I want to try foie gras...

[brez]

I've never tried it, but really want to.

Where is a good place to get foie gras in the WeHo/ west LA area?

[lizziee]

Church and State terrine of foie gras with port-wine gelee is tremendous.

[Jerome]

Noe had aninteresting foie gras presentatin last time I was there. In the OMNI hotel downtown.

[kevin]

oh, Noe by Robert Gadsby, what was it a trio? i hope it's still on the menu, i believe one of the dishes was foie gras terrine with Coke gelatin. and a couple others?

[Jerome]

it was a trio. I'm pretty traditional about stuff like this so I'm not the target audince. The oddest was a blueberry gelee with the foie gras. The coke sounds better.

I haven't been in a few years, but I hope it's still on the menu. I just like having someone practicing that school of cuisine in town.

[New Trial]

Gadsby is no longer the chef at Noe; he left almost two years ago. Not sure about the current menu.

[kevin]

darnit, i missed the boat on this one.

[A5 KOBE]

XIV in w. hollywood.

[JayMikes831]

The Bazaar in the SLS Hotel...you cannot beat it!!!!!

[lotta_cox]

I had foie sliders this weekend at Bazaar. Haven't tried the foie cotton candy, but the sliders are not a good example for a first timer. They were just ok. If I were rec'ing for someone, I would say seared served hot with some kind of fruit compote. I had it once at Alize in Vegas with grilled peaches and it was out of this world.

[lizziee]

I thought the sliders and cotton candy foie were delicious.

[foodiemahoodie]

Moi aussi.

I'd also recommend Melisse. They have a plate where you get foie gras 4 different ways - seared, etc. with a variety of condiments for each one. Not sure if this is on the regular menu or the carte blanche tasting menu. I have had the regular seared foie gras and it was as good as it gets.

[mollyomormon]

I agree on the sliders. I could barely taste the foie because of the ratio of brioche bun to foie.

I'd say go to Robata-ya and get the seared foie with pineapple.

[Lynndsey Rigberg]

Good for you! It's really one of the most wonderful flavors and textures one could imagine.
I'm sure you've already received lots of restaurant suggestions, so I won't delve into that too much. I would reccomend SONA - if they carry it on the menu, which they have in the past. Worth a call before eating there.

I wonder if you've considered going to SURFAS and picking some fois gras in confit and just preparing it at home? it's still VERY expensive, but it's a fun way to experience fois gras - bring friends over, make a few different sauces to enjoy with it, some good bread and wine...totally divine.

And if you don't know much about fois gras, I can't encourage you enough to see chef Dan Barber's TED talk on fois gras raised sustainably by Eduardo Sousa in Spain....it's completely eye opening, and might even encourage you to have some of Eduardo's fois gras shipped to your house...which I just did. It really was the most divine fois gras I've had in my entire life! Enjoy!

[kathryn]

Where/how did you order the Sousa foie gras?

[rushbikes]

I second the question. Where'd you manage to find Sousa's foie gras? I've only managed to find it on a UK website and it was sold out!

[nomarin]

I second the suggestion of preparing foie gras at home--it is very easy and you can try different sauces. I have ordered foie gras from Sonoma and from Hudson Valley.

[wilafur]

which one did you prefer? i am not sure which vendor to order from.

[David Kahn]

Not sure if it's always on the menu, but I've had really great foie gras at Josie, in east Santa Monica.

-----
Josie
2424 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405

[ladius]

You can try it at Orris and at Robata-ya, both in the same building on Sawtelle. They are smaller, appetizer dishes, perfect for giving it a try. I'm no expert, but they were both very good.

[burumun]

The Orris one is better than Robata-ya, IMHO.

[peppermonkey]

agree with burumum again

[mrshankly]

Chaya Brasserie on Alden just off of Robertson near Cedars-Sinai

[Bob Brooks]

Go try it at The Bazaar. There serve a little bit surrounded by Cotton Candy, which you eat in a single bite. It's only $5.00 so if it aint to your taste you're not out much and there are dozens of other outstanding and fun things to eat while you're there.

Another idea for a very similar experience is to have Ankimo (monkfish liver) at a good sushi place. My favorite versions of this are served warm and are done superlatively at Echigo and Sushi Zo.

[burumun]

Hmm I don't think foie gras and ankimo is all that similar ....
there's not so much of the buttery, fatty goodness in ankimo as in a foie gras ... it's closer to a foie gras pate than a seared/sauteed foie gras.

To really "try foie gras" you need to try both. If you can only try one, I'd say go for the non-pate.

[strummerjones]

I agree with burumun. Foie gras (seared/sauteed) is my favorite food in the world (and I do like pate as well), but I can barely choke down monkfish liver.

As to the OP's question, I would second the recommendation below of Chaya Brasserie. If you do venture farther afield, I would choose Patina, which is the best foie gras I've had in LA.

[Bob Brooks]

I wasn't suggesting that ankimo is identical to foie gras, only that the experience of having it is similar. I suspect you have not had the ankimo at Echigo or Sushi Zo. If you do try it, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised in a very foie gras kind of way.

[kevin]

Maybe Bob, becacsue it's warmed up ankimo. I, for one, am not a fan of warmed up ankimo, but that would be closer to a cooked foie gras than pate.

my vote might be for the foie gras at animal, i wish Nouveau Cafe Blanc were still around,t hey made the best darn sauteed foie gras around.

[wilafur]

i dunno about that. ankimo and foie gras are totally different in taste and texture. that being said, i love them both.

[peppermonkey]

the first time I had ankimo at sasabune, it reminded me of foie. Since then, no other version of ankimo was similar.

[soniabegonia]

the best version I've had was at Urasawa - shabu shabu style. It's so fatty and the texture is smoother than silk due to the blanching rather than searing. It was... ummm... (insert word that rhymes with cataclysmic).

[FranklinJefferson]

Organismic? Coseismic? Antiloimic?... Now I won't be able to sleep.

[soniabegonia]

well, at $250 a head (now more like 325), I would want it to be all those things and more - and it was! (tho I don't know what 2 out of 3 mean) :-/

[brez]

was this at Urasawa?

[radman123]

Urasawa is not the way to go for first time foie gras -- i actually can't even remember eating foie gras there so not memorable at all (unfortunately most of the meal was unmemorable for me)

[soniabegonia]

wow really? The first time I had foie gras (can't even remember where) I found it unmemorable and wondered what all the hullabaloo was about. It was a sauteed preparation. The Urasawa foie was so incredibly rich and flavorful - like eating slices of warm butter but even fattier and richer tasting, yet not so greasy feeling afterwards ( not that I make a habit of eating butter slices..) I've only had foie a few times and this was the ONLY memorable version. It was just foie in its purest form.

[ipsedixit]

Go to La Cachette.

www.lacachetterestaurant.com

[martiniman]

Yeah, La Cachette is the only place I can think of in West LA that serves really good foie gras. If it's your first time, get it seared. It's heavenly yumminess.

[burumun]

My favorite is seared foie gras at Providence (yeah not WeHo/West LA, sorry)

If the hi-end places are too much $$ for you, try the seared foie gras with eggplant at Orris!! It's on Sawtelle so should be in the right neighborhood.
my review here: http://gourmetpigs.blogspot.com/2007/...

radman123: meaty butter ... Mmm...

[vinosnob]

In the same hood as Orris, Restaurant 2117 usually has foie...

[mollyomormon]

As does Robata-ya.

[peppermonkey]

I highly second ORRIS for a newbie. It has a sweet (but not too sweet) glaze on it that makes it very easy for a lot of palates, especially those who don't like so rich and fatty. At the same time you can still appreciate the texture and taste the foie.

[radman123]

Spagos was the best I had in LA area (but double check they are still serving Foie Gras)

and when people say foie gras they sometimes are talking about pate version (consitency like chopped liver) -- the pate is pretty basic -- you should really try a piece of whole foie gras seared

taste like meaty butter - yum

[wilafur]

no foie gras at spago anymore.

[brez]

Thanks for the heads up.

[Will Owen]

So I guess I don't want to go there after all. Thanks for the tip.

[Phurstluv]

Any of the hi-end or french restaurants like Ortolan, Grace, Patina, Sona, etc. I realize most of these are not on the westside, but rather closer to mid-city.