CHICAGO Hot Doug's, a quick-service restaurant known for gourmet hog dogs, has received Chicago's first fine for selling foie gras, which the City Council outlawed last year. The Chicago Department of Public Health fined owner Doug Sohn $250 for the first-time offense, following a warning it issued several months ago. Sohn had advertised his hot dog garnished with foie gras on his website and on a menu board.
The health department issued eight other warning letters to separate restaurants last December but has not fined any of them. The City Council passed the ban over Mayor Richard Daley's veto. A health department spokesman told the Chicago Tribune that enforcing the foie gras ban is one of the department's lowest priorities. A coalition of local chefs and restaurateurs is working to try to get the ban overturned.
