I haven't yet been able to go to the Sonoma Saveurs restaurant that opened right before Christmas 2003 amidst outrage & outcry, after battling activists and vandalism. The reviews, thus far, have been decent. My writing teacher claims it's stunning. So, hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be able to go with my foodie pal, Nicola, to try the goods.

Whatever your personal feelings about foie gras (for anyone wondering, it's goose liver), the fact remains that the production of foie gras has been going on for a very long time. The Egyptians apparently were the first to figure out the delicacy of foie gras. Assumedly it was discovered as migratory wild geese were making their journey, as geese in the wild will actually gorge themselves prior to migrating to "fatten up" for the flight. Later, the Jews of central Europe were renowned, for many years, to be the only ones to know the secrets of good foie gras (an interesting fact considering goose meat was prohibited by virtue of Judaism). The Romans were said to have force-fed the geese figs during their heyday, and the Roman word for fig was ficadum, which is the root for the French foie. For centuries the delicacy was forgotten until King Louis XVI brought the tradition back, making a "pâté à la Contades", or foie gras within a crust, the "dish of the king". Blah blah blah, fast forward to today.

I had never tried foie gras prior to eating at The French Laundry where chef Thomas Keller serves a sauteed moulard duck foie gras with over roasted Brooks cherries, black peper brioche, and cherry gastrique. Holy moly. Good stuff. Foie gras is often served with a sweet, dark fruit, like cherry or plum and bread with a high quality sweet wine (some claim it should only be served with a wine from Sauternes, but I'm not the wine expert...).

The taste is delicate and rich, and I loved it immediately. I suppose it's an acquired taste, but I didn't think it required too much thought. However, my palate is also fairly adventuresome, so to each his own! Hopefully I'll be able to get on over to Sonoma Saveurs this summer.