Restaurant sidesteps foie gras ban

CHICAGO, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Chicago health inspectors say a local restaurant has circumvented rules banning the sale of foie gras by serving it for free.

A department spokesman said the restaurant Bin 36 avoided a citation when health inspectors paid a surprise visit and found the restaurant was not illegally selling the liver delicacy but instead giving it away as a free side dish, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.

Health Department spokesman Tim Hadac said foie gras was being served "as a complimentary sidebar to another dish on the menu ... The menu made it clear that they were giving it away as part of a larger offering."

"We turned around and came back ... The ordinance prohibits the sale of foie gras. It does not address giving it away. That would be up to the framers of the law (to close the loophole)," Hadac said.

Alderman Joe Moore, the chief sponsor of the law banning the dish, said he does not believe the law needs to be altered.

"They are giving this product only to paying customers. If you're paying for a meal, you're paying for any food they serve you," Moore said. "The law doesn't need to be changed ... What needs to be changed is the city's attitude toward enforcing the law."