Again, I've been thinking about taking the plunge and becoming a member-owner at the Lexington Co-op. I've debated this for as long as I've shopped there, which started about 8 years ago at the old location on Lexington.

I miss that old, tiny, funky store some days. I've almost forgotten what the corner of Elmwood and Lancaster used to looked like prior to the new construction. In the end though, I think the move was great not just for the Co-op but for the neighborhood as a whole. That was a corner that was effectively dead, and if you look at it now people would probably not believe it.

I have some reservations about what exactly it is I'm getting for my $80. The purpose of the money is obvious - it is a direct contribution to the operating budget, amongst other things. The Co-op used to give a flat 2% discount at the register, which they did away with January 1 in lieu of a new program of dividends and member specific discounts. The dividends are given in "profitable years." By their own admission the Co-op has been profitable only about 25% of the time - I'm not confident at all the business is being run profitably because it's easily illustrated that it hasn't been. Maybe the new store will help that over time, but what's the point in trumpeting a dividend program when it's an open question whether or not the business is actually being run like a business?

They give member-only discounts on around 25 basics, including milk and eggs. Ok, fair enough. On their website they characterize it as "every day low prices" on these items - why not give us specifics on that?

I have a problem with substituting a direct, clearly understood benefit for a nebulous benefit. They sell it as being a great program but I'm not a sucker - business plans illustrated as if they were drawn on a paper napkin are not impressive to me.



I feel like I've just looked at a diagram of quack ecoscience applied to a business model. In the end, I think the major thing the Co-op is relying upon is a sense of altruism from the people who become member-owners. A commitment to the community, so to speak. Sorry, but that's not good enough for me. Is shopping at Wegman's any less of a commitment to the community, based on how they run their business? I or anybody else could take that $80 and put it towards a CSA and achieve the same sense of self-righteousness, but actually see a tangible, realistic benefit. With the 2% dividend, you knew that if you spent a certain amount of money at the store that your initial investment in the store would be recouped. There is no such guarantee with the new plan, and they characterize it as an improvement. As they say in England, do me a favor...

Anybody have experience being a member-owner and care to share for me how you felt about it?

Perhaps you've heard of this already. For those of you who have not, Sacha Baron Cohen has one question - "Hey Eminem, how does my ass taste?"



I love this picture. Eminem looks like he's short of breath. What's wrong, bud?

Read more about it here - you'll see some pictures and a video of the stunt.

How gay is Bruno? I think this character has the potential to be even more outrageous than Borat.

The thing about Baron Cohen, which they do point out, is that typically his characters victimize unsuspecting individuals who are not in on the joke. As it turns out, the joke was on all of the celebrities in attendance - Eminem was in on it, complete with a full dress rehearsal.

One of the most iconic Depression-era constructions, the Golden Gate Bridge, turns 72 today. SF Chronicle posted some pictures from many eras of its life -

Paid for at the time with a bond issue, as well as tolls (ostensibly for interest payments - the interest was paid off 38 years ago, but the tolls remain). Another Depression-era construction that is world famous - Rockefeller Center. Paid for entirely by John D. Rockefeller! Still in private hands as well.

Happy birthday to the most beautiful bridge on earth!

For (e:heidi) and anyone else that is curious -

The place is on the corner of Auburn and West, deep on the west side. This is what you're looking for:



This is facing the West St. side. West is a southbound one way street - you can take Lafayette and go down that way to Auburn, or do what I did, which was to take Auburn and drive the wrong way 20 ft (purely accidental, I assure you) and park in the first available spot near the corner.

This is how it works - basically, when you walk in you'll have some steel grate between you and the cashier, on the right. You pick up your food, and the food is then slotted through a locked Plexiglas window to you. I could see some white bread types being intimidated by this process - if that is you, order delivery because the west side will probably freak you out to begin with. What you'll miss, however, is some really friendly people. The guy in there was great and I'll be back in person many times.

The food: we ordered a lot because we wanted to give people a reasonable sample of the menu. We ordered two entrees and two sides, which quickly grew to include two desserts. I never order desserts when I eat outside of home, but I had to try the flan. They insisted I try the bread pudding as well and hooked me up with that.

For starters, the rolled tacos with salsa, guacamole and sour cream ($2.25).



Hot, crispy, awesome. These are stuffed with beef - they had beef and pizza to choose from... we had the beef. The salsa and guac - oh my god, fantastic. I have to say, this is a nice little side.

Next - a beef pastelillo ($1.75).



Typical - these are on hand and warm when you arrive. It is what it is - quick and cheap fried pocket filled with beef. Not bad, not spectacular.

Next - my entree. Pernil (roast pork) with red beans and rice and fried plantains ($7.95).



I love roast pork - this was succulent without being fatty, had the qualities of roast pork that I enjoy (different textures that ultimately affect the flavor). The plantains came with a dipping sauce which I can't describe perfectly, other than to say it is very much like a remoulade. I love beans like this - as it should be, swimming in the sauce with onions, spices, etc.

Jay's meal - pollo asado (roast chicken) with the same sides I had ($7.95).



A quarter of roast chicken with red beans and rice and fried plantains. Jason struggles with sauces and dressings so he ate the plantains as they were. He loved everything else - in my opinion (and perhaps Jason agrees with me) roasting is the second most perfect method of cooking, behind barbecue.

Desserts - I got talked into it, but I haven't had flan since I was in DR ($2.15).



The custard was as it should be - perfect texture. Loved the flavor. My only nitpick was that I wish the caramel sauce was a little thicker and richer.

And finally - the bread pudding ($1.75).



I might like this better than the flan - definite deeper caramel flavor, with a little denser texture. Caramel and raisin goodness - a nice surprise. Thanks Carmen's!

For me, definitely worth a second visit. They have other items on the menu that are traditional and interesting, including sandwiches (roast pork sandwich!), stews, a couple things I haven't heard of before. The Mexican side of the menu will be familiar to many - I wanted to concentrate more on the Puerto Rican side of things. What I'm most curious about on the Mexican side are the tacos and the burritos.

I've blogged about this before on a couple of occasions and I'm bringing it up again this year, as it is about time for the local CSAs to be cranking out their bounty to the locals.

For a primer or two on what CSA is all about:
Wiki - Local Harvest CSA basics -

I don't know why more people don't do this, particularly you guys and gals that I know in New York and San Francisco (I do suspect CSA is a way of life in the Bay Area), or anyone else who lives in a large urban area without easy access to farm stands. Farmers markets are a great option (any city I visit, this is the first thing I want to know about), but there are a few important advantages to a CSA that I'd like to highlight, or rehighlight if you checked out those links:

a) with a CSA you'll get a better deal over the course of the season compared to retail - beautiful, organically grown produce on the cheap;

b) with a CSA, you're establishing a direct link with a local farmer and you'll know exactly where your food is coming from and under what conditions it is being grown/raised;

c) you are getting food for your money, but what you are really doing is giving these farmers seed money for their yearly operation - you are directly helping to sustain a local farm. To me that's a beautiful thing. They encourage you to go help on the farm as well, which if possible can yield a discount on your share price. I see another benefit to this - to get off of the city block, away from the racket and get out to the land, clean up your soul a bit. It can't hurt if you lead a stressful life and you'd get to know the people growing your food.

I could go on a rant about how I believe that upstate NY should be the east coast's version of the Bay Area in terms of local, seasonable, ethical, sustainable production of food. I'm a true believer - I'm a dreamer in the sense that I think all organic farmers in upstate NY should band together, push, expand and market this concept to the entire eastern seaboard. I'm talking about a new kind of agro-industrial complex whereby the conglomerate isn't an assembly of small numbers of massive farms, but massive numbers of small farms; independent but linked together with marketing efforts, shared information, a shared belief system, common goals - a brotherhood of sorts.

I'm a believer in producing food organically, with an important caveat. If it can be done without the hormones, without the pesticides, without the nasty stuff - it should be done that way. The nice thing is that over the past 5 years organic produce has gotten cheaper, but here is my big caveat with organic food that frustrates me - the basics, milk and eggs, are oppressively expensive. This is a fundamental failure of the movement. Getting together with a CSA can solve this problem (somewhat, anyway) but not all CSAs deal with dairy, poultry and beef.

I'm going to keep my eyes out for alternatives and post about them, if you really want those fresh farm eggs and hormone-free milk. Keep in mind - you can already buy milk and eggs that are practically organic but the farm simply haven't paid the thousands of dollars to the government for the privilege of being certified. (Newer farms starting up and trying to do things the right way often fall prey to this - cash is short and they put the money into the farm, not the bureaucrats). Screw the government - with a little research you can find these products that are "practically" organic, and they'll be cheaper. A local farm near my hometown of Jamestown sells such eggs (naturally raised, free range, chemical-free, etc.) for $2 a dozen. Who doesn't love the charm of a box of multi-colored eggs like that?