"foie gras" news and stories

We already thought other countries beat us on quality fast food -- crawl through any backstreet in Southeast Asia and find a healthy bundle of dumplings with local spices, or Mexico for hot-off-the-grill strips of meat with freshly mashed avocado. But leave it to the French to design a foie gras burger (priced at 5 euros, no less) for their national fast food joint, nonchalantly called Quick.

A decided rival to the golden arches, according to Daily Mail UK, Quick will serve a limited-edition "Supreme Foie Gras Burger" for a mere 5 euors -- that's under $8. Try finding that at a drive-though near you. We on this side of the Atlantic have to reserve a spot with a tablecloth to get this kind of decadence.

Foie gras is produced manually by over-stuffing the livers of duck, literally translated in French as "fatty liver". It's been featured on many a high-end table, like at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne, and has been the object of much debate over animal cruelty versus culinary allegiance, ranked up there with the truffles and fish eggs of the world. According to Daily Mail, in the Aquitaine region, it can go for 100 euros per kilo, and even more during the holidays.

But in France, for three days -- December 17 to 19 -- there'll be sliced "foie gras over a minced beef patty, with onion and rocket leaves" at Quick's 360 outlets. So get it while it's hot, you lucky French; we'll just have to stick with our seasonal rib-less beast.

New York City's Serendipity 3 restaurant has a history of doing stunts to make the Guinness World Records. They've scored twice before -- with the World's Most Expensive Ice Cream Sundae and the World's Largest Hot Chocolate -- and on Friday, they did it again with the World's Most Expensive Hot Dog, which will sell for $69.

So how do you get a hot dog to cost nearly 70 bucks? First, you start with a regular Serendipity 3 foot-long beef hot dog, which already sells for $8.50 -- a little more than your average street dog in New York (and a lot tastier, I'll admit). Then you use the tried and true pre-recession stunt of chefs around the world: Add foie gras, then add truffles, repeat as necessary until the price tag explodes. (The other surefire fancifier -- caviar -- would taste a little gross on a hot dog, though Serendipity 3 puts it on a burger.)

To be more specific, this particular "Haute Dog" (as it's being marketed) is grilled in white truffle oil and is served on a chewy pretzel-bread bun (sort of like a cross between a soft pretzel and a baguette) that's toasted with white truffle butter. It's topped with foie gras pâté with black truffles. Condiments (served on the side) include Dijon mustard with black truffles, caramelized Vidalia onions and ketchup made with heirloom tomatoes (more like a tart tomato relish).

I tasted the dog this morning (breakfast of champions), and I've gotta admit, it was darn tasty. My notes, after the jump.

Woe to the unfortunate eaters who faithfully followed the past decade's dining trends: Smaller portions, rising prices and the unabated craze for comfort food (especially dishes involving pork products) would presumably have left them far fatter and poorer than they were in 1999.

But for diners who enjoyed the last 10 years in small doses, the aughts were downright delicious -- thanks to local sourcing, a vigorous insistence on fresh and seasonal ingredients and, yes, all those pork products.

If there was one trend that defined the first breaths of this millennium, it was a general resistance to trendiness. In years ruled by buzzwords like "authentic," "heritage," "artisanal," "traditional" and "classic," what was deemed cool at the decade's outset pretty much stayed that way: If there's an organic greens and sustainable seafood backlash brewing, it hasn't perked yet.

Still, we're pressing ahead with a restaurant trend-by-year taxonomy. Nitpickers will notice that the assignments are sometimes rather arbitrary: Was 2003 or 2004 the year that celebrity chefdom raged most fiercely? Is it fair to call 2005 the year of foam, considering it was already old hat in big cities and still years away from arriving in small towns? Argue among yourselves.

• Zut alors! Scientists in France have determined that the mistress of King Henry II, Diane de Poitiers, died due to overconsumption of drinkable gold, which was considered a youth preservative back in the day.
• The Antarctic hut used by Captain Robert Scott as his expedition base has released a surprising find, nearly 100 years after the explorer's death: a block of butter.
• A self-service restaurant in Germany is offering the ultimate snack for the big spender in a hurry: a gold-covered, fried schnitzel costing $219.
• The 3,500 cookbooks in Gourmet magazine's library are becoming a part of the culinary collection at the Fales Library of New York University, one of the most extensive collections of culinary works in the country.
• Now on the menu at Denny's: foie gras. But you'll have to fly to Tokyo to try the delicacy at the late-night restaurant. Denny's Japan is serving up Rossini-style beef filet and fois gras.

Oh James!

It turns out one of Her Majesty's secret agents lived the high life only in the movies. The James Bond of the 1970s, Roger Moore, won't eat foie gras, and he won't speak to friends who do either.

"Before I knew how it was produced I would often pick at it at parties just because it was on offer -- though I never ate too much of it because of its huge calorific content," he writes Tuesday in an op-ed in the Daily Mail. "Since I have understood the cruelty attached to its production I have never touched it again. I now boycott restaurants where it is served."