Foie Gras

The June 13 commentary, "Examine the facts in debate over foie gras," from the industry's public relations group, Artisan Farmers Alliance, could hardly have been more misleading. If Nicolas Maduros, its executive director, truly wanted to "examine the facts," he would acknowledge that the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare, an independent council providing expert scientific analysis to the European Commission, found that the liver condition of force-fed birds is pathologic and force-feeding is "detrimental to the welfare of the birds.

Exalting violence Thank you for Steven Rea's excellent critic's notebook item Sunday, "When gory movies are torture to watch. " As a medic with the Marines in Vietnam, I treated the wounded and dying. Having confronted the deadly consequences of war, I understood the need to confound violence by working for peace. After 9/11, I naively assumed that our nation, having suffered an act of unconscionable evil, would turn away from the violence that permeates our society. Instead we have exalted violence.

Isn't it ironic that in the city that is the birthplace of American liberty, some want to take away an individual's right to decide what he or she can eat? A radical vegan group has been protesting at local Philadelphia restaurants, trying to strong-arm chefs into removing the delicacy foie gras from their menus. Some misinformed citizens have even suggested that the city ought to outlaw the sale of the product, as if there were not better ways for the elected leaders of the city to spend their time and your tax dollars.

To chef David Ansill, foie gras is rich, silky liver, the perfect topping for his signature dish at his Queen Village restaurant. To animal-rights activist Nick Cooney, foie gras (pronounced "fwah GRAH") represents the freakishly engorged liver of a brutally force-fed duck or goose. So Cooney and about a dozen fellow placard-wielding protesters have gathered twice a week in front of Ansill and other Philadelphia restaurants that serve foie gas. Their goal is a foie-gras-free city.

AUTHOR TERRY McMillan is suing her former husband, alleging that he tried to smear her reputation during their highly publicized 2005 divorce. She seeks $40 million, so she thinks she had some reputation. McMillan, 55, filed the complaint Wednesday in a Contra Costa, Calif., court against Jonathan Plummer, 32, who inspired her best-selling 1996 novel, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back. " The book, adapted into a hit movie starring Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs, told the story of a 40-something woman who falls for a guy half her age. The suit says Plummer, a Jamaica native, wed McMillan in 1998 for U.S. citizenship.

Turn away, dear reader, if your constitution is meek. If your stomach trips queasily at the prospect of an unusual meal, beware the words that follow. And I'm not talking about sushi, or even a creamy slice of foie gras. I'm talking about the kinds of sundry morsels that send shivers down most American spines. This is no tall Halloween tale. This is about finding parts on a plate you thought you'd never touch, but are just waiting out there for the seeking. It's the kind of food that watches you back.

WELCOME TO Philadelphia. Our Daily News features the "reprehensible" behavior of congressmen - but only the behavior of congressmen from far-away states. And even then, it helps that sex is involved and, of course, that the offender is a Republican. Did I mention yet that we're a smoke-free city? Yep - just sneaked that one in there. Even though no one in City Hall knows what the regulations actually say, or how to enforce them, or even bothered to notify affected business owners.

Mangoes are said to be the world's most popular fruit, yet many Americans bypass this tropical treasure at the produce counter. For some, it's an unknown quantity; a risk not taken. For others, it's too much trouble to deal with the clinging pit and sometimes fibrous flesh. But the results are well worth the trouble, especially this time of year, when mangoes are in season and exploding with the sweetness of the tropics. That's why local chefs are finding more and more ways to work mangoes into their menus, in dishes both sweet and savory.