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Takami Offers Ah-mazing Foie Gras … As Long As It’s Legal
Recently, Takami hosted a private six-course “Farewell To Foie” tasting event for a small group of loyal customers, friends, and media types (including me) – with each course paired with a Montes wine:
- Vichysoisse of Foie Gras – paired with 2011 Montes Cherub Rosé of Syrah
- Seared Foie Gras, Caramelized Mango, Rose reduction – paired with 2010 Montes Alpha Chardonnay
- Braised Daikon, Foie Gras with Shallot Butter Broth – paired with 2010 Montes Alpha Pinot Noir
- Nigiri of Ahi Tuna & Foie Gras with Eel Sauce – paired with 2007 StarAngel by Montes, Syrah, Paso Robles
- Filet of Beef & Foie Gras with Black Truffle – paired with 2009 Montes Alpha Carmenere
- Foie Gras Truffle, Fresh Berries, and Butter Wafer – paired with 2010 Montes Late Harvest
Until the State of California makes it illegal beginning July 1st, Takami will be offering the Foie Gras items we tasted (paired with the Montes wines) as menu specials. So, stop what you’re doing (even reading this!) and, no matter if you don’t know about or don’t like Foie Gras, go there now. Yes, I mean NOW because this Foie Gras menu is true “DeathbedFood”. In fact, I can assure you Takami breaks that infamous restaurant rule: the higher the restaurant, the worse the food. With both ah-mazing views (located on Wilshire in Downtown LA on the 21st Floor, Takami definitely has one of the best in the city) and, as seen in the photos below, food “to die for” created by their classically French-trained Chef, Stan Ota.
Top 4 DeathbedFood contenders of the night?
- The Vichysoisse – it’s one of those dishes rarely seen on LA menus;
- The Ahi Tuna with Eel Sauce – sumptuous;
- Filet with BLACK TRUFFLE (need I say more?); and
- The Foie Gras Truffle. Yes, this was a chocolate truffle blended with Foie. Definitely DeathbedFood!
Now for the political issue at hand here in California. Like Pat Saperstein of Eating LA (who also attended), I am pro-foie – largely for the same reasons she so eloquently cited in her post about the event:
I’m sorry for the ducks and geese, but I’m not sure it’s so much worse than battery cages or beef slaughterhouses or pink slime or all the other things we mostly ignore when we agree to eat animals. And there’s hundreds of years of tradition behind it, which seems to count for something. So I’m coming out in favor of foie, and like the Artisan Farmers Alliance.
And, I’d add in favor of a group called CHEFS (Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards) who I recently spoke with as they were demonstating outside Melisse Restaurant in Santa Monica (Melisse offers a foie tasting menu).
So, if you’re pro-Foie and anywhere near DTLA, I’d recommend you get to Takami before July 1st because Chef Ota is to Foie Gras what Debussy is to Music … really something a California Foie Gras fan wouldn’t want to miss.