Eating on the edge

If you're the type to get up in arms over New York City's ban on sous vide or Chicago's outlawing the sale of foie gras, you might want to make a reservation for dinner Thursday at Noé, the swank restaurant at the Omni Houston hotel. That night, chef Robert Gadsby will serve a seven-course "Outlaw Dinner" featuring a variety of ingredients and preparations that have been, or may soon be, banned:

• Morels, mushrooms that tend to grow in the wake of forest fires, the harvesting of which is outlawed in some parks, forests and nature preserves

• Absinthe, the infamous, highly concentrated herbal liquor that used to inspire writers and artists and is illegal in the U.S. because it contains the banned chemical thujone (we assume the version served next week will be thujone-free)

• Hemp seed, a.k.a. future marijuana, which the government nearly resricted as a controlled substance

• Sous vide preparation, which involves preparing food in sealed vacuum bags and can cause botulism spores to grow if it isn't carefully regulated

• Foie gras, the liver of an overfed duck or goose, under attack by animal rights organizations that say force-feeding is cruel

Sure, the items may be taboo, but will they make a good dinner? If you're interested enough (and have an extra $95 per person laying around), go find out. We guess this is a good time for one of those "Don't try this at home" warnings — though given Houstonist's track record in the kitchen, there's not much danger of that.

Outlaw Dinner
7 p.m. Thursday, July 13
@ Noé, Omni Houston, 4 Riverway
Reservations: 713.871.8177