Jessica Lappin Targets Small Businesses…on Wheels

Here is the logic: Getting parking tickets makes your food truck dirty and unhealthy and therefore if you get two tickets in 12 months you lose your vendor license. Say what?

Or at least that is what City Council Member Jessica Lappin (D-Upper East Side) is trying to promote with her new bill before the City Council.

Needless to say the mobile-gourmands took to Twitter and Facebook to fight back against this ill-conceived plan. The boys over at “Schnitzel and Things” put up a petition that attracted hundreds of signatures within a few hours of its publication (I am #27). Nearly every iPhone and Droid on those targeted trucks were a buzzing in the aftermath of the announcements and the people responded to the epicurean call to action.

But Council Member Lappin, my representative to the somewhat lawless body of the New York City Council, has yet to reply to my email or Facebook messages. Granted she is probably busy with the unexpected backlash to this bill, but I would like to know her rationale for this legislation. (I will let all three of you reading this know if she gets back to me.)

What Council Member Lappin is trying to accomplish, besides riding our streets of creative culinary treats and tasty morsels of deep fried goodness, is really beyond me. The cynical side of my political mind says that she is getting pressure from real estate bound restaurants, many of whom would love the viral support of a Wafle & Dinges (haha…dinges) or Rickshaw Dumpling Truck. The restaurant industry, which has been hit so very hard by this recession and employees most of the “aspiring” actors in a town of “aspiring” action, legitimately needs help. But I can’t think of a better way to support local businesses than to change the rules to hurt other small local business. Can you?

New York City would not be the same place if it wasn’t for our diverse and delicious food establishments. There is a reason why New York is the capital of American Food. (Back off LA, you so don’t even come close. Chicago, that is cute but chill out. San Fran, please enjoy your tofu and sit quietly on your organic high horse.) Supporting local industry is an extremely worthwhile goal of local legislation. But this piece of slick, backroom dealings hurts more than it could ever help.

For example, Thomas DeGeest, CEO and Founder of Wafle & Dings (I said dinges again, huhuh) outlines the amount of money the city collects from these mobile business owners. This represents only the parking costs; these numbers are before taxes are collected, before people travel into the city to find these treats and before DeGeest and his other employees spend their hard earned green in New York City establishments:

In my business, Wafels & Dinges, we are relentless and truly obsessive about paying for munimeter receipts and avoiding parking tickets. But sometimes you have a line and you're just 5 minutes late, which is enough to give you a 95% chance on a ticket (thanks to Mr. Bloomberg, who has turned parking tickets into a major revenue source for the city).

We still end up with average 3 tickets per month, but we do pay an average of $36 per day in munimeter receipts (5 days / week, make that $9180 / year). Add the tickets at an average $106 / ea and we pay another $3800 / year in tickets.

I have long been a supporter of the exciting new food trucks and their older, traditional cousins. There are lots of things these guys do, sometimes intentionally and sometimes not, that can get on the nerves of other businesses. But there is no reason to create a specialized parking law that targets these entrepreneurial up-starts.

This is a self-serving law that puts the interests of brick and mortar restaurants before those of a group of newer, faster moving, innovative businesses represented by these trucks. Ms Lappin should be fostering all business in our city and not fixing the books to favor one group over another.

The Vatican makes it too easy

The Financial Times Reports:

Vatican-backed ethical index given baptism

Europe’s first Christian equity index was launched on Monday in response to increasing demand by investors for so-called ethical stocks in the wake of the financial crisis.

The Stoxx Europe Christian Index comprises 533 European companies that only derive revenues from sources approved “according to the values and principles of the Christian religion”...Only groups that do not make money from pornography, weapons, tobacco, birth control and gambling are allowed to be listed.

I mean where do they get off taking about ethics?

Oh yeah, also, isn't that our sector?

Mr. Smith The dcc goes to Washington Albany

A group of Reform Jews from around New York spent yesterday in Albany as a part of the Reform Jewish Voice of New York State's annual Advocacy Day. From the Sages of the Talmud to leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, the Reform Jewish Movement has a long history of and commitment to Social Justice. While I wouldn't put myself in any category with sages or civil rights leaders, I am a member of the Steering Committee of the RJV, so at least I get a cool title.

Over the years we have worked in our congregations and our Nation's Capital to advocate for progress. So yesterday a bunch of us took our message to our State Capital. Joining forces with Interfaith Impact, RJV touched on issues of Marriage Equality, Reproductive Choice, the Role of Good Government and the always imperative pursuit of Economic Justice. You can read about our position papers online.

The event went well and we got to speak with allies, enemies and everyone in between.

But the thing that got my goose was that the New York State budget wasn't finished. Long ago, when RJV was planing this event, we choose not to talk about budgetary issues because the budget should have been done, closed and printed months before our day in the Capital. Oops.

I suppose it makes sense that I love to know how sausages are made, because I feel better knowing how laws are created. However, I don't think I would choose to eat sausage made in the Upper Hudson River Valley at this point.

New York State government is so messed up, I am ashamed to be known as a politically active New Yorker. Not just the scandals (and we sure have plenty of that) but the lack of leadership is just sad. Yesterday, a prominent member of the legislative branch stood up and said that the corruption laws (the weak ass ones on the books) were keeping him from attending evening events, most of which are payed for by lobbyists. He actually told a group of religious activists, that he was not able to connect to his constituents because he couldn't attend black tie dinners bankrolled by special interest groups. And he is one of the good guys!

We need the people who are actually getting stuff done to choose to take a risk. I believe that Senator Liz Krueger (who is my State Senator) could be one of those leaders. I do hope that she continues her active leadership on issues like reproductive rights, marriage equality and economic justice, but perhaps she could also be the leading voice on making Albany work again. In our meeting with her yesterday, her no bullshit attitude was refreshing. While clearly a seasoned politician, she actually believes that the State should work well for the people. Novel as it may be, this point of view should be held by all of our representatives.

I met with lots of people yesterday, all of them nodded and agreed (or looked at me like I was crazy as I asked if their right-wing Republican boss could support marriage equality the next time it comes up for a vote...) Many of the meetings ended with huge thank yous and please come agains but I got to say for the most part, I was just pissed about the budget not being passed.

We were pushing for the promised 10% increase to the basic welfare grant outlined in the 2008-09 FY budget. This clearly was cut and pushed around and made to be the political hot potato we all know welfare can become in an election/economic disaster year. No matter what we said, it always came back to where are we going to find the money. All I know is that without REAL leadership we will won't find the money.

It is disheartening to see such incompetence, but perhaps, just maybe, even a little bit, our work yesterday and our continued efforts in the months and years to come, will start to make a difference in the horrific way our State is run. Maybe we will see true leadership taking risks to make the system work. But if we don't see someone get up and take real risks, we will get no where and we will be stuck.

But rest assured, the RJV and other value based progressives will not stay quiet while Albany sits back and does nothing. As frustrating as it may be, we have a responsibility to speak truth to power. While they might not understand this thing called truth, if you keep at it, after awhile, even New York State politicians may even start to believe it.

Fish Food

As I attempt to reign in my cholesterol, I have taken to eating more fish. The oils are good for you, the meat is tasty and if you do it right it is it can be extremely sustainable. There has been a big rush of crazy fish stories and in honor of my new pesca-intense diet here is a food clip round up:

Carp-et Tariffs
GAVULT! Israel has levied (not like the like Levy’s) a huge and somewhat prohibitive tariff on the import of Asian carp from the US. Why is this a problem, you ask? In that it is spring time, it is almost Passover, and with so many Jews from European roots in the Middle Eastern state, they need to import the gefilte fish for the Seder. (So you know, gefilte is spell checked to guilt) Oy, but don’t worry so much: the fish you have in the back of the fridge will still be fine. (There is an interesting side environmental story as well about the evil Asian carp screwing up the Mississippi River eco-system as well.) NPR

Give me Lox or Give Me Death
A bunch of nutty ultra-Orthodox Rabbis say that Lox is not kosher. In fairness, the less-nutty Orthodox Union has said this is a dumb ruling, but I have never been happier to be a Reform Jew. New York Post UPDATE: The still nutty ultra-Orthodox say the Lox treif issue was a lie, but I am still happy to be a Reform Jew. JTA

Bumble Bee Tuna? Bumble Bee Tuna…
Japan, well known for its less than stellar environmental record thanks to a soft-ball Oscar-award winning documentary about dolphins (when there were many others films about human suffering in places that no one cares about), has let the international community know they can blow it out their collective blow hole (see below) regarding the proposed blue fin tuna fishing ban. Wall Street Journal

The Free Willy Course
A sushi restaurant in LA got nailed by the same people who were upset about killing dolphins in Japan for serving whale. The story is all 007 meets Berkeley tree people and a touch of Radio Shack nerd. Best part of the article is the part about the vegans eating fish and whale and then putting it into their bags. (Haha vegans had to eat fish and whale!) New York Times

Mohamed the Mench

There was about a full foot of snow on the ground by the time I was ready for my ride to arrive to take me to my 7:30 am meeting. Complete with box of 50 presentations and name-tags, I called the car service to see if my ride was outside.

“Oh no sir, it isn’t outside. We are running two hours behind because of the weather.”

“It is 7am and I called for the car for 7am. Do you think you could have let me know it was two hours behind a few minutes ago?” (NOTE: I didn’t say that but I really wanted to let it rip.)

So, I make a dash for the door, lugging easily 40 pounds of paper, in a clean suit and shined shoes. I run outside into the snow and start doing the time tested New Yorker Cab Dance. Related to other ritualistic dances, the Cab Dance includes jumping with one hand in the air while leaning as far into the street as possible, uttering words phrases like, “PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE,” and following it up with statements about the cabby’s mother when the cab does not stop.

By the time three cab drivers look at me, flip on their “Off Duty” lights and drive on it is getting to the point where the blood pressure is heading towards stroke-ville and my face looks something out of a Tim Burton movie.

Then finally, a Limo-style SUV pulls up and asks me where I am heading.

I tell him and ask how much.

“I can’t take you there but I can get you to the subway,” said the driver.

I reply with many thank yous in rapid succession, the traditional end of the ritualized New Yorker Cab Dance, and ask again about the cost of the trip.

Mohamed “Mo” Mahdy, driver and general good guy, ignores my ask again to tell me that he is waiting for his boss to be done with a meeting and he just needs to be in the neighborhood, so he can take me to the subway. Then he drops some serious wisdom on me:

“When you see your fellow human beings dying in the streets, you know you have to help other people out when you can.”

What do you say to something like this? I was standing shin deep in snow, with a heavy box, cursing passing cars and he stops and gives me a lift to 77th and Lex and shares what could possibly be the essences of every religion and cultural norm in the world: Be good to the people around you if you can, because life can be short and cruel.

We talked for the trip. I got out at the subway and took the train getting there in time for the 7:30 meeting. I sent him a thank you note and mentioned that I would let my office, family and friends know that if they ever needed a car service to pick them up for an airport run or meeting or anything else that they should get in touch with him.

I am sure he doesn’t know the impact he had on me personally and my day, but it was a profound experience at 7:10 am on that snowy Friday morning. There are good people all around us and we all have the power to be good; my friend Mo proved that by giving me a ride to the subway, saving my sanity, my presentations and my shoes. But I suppose, as he said, you know you have to help out when you can.

Mohamed Mahdy
Certified Professional Chauffeur
Times Limo
mo@timestransportation.com
917.337.4173 or 917.415.5847

Tall Latte, No Whip and a Side of Smith and Wesson

I support the people who say the Second Amendment gives them the right to carry guns. I really do. Law abiding citizens should be permitted to exercise their rights as outlined by the Constitution and the subsequent Amendments to said document.

Granted, there need to be limits. I can’t really see much of a need for a Howitzer in say, anywhere in the United States, but a hand gun use for legitimate protection purposes, while not for me and I believe counterproductive to the goal of safety, makes some sense.

Now…how does said gun protect you without bullets?

There seem to be some crazies out in California (shocking I know) who think they should be tucking their pistols into their belts before going out for a day of errands and lunch with the girls (but really most like the boys). The law states that one can carry an unregistered weapon as long as it isn’t loaded. So as these activists go out on the town, they make sure to grab the keys (to get into the car or back home), their cell phone (complete with batteries), sunglasses (with tinted glass) and their gun (without the active ingredient of bullets…).

AP is reporting that Peet’s Coffee and California Pizza Kitchen have banned the gun toting activists, you know so they don’t get shot by mistake…cause that can happen, even without bullets. Starbucks, described by the non-biased University of Mississippi political science professor, John Bruce as “a special target [of the activism] because it’s from the hippie West Coast, and a lot of dedicated consumers who pay $4 for coffee have expectations that Starbucks would ban guns …and here they aren’t,” didn’t ban the gun activists. They are sticking with, we are going to follow the law and keep our safety measures up.

I understand activism, trying to get media attention and doing things that may seem like pushing the envelope to prove your point…but this is stupid.

Come on California! Don’t let people carry unlicensed fire arms, you need the revenue. Call for all guns to be registered. You make people do that with cars, boats, pets and electricians, you would think that guns could also get checked in by the state. Put the money you get from that registration drive to emergency room doctors, because the longer these wackos walk around with their “unloaded” guns in their pants the more visits we are going to see to the state’s over run ERs.

The Los Angeles Times' Entertainment Section

Well done LA Times for calling it like it is:


While it is clear that this particular article was placed in this particular section for the content of the piece, it is pretty clear to me that the editors of the Times did this with a smile on their faces.

So on this President's Day, I leave you with this: These so-called presidential candidates are the jesters in the court of our nation's real leaders.

Omnivore Faces Hypocrisy

All of the dilemmas aside, I am an omnivore. I love eating all sorts of stuff; from the finest meats to the cheapest offal, from complex French baked goods to fruit from the garden and even “fruit” from the candy store, I eat it all.

And I don’t intend to stop.

But after my yearly physical I learned that my once stable and very good cholesterol numbers were not what they once were and something had to change. I do work out (a little less than I tell my doctor I work out) and I do tend to eat a balanced diet (albeit more than I should of most items.) This less-than-stellar news comes on the heels of my dismay regarding the lack of affordable, social conscience meat products in my local grocery stores. Chicken from organic, free range and other make-you-feel-better labeled farms they have; forget about cows, lambs or other fun little barnyard creatures for your dinner plate.

So now I am faced with a big dilemma. Tell me what to do Michael Pollan!

Ok, fine, I know what to do.

Moving forward, I will not eat meat during the work week and will enjoy limited amounts of meat on weekends and special occasions.

I have just started and have been doing alright, but I know it is going to be difficult if not somewhat hypocritical. I have long made fun of the vegetarian lifestyle and find the flexetarian movement to be somewhat silly. I guess, as a foodie, my food choices have also supported a lifestyle. Religious food restrictions support religious movements. So what is different about these flexetarians or veggies?

I suppose the world that is controlled by crazy restrictions (read: Kosher wine) or diminished by lack-luster substitutions (read: veggie burgers) doesn’t really speak to me as a person or as an eater. But what about all those people who say their lives are better without meat? (Clearly they haven’t had the seared Foie Gras on pan toasted brioche, with mango ginger chutney, Persian pistachios & bee pollen at Alta.)

Now that is a perfect transition to the issues at hand, thanks Alta you are great for so many things! So I have the high cholesterol and I also want to eat more sustainably and consciously. The no meat during the week seems like an easy solution, not taking away everything always but most of it most the time and thus leading a healthier and more sustainable life.

I think I will miss the meat in the next few weeks but now I intend to enjoy my hypocrisy and path to better health.

This Just In: The News

H/T davidAMwilensky

Something Just Doesn't Smell Right

In case you missed it, a plane traveling to Kentucky had to make an emergency landing in Philly because a Jewish teenager put on his t'fillin and the flight attendant freaked out thinking it was a bomb...no joke. T'fillin are known as "phylacteries" in English. Just keep that in mind when you watch the clip.

Here is the captainChief Inspector of the Philadelphia police's report from AP:

Those olfactories are something we all have to watch out for but when they aren't running or stuffed up odds are things will turn out ok with your flight, captainChief Inspector of the Philadelphia police.

(H/T: Mobius)

Interesting Food Links

Politics of Food Trucks:
Do you dig on the epicurean roach coaches but not the Halal stand? You will wait for 2 hours for a kimchie Kogi taco but wouldn’t be caught dead eating two tacos carnitas con salsa from the truck near the day laborers? Read this article about the issues facing food truckers in the LA area. Salon

Frozen Fruit:
While it might be a good way to get some vitamin C in the dead of winter, having it freeze on the trees in Florida is bad for the trees and the industry. That is being addressed but what about the people who pick the fruit? Take a look behind the groves and see what is happening to those who put food on your table. The Atlantic

Krazy for Kosher Food:
So people think Kosher food is better for them. Boy I hope they don’t have the hypertension! The Times reports that millions of non-Jewish Americans are now “keeping Kosher” because it is perceived as better. New York Times

Hide the Salami:
The WSJ reports that the jack-ass undies boomber is going to make it harder for chefs to sneak good tube meats into the country. One more reason to hate that guy! Wall Street Journal

Zig Coyotes!

I wrote a post over at Jewschool about a situation that took place at my high school; please check it out.

A Great Song about a Great Salad

First you take parsley from your sister
Chop it up like hand of shoplifter...

(Now get that out of you head)

Bing Bong

So Bing was supposed to be better than Google…not so much. They are supposed to bring you better, more pertinent information. Again not so much.

This ad kind of says it all:

Follow tweets from these two politicians and this crazy actor, Bing makes it easier.

Way to be Bing.

I mean really? William Shatner and Obama? I guess Schwarzenegger brings it together but still...Shatner?

The White House, Food Network and Trendy Food Culture

I wrote a piece about the trendiness of “new American cuisine” and its sustainability movement. And last night, the Food Network supported my trendiness-thesis with a two hour special complete with “Super Chefs” that even anti-epicureans would recognize. Chef Emeril Lagasse teamed up with Iron Chef Marrio Batali to take on White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford and Iron Chef Bobby “The Ego” Flay.

As promised, it was the culinary event of a lifetime.


Eh, but it was fun TV and the food looked pretty fantastic. For a blow-by-blow, I suggest reading another blog. However, to ease your suspense I can let you know that the President, the First Lady and the world’s most important people will be eating from the kitchen of a champion. (Like that was a big surprise.) The only thing I will say about the content of the show is that this two hour special about local food, sustainable production and healthful eating didn’t provide Americans with an attainable way to engage in local, sustainable or healthful eating.

Most people don’t have a garden that can produce 1,000 pounds of food -- forget the army of people needed to tend to such a small scale farm. Most people don’t have the knowledge to use watermelon radishes or that crazy looking cauliflower-broccoli thing that Batali used in his unearthly mega-ravioli. Most people also don’t have the skills to create those kinds of food.

But beyond all the simple things that make Iron Chef a fun TV show and not an educational program, the food that was presented last night was really not all that local, sustainable or healthful.

Sure the veggies were produced locally in relation to the White House, but not to Kitchen Stadium where they were consumed. The meat may have been grown on a sustainable farm within 100 miles of New York City (home of Iron Chef America) but odds are a good deal of that meat isn’t even close to affordable for most Americans and therefore not sustanable for thier budgets. The use of the deep fryer makes me question the overall healthfulness of the meals produced. No question: even the fried oysters with remoulade created by Lagasse are a better choice than a Big Mac, but they were still battered, fried and dipped in a fatty sauce.

The end result was a pretty meal that could not be reproduced in a home kitchen by a home cook. However, if Iron Chef America stops using secret ingredients that have to travel thousands of miles to Kitchen Stadium, incorporates more diverse vegetables into its pantry and cooks with health and taste in mind, then maybe this popular cooking competition will have some sort of an impact. If not, then the culinary event of a lifetime was just another episode of a TV show trying to keep up with the trends it claims to set.

Until well made and carefully crafted food becomes just what is done in this country, we will continue to see the negative impacts of our current fast-mass-produced food culture wracking our society. I don’t pretend to eat only organics or local food. I know I could, but it is really difficult and cost a ton of money. It is a choice and that is one of many that I make, with my wife, on how to consume our food thoughtfully. That is really the core issue with the lackluster American food culture and this “battle” of “Super Chefs” did very little to address this part of the problem.

We do buy so-called cage free eggs, feed with organic vegetarian meal. I know that just means a small door at the end of a huge coop is opened a few hours a day to "allow" the chickens to go outside. And chickens aren’t really vegetarians, so that is another problem. But that extra money is worth spending most of the time because the eggs taste and cook much better. The same is true with organic chicken. Do we buy organic milk? Yup, when it is available at our finicky market. But sometimes we need milk and they aren’t carrying the organic half-gallons. And sometimes you really want an orange; organic or not, those suckers aren’t growing in the 100 mile radius of Kitchen Stadium in January.

The change in US food culture will take place when we start thinking about our food more. I do not believe the answer is the Alice Waters local-or-nothing approach or the White House uber-garden method. People need to think when they buy produce or meat or dried goods (and they should try to buy these items more often than the stuff that comes already made (which we also buy, but less and less of it)) where it comes from, how it is made and if they are alright with the story they get.

Does your farm fresh milk support the exploitation of workers? Possibly. Do your organic, cage-free eggs come from truly free chickens? Most likely not. Does sneaking veggies into a kid’s meal really help her expand her growing palette and lead to smart eating choices later in life? I don’t know, but I would doubt it. Where any of these kinds of questions raised on Iron Chef America last night? No, they were not.

It is great that people want to eat better. It is also fantastic that organizations and the entertainment industry are talking about healthful and local food. But it is just trendy and it will not create real change in the American food culture unless the conversation is about a process towards a better eating culture and not just a buzz word infused two hour TV special, no matter how good the sweet potatoes from the White House garden taste in that ravioli.