Repercussions in Hot Dog Land

I don't believe I've mentioned this before, but almost a year ago, the Chicago city council broke ground in local legislation and led the nation in becoming the first city to ban the sale of foie gras. Restaurateurs didn't take kindly to the new law and set about trying to subvert it. Foremost among these protesters has been Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk fave Hot Doug's, a glorified hot dog stand that has carved out a niche for itself by selling gourmet sausages side by side with the traditional hot dog. One of several restaurateurs who flouted the law, Doug Sohn sold foie gras as a sometime ingredient in his sausages, and he (along with eight other restaurants) was slapped with a warning from the health department for his trouble. A second citation carries a fine, and Doug received that notice a bit over a month ago. Today was his court date--the first such charge to make it to court--and his lawyer entered a plea of guilty (it was hard not to--Doug framed his warning letter last year and put it on display), and he was fined $250. That money may have been a bargain for the publicity he's receiving, though. In addition to local media and coverage in The New York Times, he was also interviewed on Nightline tonight (although Nightline has nothing on its site about today's show--nothing I could find, anyway). Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vittel suggested that the foie gras would soon be making a comeback at Hot Doug's. As someone else pointed out on the Nightline report (I think it was the chef at Copperblue, but I can't be sure because, um, there's no link to the story at the Nightline site) earlier tonight, Chicago is a town known for bootleg alcohol and speakeasies eighty years ago. A little ban from the city council isn't going to slow anybody down.