Slideshows

Controversial Cuisine: Boston’s 12 Dreamiest, Most Succulent Foie Gras Dishes

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Foie gras baklava sure has a nice ring to it.

California’s foie gras ban looms large on the summertime horizon (July 1, if you didn’t know), and so it seems only right to show solidarity with our West Coast compadres and take a moment to revel in the dazzling array of foie available right here in Boston. Foraging for our city’s finest, silkiest, smoothest foie gras was a taxing endeavor, but somebody had to do it. And we were happily up to the task.

Ahead, find lobes of foie accompanied by brioche waffles, a Kobe burger pumped full of foie, and even foie gras baklava from a food truck. We would keep typing, but we’re on the verge of a heart attack and need to go for a really long run.

So, while we attempt to reverse weeks’ worth of gluttony research, feast your eyes on our slideshow. Then, our compatriots in San Francisco and Los Angeles have done similar slideshows of endangered foie dishes, and our Grub Street friends in New York, Chicago, and Philly have followed suit in solidarity. Enjoy.

Journeyman 9 Sanborn Ct.; 617-718-2333; $100   A one-pound lobe of foie gras is a mainstay on Journeyman’s menu, though the presentation changes routinely. Right now, it’s served alongside brioche waffles (for the truly gluttonous, maple syrup is optional). “There’s also a full serving of spring vegetables on the dish, so it’s actually quite healthy,” notes co-owner Tse Wei Lim.
Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake 384 Boylston St.; 617-859-8555; $21.95   The ever-restless Brian Poe isn’t content to serve a typical burger at his Back Bay restaurant. Instead, he created a meaty circus that would make a competitive eater blush: Kobe beef stuffed with lobster, foie gras, and black truffles, topped with whiskey bacon, Irish whiskey cheese, and avocado. Do you want to live to see tomorrow?
AKA Bistro 145 Lincoln Rd.; Lincoln; 781-259-9920; $19   Chris Chung, an alumnus of Ken Oringer’s Uni, struck out on his own and headed west to quiet Lincoln, where he serves a suburb-shocking blend of Japanese-French fusion. This pretty dish showcases freshwater eel, butterflied and glazed with a kabayaki sauce with seared foie gras and matchstick green apples.
Coppa 253 Shawmut Ave.; 617-391-0902; $7   At Coppa, one menu mainstay is foie gras terrine crostini with plum mostarda. As one of the menu’s stuzzichini (Italian small bar snacks), the rich foie gras is balanced by crispy toast and sweet-and-sour plum mostarda. Just the thing to whet your appetite for bone marrow pizza!
L’Espalier 774 Boylston St.; 617-262-3023; $15   At L’Espalier, Chef Frank McClelland serves a soothingly smooth foie gras terrine studded with ash-roasted duck breast and dressed with pickled rhubarb and juice, angelica and oatmeal-nut tuille, fruit and  nut bread.
No. 9 Park 9 Park St.; 617-742-9991; $20   For a limited time this summer, No. 9 Park is flirting with breakfast-inspired foie: Enjoy it seared atop a spring-dug parsnip pancake, served with a plank of bacon confit, maple syrup, butter jus, and potato crunch. Best not head to the beach after this meal. 
Deuxave 371 Commonwealth Ave.; 617-517-5915; $21   Deuxave is the kind of place where power players revel in their decadence, wine glasses aloft, smiles gleaming. How comforting, then, almost virtuous, to begin a meal with seared Hudson Valley foie gras paired with rhubarb jam on a toasted brioche and a powder salad of rhubarb, basil, and ginger.
Eastern Standard 528 Commonwealth Ave; 617-532-9100; $9   Chef Matt Audette whips up this foie gras poutine for Eastern Standard’s late-night menu two or three times per week. Remember what you were taught in high school health ed: Nothing sops up alcohol quite like potatoes doused in foie gras gravy, topped with diced foie gras, Wisconsin cheese curds, and shaved black truffles.
West Bridge 1 Kendall Sq., Cambridge; 617-945-0221; $14   Kendall Square’s new French restaurant West Bridge enters the foie gras fray with vanilla apple compote and crispy spicy garbanzo beans. The kicker here is toast cooked in foie fat, just in case you’re prowling for a few more calories.
Clio 370 Commonwealth Ave.; 617-536-7200; part of tasting menu, prices vary   At Clio, diners who opt for a tasting menu get a special treat: whole roasted foie gras served with milk-and-honey puree, cornichons, and rhubarb. The whole foie gras is presented to the (awestruck) table, then returns to the kitchen for individual carving and plating.  
Lineage 242 Harvard St., Brookline; 617-232-0065; $15   Coolidge Corner’s Lineage hits that sweet spot between nice weeknight dinner and fancy evening out. It’s also one of the few places in the area to tuck into foie gras, served with black pepper financier, roasted apricots, and green almonds.
Staff Meal Locations vary; 617-209-9244; $5   MC Slim JB tipped us off to this elusive treat, offered from time to time by the enterprising food-truckers at Staff Meal (the same people who serve delicacies like crab rangoon tacos). This sinful wedge has a phyllo crust layered with foie, fig vin cotto, honey, almonds (or chopped pistachios “if we’re feeling awesome,” Staff Meal admits), and lavender. 
Controversial Cuisine: Boston’s 12 Dreamiest, Most Succulent Foie Gras Dishes