Russell Jackson Laments "I Have Closed Lafitte"

Today Russell Jackson calls in to confirm the sad truth that his two-year-old Embarcadero restaurant, Lafitte, served its last meal on Sunday night. Jackson says the cause for closure was largely financial, and he has a buyer. Once the landlord approves, a final sale will be made. Since Lafitte opened in April of 2010 it became "more than a restaurant" for Jackson, it was a platform for his causes, including his continuing fight against the impending foie gras ban and for Michael Bauer's approval, which he felt was granted with a rise from 1.5 stars to a 2 star ranking on Bastille Day of last year.

Advances aside, the overhead of running a restaurant on the Embarcadero won out: "In the end it was barely about food," says Jackson. "I barely got to touch food. I became a high level administrator."

His plan now is to "have fun again." Jackson's cult-followed SubCulture Dining will launch in late spring or early summer in New York. Jackson will also honor all of his planned future "FU Foie Gras" dinners at a TBA location, and—now that he's unencumbered by the restaurant—his fans can expect even more of them. In other words, Lafitte's ship has sunk but the pirate lives on.

· All Lafitte Coverage [~ ESF ~]