Duck but cover

Though unwilling in recent years to (realistically) address troubles such as catastrophic budget shortfalls, California lawmakers nevertheless found time and energy enough to enact a ban on manufacturing or selling foie gras -- goose or duck liver. Animal rights activists who hold sway in the oh-so-Golden State deemed the production of foie gras to be cruel to the critters. Manufacturers say otherwise.

At any rate, the ban recently took effect, and not surprisingly, people are already finding or at least earnestly devising ways to get around it and get their foie gras fix anyway.

Bloomberg.com reported that there is talk among some restaurateurs of "giving away" foie gras -- "perhaps in conjunction with pricey pieces of toast." Wink wink. Nosh nosh.

Others, meanwhile, have proposed a "foie-kage" fee for foie gras brought in from other states -- similar to a corkage fee a restaurant may charge to open a bottle of wine brought in from outside. If the foie gras wasn't purchased or produced in California, they reason, preparing it and serving it there isn't a crime.

Animal rights activists remain adamant, though, with one promising -- according to Bloomberg -- to "come down like a hammer" on those who try to skirt the law.

That has led to the coining of yet another term: "duckeasies" -- places where diners seeking foie gras may have to do so through the use of code words, The Wall Street Journal reported. For instance, asking for "peas and carrots," priced at $20 per serving, could be a way to order foie gras on the sly, since nobody in his right mind would pay that for peas and carrots.

But who knows? Common sense and consumer choice may yet win the day. Chicagoans managed to get around their city's 2006-2008 foie gras ban, and the prohibition was ultimately dropped.

For now, though, it appears Californians with a taste for the liver of elite poultry will have to play a crafty game of duck but cover.

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