Butterworth’s thumbs its nose at DC’s proposed foie gras ban

Welcome to Thursday’s edition of Washington Secrets. Last night, we stopped by Butterworth’s for a taste of the debate about banning foie gras in the nation’s capital. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Plus, who was the White House staffer hit by a golf ball?The Waldorf salad mixes bitter leaves with sweet, crisp apples, all topped with a mound of foie gras snow, the duck liver frozen so that it could be shaved into fronds to add a rich depth to the dish.Next comes the soup. This time, the foie gras is blended into the smoky chestnut foam of the Soup Jean-Louis Palladin, invented by the chef who introduced Washington to nouvelle cuisine during his time at the Watergate Hotel. This is all part of Bart Hutchins’s way of making an argument. His “Foie Gras At The End Of The World” tasting menu at Butterworth’s on Capitol Hill is not just designed to showcase his passion for nose-to-tail cooking. It is meant to make Washington think again about a ballot initiative to ban foie gras entirely.“When approaching a political issue, I always want to be the person who’s having the most fun,” he told Secrets in between courses in the busy dining room. “And I think this is part of it, right? It’s cheeky. We have a Twinkie on the menu. Let’s have a good time.”More about the Twinkie later.Ballot Initiative 86 (geddit?) goes before voters on Tuesday. It would ban the buttery duck and goose liver product from D.C. menus and stores starting in July 2027.The city is one of the biggest markets for foie gras in the nation. So although none is actually produced in the district, national campaigns have added Washington to a list of cities where they are pushing ballot initiatives.Pro-Animal Future D.C. says the practice of force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers is cruel.“The process makes birds so diseased and sick that many can barely walk or stand, as they become too heavy for their legs to hold them,” it says.Hutchins, who has become the closest to a philosopher-chef in the city, sees it differently.“The biology of a duck has evolved such that it can swallow whole scaly fish in the wild,” he says. “They also sort of foie gras themselves in the wild to prepare for winter.” Flyer and Menu from Butterworth’s Foie Gras-themed evening (Rob Crilly/Washington Examiner) Humans have made foie gras for millennia. Banning it should take more than a lopsided ballot initiative, he adds.He is a natural on this side of the debate. Butterworth’s has become famous as a haunt for the D.C. MAGA crowd. And Hutchins’s writings, mixing hedonism with libertarianism, have appeared in the Washington Post and elsewhere.But other chefs have weighed in alongside him.Jose Andres, whose views hew more progressive, asked what meats will be banned after duck liver.“I’ve been through this in California…..just lets concentrate on things that matter…..cars with children are being shot by ICE, immigrants working in farms and restaurants being deported many with Green Cards and even citizens…so many other issues,” he posted last week.Hutchins sees Andres as a natural ally. If they come for foie gras, he points out, then you can bet octopus, known for its sensitive, complex nervous system, will be next on the list.“And he serves a lot of that,” he adds.Ultimately, and there is no room on the menu for this, Hutchins’s position is Kantian. We don’t owe a direct moral duty to animals; the duty is indirect, based on what our treatment of animals does to us.“I’ve seen the way that people who work on factory farms are beaten down and downtrodden and don’t feel good about themselves,” he explains. “And I’ve seen people who work on far-growth farms who are in tune with nature, who are living a very good life.”His menu is designed not just to poke the “liberal scolds” but to raise money for restaurants who could face fines of $5,000 if the ban goes into effect.Across the room, a table is toasting his campaign soccer-style with cries of: “Olé, olé, olé, olé … foie gras, foie gras.”A third course of duck breast in a velvety foie gras-enriched sauce arrives with a glass of plummy Ormiale, a natural wine from just outside Bordeaux.And then comes the eclair-like Twinkie: puff pastry filled with foie gras cream alongside a scoop of foie gras ice cream and all dotted with maraschino cranberries.Who knew that campaigning could taste so good? And that is the point, according to Hutchins.“I think the story of politics for most of my life is that the scolds lose and the people who are having fun win,” he says.You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, whom you can reach at [email protected] with your comments, story tips, and suggestions.Golf course violence Donald Trump has a new reason for pressing ahead with his overhaul of East Potomac Golf Links and a new argument for judges who get in his way with their pesky insistence that he abides by the law.This morning, he told U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes that he will hold her personally responsible if anyone dies on what he described as a “highly dangerous” golf course. She, you will remember, ordered that his team must give 10 days’ notice before any irreversible modifications, after hundreds of trees were felled.Trump made his case in the form of a Truth Social filing:“East Potomac Golf Course is highly dangerous, dilapidated, and absolutely disgusting. Below are new photos of the deplorable conditions of the driving range building, including excrement in the stairwell. The gaping holes in the driving range’s ‘protective’ netting are highly hazardous. Golf balls soar through the holes at high speed and hit unexpecting Golfers—including a White House staffer who was, sadly, hit violently in the chest.”So … who was it? If you were the staffer hit in the chest, Secrets would love to hear from you.But what on earth were you doing not playing at a Trump course?Lunchtime reading The Trump aide trying to stop a blue wave: James Blair left the White House earlier this year to spearhead midterm election strategy. And he will certainly take the blame if it goes even worse than expected.How Bolsonaro fled Brazil: decoys, a private jet and a friend in the White House: Flávio Bolsonaro’s well-connected younger brother Eduardo worked with a small group including Trump adviser Jason Miller to secure a charter jet to take him to Florida.