Back of the House

Chefs Tortured by Possible Foie Gras Ban; De Niro Versus Trans Fat

• In New Jersey, where a big distributor of foie gras is based, a legislator proposes banning the delicacy. Anthony Bourdain ain’t gonna take it: “It’s like beating up on Julia Child.” [AP]

• “Some day a real rain will come and wash all the trans fats off the streets”? Bloomberg attempts to rope Robert De Niro into the debate. [Newsday]

• Alain Ducasse moves to the former Lespinasse space in the St. Regis hotel and plans decanters modeled after Louis Vuitton trunks. [NYT]

• Ruth Reichl: Coming to a multiplex near you. [NYP]

• The new face of caviar: scannable sturgeons and fish biopsies. [NYT]

• Starbucks rips off the Egg McMuffin. [Dow Jones]

• Greenpoint’s Café Grumpy rents its back room out to hipstervangelists. [NYDN]

Del Posto, Craftsteak, and Buddakan called out as the principal hells of the meatpacking district: “The assholes are eating assholes. The cocks are eating coxcombs.” [Gawker]

Chefs Tortured by Possible Foie Gras Ban; De Niro Versus Trans Fat