Fighting fire with fire is too easy. No, as the Japanese martial art aikido teaches, it is far more masterful to use your opponent’s own energy to gain control of them. Scott Staples has done exactly that at his restaurant Quinn’s, turning an uncomfortable situation into a positive one for the restaurant. NARN (the Northwest Animal Rights Network), which has been picketing–and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say aggressively–outside of Jonathan Sundstrom’s Lark for months, has now set its sights on Quinn’s. “Two Fridays ago they started picketing us. They wanted to talk to us, but I know how things went with Jonathan. Why should I talk with them if they’re going to picket us anyway?” said Staples. In live and let live fashion, Staples has started “Foie Gras Friday” at Quinn’s. The restaurant will donate 10% of every sale of foie gras to NARN. Even NARN was skeptical, but Staples had a nice conversation with the leader last Friday, reaffirming his intentions. Scott said, “We mailed them a check last Saturday, and the one before.” So far, the checks have gone uncashed.