Foie Gras

So many good jokes are suggested by this one that I'm just going to play it straight: An important Israeli producer of foie gras (that's not one of the jokes; Israel is a major supplier of the delicacy, and much of what gets eaten in the best restaurants--even those of France--comes from that nation) has joined forces with a group of Amish farmers in Pennsylvania to produce America's first commercial goose foie gras.

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and the Humane Society of the United States plan to announce today that Puck's $300-million-a-year food empire is beginning a program to fight animal cruelty. If the plan is carried out as promised, it means no foie gras -- fatty liver produced by overfeeding ducks and geese -- would be served at Spago or any of Puck's 14 other fine-dining restaurants. Spago's famous weiner schnitzel would be made exclusively using veal from roaming, not shackled, calves.

Van Rex Gourmet Foods, 5850 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (213) 965-1320. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Also: 77570 Springfield Lane, Palm Desert, (619) 360-5190. Until a few weeks ago, Van Rex Gourmet Foods (whose clients include Drago, Bikini, Pazzia, Champagne and the La Brea Bakery) was the secret resource of a handful of savvy home cooks and caterers.

We were sitting in a cafe in Cassis, watching fishermen wander in and out of the restaurants along the old port. The air smelled of salt and licorice and the sun went skittering across the water. We had just finished the world's best ratatouille-- eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and onions cooked slowly into a sort of hearty jam. Patricia Wells was taking notes. "I cook the vegetables separately, madame," said the proprietress, "and only combine them at the last minute."

Foie gras is a luxury ingredient, no doubt about that. But we were surprised to find that it can be fairly affordable as far as luxury ingredients go. We bought our fresh foie gras at Gourmand in Culver City for $31 a pound. That means a 11/2-pound foie gras works out to less than $10 a serving for a truly impressive appetizer.

Robata, 250 N. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills. (213) 274-5533. Open for dinner Monday through Saturday. Full bar. Valet parking. All major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $80-$140. No matter what you might be expecting when you arrive, Tokyo will be differ ent. It is the most surprising city on Earth. You know, of course, that it's big and bustling. You know that the trains and subways work with extraordinary efficiency.

A Sonoma-based foie gras company has filed suit against a group of animal rights activists that claims they are conspiring to destroy the liver pate industry by repeatedly breaking into the company's Central Valley duck farm and stealing fowl.

Ah, lovely Noel, France's gastronomic holiday of the year. 'Tis the season for the simple glory of foie gras, melting delectably on rigid pieces of toast. Or at least it's supposed to be. But the French seem to have lost their appetite for fatted goose and duck liver. The just-ended transport strike sent foie gras sales plummeting by 70%, a statistic verified by the glum looks at Fauchon, Paris' best-known food emporium, where the delicacy sells for $100 to $200 a pound.

UNTIL a few weeks ago, I thought we were long past the contrived concoctions and bizarre combinations that epitomized the worst of the nouvelle cuisine movement of the 1970s and '80s. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a traditionalist. I like unusual combinations on my plate. I'm also in complete agreement with the basic principles of nouvelle cuisine -- fresher products, lighter sauces, less cooking time, an emphasis on true flavor, on the natural essence of things.

A gastronomic war has erupted in this sleepy wine-country city over foie gras, a staple of haute cuisine that some see as a delicacy and others consider a symbol of animal cruelty.