Never mind that it was illegal for less than two years, and never mind that it has now been legal, again, for one year. Foie gras still deserves it day -- or week -- dammit.

Chef Didier Durand, one of the more outspoken critics of the city's ban on foie gras, is the chief architect of the first ever Foie Gras Week, which runs Thursday through June 16 (Why Thursday, you wonder? June 11 is the date when the repeal of the ban was official.)

Seven restaurants, including Cyrano's, Durand's River North bistro, will offer $10 foie gras specials during this time.

At Cyrano's, diners will have five such specials to pick from, including a foie gras terrine with artichoke confit and pan-seared foie gras with grilled asparagus, poached duck egg and a balsamic glaze.

Durand says foie gras producers are even discounting their goods for him and his fellow chefs participating in the liver fest.

Besides the fact that foie gras is, as he say, "part of my blood," the irrepressible Frenchman feels strongly about making sure people don't forget about the ban. (He is trying to start a foie gras museum and has dibs on the domain names foiegrasmuseum.com and foiegrasmuseumusa.com.)

"I've worked on a total of three years to get that ban repealed, sending e-mails, sending letters sometimes going to court, sometimes going to their offices at night," says Durand, who plans on holding Foie Gras Week annually and even going national with it.

"We just don't want to have any other food being banned," he says.

Participating restaurants also include: Cafe Bernard, 2100 N. Halsted; Cafe Matou, 1846 N. Milwaukee; Carlos', 429 Temple Ave., Highland Park; David Burke's Primehouse, 616 N. Rush; Hemmingway's Bistro, 211 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park; and May Street Market, 1132 W. Grand.