Food TED TALKS- Dan Barber's Foie Gras parable

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Had my first foie gras when I was already an adult. Goes without saying that learned about gavage, or the act of force feeding a duck so its liver gets fattened 6 times the normal size. The thought of the cruelty puts some conscience on the table. But as Dan Barber said, "It's just freaking delicious!"

 Some controversy has come out of his farming ethics but this geese farmer, Eduardo Sousa, is amazing in his conviction to raise the animals in a more 'natural' setting.

As I sit here, typing, dreaming of a culinary tour of Spain, I am adding a visit to his farm and tasting the foie gras that promises to bring the taste of sunshine to my humble palate.

Cheff Jessie's at the Rockwell Club

Nothing takes away a bad day like a well-seared foie gras. 

So when I was having one last week, A., decided to treat me to dinner at Chef Jessie's @ the Rockwell Club, formerly Le Souffle. With our good friend, E., we had a quiet dinner to ease the nerves and please the palate.

I know some people consider it evil food. But I beg to disagree. Evil. it's not.  Sinful, yes. 

I am not an expert on fatty goose liver as it is not exactly everyday food but I have to say that my previous experiences have ranged from disappointing  (at the overrated Bistro Filipino) to mildly interesting (pate de foie gras served at a friend's private party). So far, Chef Jessie's has been the best I've had.

Served with grilled Shitake mushrooms, the overlapping buttery taste of both the liver and mushroom is complemented by the naturally light saltiness of the scallops, the cottage cheese and the parma ham. The bed of greens gives the dish a refreshing touch and a contrasting texture the silkiness of the grilled ingredients. The salad is highly creative in its mixture of tastes and textures. Sinful, no?

I had errantly ordered apple juice instead of a nice glass of full-bodied white wine. I hope though, that there will be another opportunity for me to correct this.

Before we had our entrees, we shared a small dish of cheese, spinach and mushroom souffle. It had a very rich filling, rendering the accompaniment of white cream sauce inutile. Next time, I will give the dessert souffles a try. Maybe that would be a better souffle experience.

For my entree I had Angus beef, medium rare with bourguignonne  gravy. It was done well to my liking but the foie gras experience just simply filled my head. So I cannot say much about the steak, except that it was filling.

A., by his standards, was adventurous with the tartare fish salad. He was not partial to the salmon which he found too abrasive and left his tongue itching. It was the pretty looking salad, though.

And thus, he reverted to his comfort food, the chicken adobo which he found interesting as it was not overtly salty and oily, the way home-cooked adobo is made, yet, it still had an adobo-ness that is familiar to the Pinoy taste buds.

E. ordered the shrimp salad and the blackened fish topped with a piquant sauce.