owner Sean Chaney, the only restaurateur attached to the movement that’s currently suing the state over the foie gras law, is now serving a $13 burger in Hermosa Beach with a complimentary side of seared foie gras on top. To paraphrase the Lucky Charms leprechaun, “It’s illicitly delicious.” 844 Hermosa Ave. Hermosa Beach.

• Only a couple of weeks in and Downtown’s new Kitchen Table is already offering a $19 baguette with a complimentary side of foie, as reported by some dude checking in on FourSquare. 410 S. Main St. Downtown.

• Former Cafe Pinot chef Kevin Meehan is currently cruising in pop-up land through his floating concept, Kali Dining. Currently cooking in Culver City, the chef wouldn’t mind it becoming “the first underground foie speakeasy.” To that end, Meehan recently promised “a foie course with every dinner” and even better, it will be “free of charge” in a middle finger to the ban. The chef also hinted at Sunday night foie dinners where “no less than a half pound” of foie gras would be consumed, for better or worse. Kali Dining’s website is scrubbed clean of the F-word, but as his five-course menu requires a $65 “donation,” we think it might be a good place to investigate. www.kalidining.com.

• Recalling the Renaissance where residents would rather be gagged by spoons or savaged by giant gorillas, the pandemic menu from a Who-hearing chef that once had mad game offers guests a free side of foie when ordering the right dish.

Orange County

• Santa Ana’s Playground, the roost of butter-churning, Yelp-crucifying chef-owner Jason Quinn, is apparently handing out a Sauternes-laced foie gras torchon to anyone who buys the kitchen a $24 round of “after-service” beers, as reported by shutterbug blogger KevinEats. 220 E 4th St..

• Outspoken chefs are practically falling over themselves to be verboten foie gras’ most die-hard soldier. San Clemente’s Cafe Mimosa has a French chef in the kitchen who is ready to go to jail for foie gras and, get this, even has a fleur-de-lys tattoo inscribed: “Foie Gras 7-2”. “They can lock me up if they want…I don’t mind,” Antoine Price recently told O.C. Register, having marked July 1 with a huge foie gras dinner using leftover product. Now, the chef is reportedly serving the stuff under a code name to his customers, engaging in a little French resistance. 243 Avenida Del Mar. San Clemente.

Stay tuned! We’ll be on the foie gras search and updating this post every time we get a confirmed sighting.

Earlier: Foie Farewell: 24 Foie Gras Dishes You Must Try Before the Ban [GS]

Where to Find Foie Gras in Southern California