As Calif. enacts foie gras ban with little bite, restaurants duck law with creative loopholes

By Fenit Nirappil | Abbey Westbury
July 17 2012 03:54 AM

CP19437458 — FILE - In this May 11, 2012 file photo, chef and owner Josiah Slone, right, prepares a foie gras dish at the Sent Sovi restaurant in Saratoga, Calif. California’s ban on foie gras could be a boon for at least one San Francisco restaurant. The Presidio Social Club is on federal land, so it’s exempt from the restriction. And it’s flaunting the exemption, advertising its foie gras options. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

SAN FRANCISCO – Restaurants are finding clever ways to duck California’s new ban on selling foie gras (fwah-GRAH’), the engorged liver delicacy made by force-feeding birds.

A restaurant on a former military base owned by the National Park Service started serving the dish over the weekend. The Presidio Social Club claims its location on federal land exempts it from state regulations.

Elsewhere in California, restaurants are offering free foie gras with other orders. Some chefs will prepare the delicacy for customers who bring it in.

The law does not ban distributing or possessing foie gras.

San Francisco Animal Care and Control is investigating a restaurant for violating the ban on sales. But other local agencies in the state authorized to fine foie gras sellers say they don’t plan to investigate restaurants for violations.

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