Foie gras aficionados prize this luxe delicacy for its rich, silky qualities. Matthew Fogarty, executive chef for both the Napa Valley Grille and California Café at the Mall of America, loves working with foie gras because of the way its flavor profile pairs with so many others: “Sweet, savory, bitter, bold, sour—they all work.”
But foie gras, the fattened goose and duck livers that are native to French cuisine, has been mired in controversy of late. Chicago banned its sale two years ago (then repealed that ban in May). California will prohibit production and sales by 2012. At issue is the mechanized force-feeding of corn mash to the birds through tubes inserted into their esophagi, which animal lovers decry as cruel.
So how can Fogarty, in good conscience, serve up two summer specials with foie gras? Simple. He and other local chefs (Vincent Francoual at Vincent, Jack Riebel at the Dakota, Alexander Roberts at Restaurant Alma) are customers of French-born Christian Gasset, who brought foie gras production to the tiny southeastern Minnesota town of Caledonia with his business Au Bon Canard. Gasset makes it in the old style, pasturing his ducks, then during the final weeks of their lives, housing them in a cozy, art-filled barn, where he feeds them by hand on his lap.
The result is a notably rich product that chefs find easier to clean and work with than the usual mass-produced foie gras. Fogarty features it now in a rumaki appetizer and a locally sourced loin of venison topped with seared foie gras and a foie gras– and truffle-based Périgourdine sauce.
Napa Valley Grille, 952-858-9934, Mall of America in Bloomington. Dinner entrées, $23-$37; napavalleygrille.com/bloomington.
• The Seven Corners outpost of Grandma’s Saloon and Restaurant closed its doors a few weeks ago, citing the poor economy, pay legislation, and the collapse of the I-35 bridge.
• New in Uptown: Mediterranean-themed Aronas in the former Vino 610 space, and in the former Pizza Nea space, contemporary Mexican at Indio, the latest venture of the Ruiz family, who also own El Meson and Café Ena.
• New on the North Side: Check out T-Asia Bar and Restaurant in Blaine for what’s described as Indonesian-Thai-Japanese-Korean fusion, and in Plymouth, Kobe Japanese Restaurant, where Kobe-style beef is cooked tableside on hot rocks.
• In downtown Chaska, the new Mix New American diner is serving “classic comfort food and contemporary American cuisine,” beer, wine, and cocktails.
• The kitchen at Muffuletta in St. Paul is now under the leadership of Chef Jason Schellin, formerly of Figlio and Bobino.
—P. L.
