Fifth Floor's Unfoie-gettable Tasting Menu

Bid farewell to foie gras at the Fifth Floor

By Meesha Halm

There are just 24 days left until the ‘foie-mageddon,’ aka the day that California's first-in-the-nation ban of foie gras takes effect. With very little hope that the law will be get appealed, Bay Area restaurateurs are taking a new tactic: let ‘em eat foie, and plenty of it. We suspect in the next few weeks, we’ll be hearing about about lots of restaurants hosting get-it-while-you-can foie feasts and we’ll be sure to pass them on.

A just-announced five-course tasting menu at the Fifth Floor promises to be so unfoie-gettable, we're kicking off our countdown coverage with it.

Starting today and running until the month, David Bazirgan and his team will begin offering a special five-course foie gras tasting in the restaurant for $120 ($75 for additional wine pairing.) The menu begins with oysters served with a foie béarnaise, followed by a terrine of foie with Thai flavors, seared foie with caramelized lamb tongues, and ballatine of squab with foie powder and sauce Perigourdine. For dessert, look for foie ice cream (for a little fat-on-fat action) with a fried rhubarb pie.

Oh, and if that doesn’t sate your foie fix, the bartender has created a special cocktail with the fatted liver. Dubbed the “Wild Goose Chase,” the cocktail features Armagnac, lemon juice, honey syrup and sparkling wine, and will be served in a champagne flute with a rim coated with foie powder and garnished with a foie-stuffed prune! The Wild Goose Chase ($16) will be available at the bar or in the dining room.

Don't forget to pack your Lipitor.


Fifth Floor: 12 Fourth St., 415-348-1555