The activists who've taken pictures of sick birds, he says, have documented the exception rather than the rule.
"You have funeral homes in your community, right? If I take a picture of a dead body and say that's life in your community, that's true, right? Those images are very carefully selected to represent the whole of a foie gras farm."
Ross said he plans to visit Hudson Valley soon. Maybe over spring break.
Meanwhile, Baltimore food enthusiasts are coming to Salt's defense. In fact, they'll celebrate foie gras there at a dinner on Thursday - four deluxe courses, starting with sugar cane skewered foie gras and closing with the famous (or infamous) beef slider with foie gras.
Lars Rusins, who founded Baltimore Foodies, said his group's dinner, which will cost about $100 a person, sold out in 48 hours. As it is, the party of 20 will take up about half the restaurant.
"I have no problem consuming the product - none at all," said Rusins, who calls foie gras "silky" and "fun on the taste buds."
Though Salt and Kali's Court are holding firm, Ross says he's shown a number of area restaurants the error of their ways. In the ranks of the converted he lists Timothy Dean Bistro, The Brass Elephant and Birches.
"The Brass Elephant is starting the new year right with a heaping helping of compassion," the Baltimore Animal Rights Coalition Web site declares. "Chef Andrew should be applauded for setting yet another example of incorporating compassion on the menu."
Chef Andrew Maggitti, however, says he agreed to stop serving foie gras only because he offered it as a New Year's Eve special in the first place - served with both a beet and apple salad and in a soup with a white truffle foam. He's not convinced of any cruelty.
"I'm not sure if it hurts the bird. I don't know," he said. "I don't know if they're gasping and crying. Just that we're in the restaurant business. We're in the business of making people happy. If there was a big enough protest outside my front door I might take it off the menu, just to not ruffle any feathers, no pun intended."
jill.rosen@baltsun.com
