Reply #1

and one night we were all taken out to a fancy restaurant on the outskirts of Paris. I ordered a salmon appetizer and our host, Yves-Bernard, told the waiter not to take my order. "Salmon," he said, "you can have anywhere. Tonight you must have something that can only be properly had in France." He then told the waiter to bring me the seared foie gras with a port reduction. I was more than slightly skeptical, but a polite guest does not turn down his host's recommendations.

When the dish, which smelled wonderful, arrived, Yves-Bernard told me to take a small bit of the foie gras and crush it between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. I did as instructed and the top of my head almost blew off. One of the most amazingly delicious things I have ever tasted in my life! Merci, Yves-Bernard!