Underground sous vide in New York

Sous vide is apparently currently not permitted in New York while the Health Dep't. figures out how to regulate it. In the middle of a fine meal this past weekend (at a great place recommended by GAF), I was served a highly unusual short rib. The meat was melt in your mouth tender, but the fat was all there. The marbling was so heavy it was about 70/30 meat to fat. It was similar to eating the most luscious piece of toro. The first time I asked the waiter if it was sous vide he just said it was cooked at a low temperature for 48 hours. The second time, the waiter coyly said with a smile that the chef has been known to cook sous vide, but that, in case I was a health inspector, he would not agree that this meat was.

Perhaps this is the future of fois gras in Chicago.

Jonah

I read about this a while back when the NYT first wrote about it, but I have to say I did not follow up with the story. I'm curious, what has the reaction been in the restaurant and food communities in New York? Was it similar to the foie ban or less so because it's, theoretically, only temporary?

Sous vide is sufficiently esoteric that there hasn't been much controversy that I have heard. And supposedly the ban is not yet permanent.