the never ending story

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2010-04-14/news/the-humane-society-and-big-agriculture-slug-it-out-over-animal-rights/

I read this article in the tangible paper and was interested because I never really put 2 and 2 together.  On one side of the debate you have the Humane Society which is big on animal rights and the ideas that animals deserve the same rights as humans, basically.  On the other side of the fence, there is anyone who makes their money through the death of animals.  So, while the Humane Society is the richest charity organization for animals, the ranchers and independent farmers who have been using livestock as their income and food source for generations, are now under the gun.  

While I think that my cat should be fed when it is hungry and for me to not hit or injure it, at the same time, I went and paid for her to have her front claws removed, because I have had two children grow up with my cat and didn't want her scratching them on purpose or acciadent.  Animal people can't tell me otherwise, it happens.  The moment a cat person says that cats don't scratch, they get scratched.  Animal people are against de-clawing, because it harms the cats.  Well, me going to the dentist for a root canal gives me as much or more pain, so does that mean the dentists should not do root canals?

Anyways, my personal rant is similar to the farm vs. wild fishing reasons.  In that battle, it has been shown time and time again that the healthiest fish is wild fish.  The farm fish sometimes tend to have a higher mercury content in them so while it may seem healthy, it actually hurts you in the long run: like Tylenol.  But, the animal rights people argue that you should not eat and kill the animals in their natural habitat.  So, a question never poised to them: you or them?  Would an animal rights person give up their life and health for an animal, even as small as a fish?  So, if you stop wild fishing, then you let go of hundreds of thousands of jobs around the US and most likely many times more all over the world.  So, the animal rights protester may seem all high and mighty, but that on person is partially responsible for having people lose their jobs.

So, Humane Society against farmers, ranchers and chefs: what happens on either front?  Well, if everyone continues and the Humane Society just deals with it, then people can eat, make money and be happy.  However, if the Humane Society wins, then ranchers, farmers, and even chefs and their restaurants will go out of business.  When the animal rights people don't understand, is that water trickles downhill (you can think of something else that always goes downhill, but I made this a PG blog). Ranchers are not allowed to kill cattle, so all meat places close, so there goes 99.999% of the restaurants out there.  Wow, that will not hinder the economy any...  

What about the more likely approach: which is that there are restrictions that have to be done for each pound of beef.  So, those restrictions mean that more time and money has to go into every pound.  This will mean that the ranchers will charge more, so restaurants charge more, and the 99 cents hamburger at mcdonalds, which has some soy in it somewhere, most likely, now will cost $1 or more, and have even more soy in it to help offset the costs.  White Castle hamburgers, which is made of beef pieces, will go up to almost a $1 each and NO ONE will buy any, as I can remember in as little as ten years ago, they used to be 36 cents each and now they are 48 cents each.  What about your favorite steak house? The 6 ounce $10 steak will not be $15, the 16 ounce steak will now be $50 and if you want anything more, you can't afford it.

On behalf of the farmers and ranchers and chefs like me, buy meat and don't give in to the animal rights mumbo jumbo.  I don't want to eat a salad every day for the rest of my life.

st. louis culinary landmarks?

I normally go online, like so many other people, for my news. The days of waiting at home and reading the day's paper, when most of the day is finished as you sit on the couch at home in the early evening, is long gone. Why would I wait all day for the day's news when I can go online and find it?

Anyways, Bill writes a good article for stltoday here about the history of a st. louis steakhouse, starting in 1925 and still going on but slowly. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/billmcclellan/story/862DD682F0CA808A86257428001362AE?OpenDocument#tp_newCommentAnchor

The story is being interpreted by some as a sign that the chains are taking over and the single independent restaurant is dying but that is not the case. The real reason why places like this is dying is because of two things: price & location.

In this story, Al's, a high-end steakhouse, seems to be going out-of-business as less people are eating there. But as the author of the article shares, $38 for a steak and $35 for a cut of veal is a bit pricey. I have only paid that much for meat, once in my life and that was at Emeril's restaurant Del Monico's in Las Vegas. Probably with the same type of insides, at the Las Vagas place, my wife and I were greeted by the head waiter, who then sat us to a table where we were attacked by a clan of waiters and bussers, taking glasses and dishes away while unfolding our napkins and pulling our chairs out and so much more. That experience was way more than we have had and it was especially great because we were there during our honeymoon. I'm not a big carnivore, but I paid the $40 for a steak and a few sides as well. Al's is suggested that including the steak and veal, salads, sides and drinks, brings a total bill to $155!

I have eaten in some nice places: Del Monico's, Mesa Grill, Pearl and Chez Leon, and at none of those places did my wife and I end up paying more than $125! So, having a place in STL, of all places, charge that much for food, has to be a great place with the type of steak that is so tender that you can eat it with a straw. Money is a big issue when people want to eat and when they think about other things that they can get for the same amount, they turn away. So, if Gordon Ramsay was going to show up and help this place, he likely would suggest that they lower their prices. I don't feel sorry for this restaurant as it is not an issue of a local place competing and losing but an issue of a local place charging more than its competitors and dying. When places compete, they normally lower their prices in an attempt to get people in and in this case, it looks like Al's has been raising their prices.

Location is equally as important. There was a great restaurant off of Kingshighway called Space. I had never eaten there but the sign off of the bridge pointed down in a 1950's space style. From what I have heard and read about, the place was adorned with loud colors and old radios and other electronics. The location may have been prime, 50 years ago or so, but now it is only accessible from taking the back roads and you have to drive under the bridge, that is known as Kingshighway. When the bridge was built, who said "you know, let's not move somewhere else but stay right here"? It has always been so out of the way to get to that we never have and now it is out of business and closed down for good. I heard that it good food and now think we may have missed on a hidden gem, but eh, that's life.

In Al's case, where it was once by working and usable warehouses and businesses, those places have left or been unusable now and instead of moving to another location, Al's can still be found surrounded by warehouses and in a Gotham style looking area of downtown.

My thoughts: if you are keeping your prices high to hold out for the st. louis elite and you are fighting to stay open, maybe those elite really don't care about your store and you should lower prices. Moving to a location that has people may help as well. Now, if you want to stay there, like everything else in stl, if you wait long enough, someone may take one of those warehouses and make something of it. If I had the money, I would turn one of those warehouses into reasonable prices apartments and a store and make downtown a center again, but most STL elite like having downtown as a slum.