It's too bad that blogs don't come with sound tracks, because if they did, you'd be hearing a round of applause right now for Michael Tuohy and Hank Shaw.
Tuohy, Grange's executive chef, and Shaw, a food writer and blogger, cooked themselves into a fowl frenzy this afternoon in a duck competition held at the downtown restaurant.
There were duck gizzards, duck heart, duck liver, duck breast. It was a duck love fest. And darn it, it was delicious.
The show stopper, for me was Tuohy's warm duck rillette, served alongside a persimmon and pomegranate salad. While rillette is usually served at room temperature, forming a pate-like paste, this one was served gloriously warm. It was all I could do not to like the crockery in which it was served.
Shaw's final dish, a duck breast served alongside perfectly cooked apples, also was a showstopper.
Who won? It remains a bit of a mystery. I voted for Tuohy, as did fellow judge and colleague Rick Kushman. Grocer Darrell Corti and California Waterfowl Association President Bob McLandress declared it a tie.
The winner will be announced on this evening's special prix-fixe menu at Grange, as well as in Kushman's Good Life column on Wednesday.
I'll update this posting when I learn the outcome.
In the meantime, congratulations Chef Tuohy and Hank - it was a beautiful, delicious meal.
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