I always know that I am home, when the N (elevated) train is pulling into the last and final stop on Ditmars Blvd, and you see the Golden Arches of McDonald’s. When the train comes to a complete stop and the train doors open, then begins the rush of people getting off the train and running down the two flights of stairs to the street level, periodically moving to the side for pedestrians making their way up the stairs to board train. When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you are faced with floor to ceiling glass doors with gold m’s running across the middle. Outside the restaurant are groups of highschool kids in uniform, talking, laughing, singing, listening to there ipod's. They must go to the neighboring highschool, St.John's Prep, and stopped for a quick snack to eat before getting on the train. I walk toward the restaurant and I pull the heavy glass door open for me and the eight people who followed me in. I have now entered McDonalds.
After entering the restaurant, I begin to walk up the aisle. The aisle is surrounded entirely by tables; to my left is a group of elderly gentlemen sitting together enjoying nice friendly chatter, steaming coffee and little delicious apple pies. I continue to walk and I begin to hear the sound of children laughing and playing in the distance. I approach the end of the aisle and go straight up to the cashier. She then asks me what I would like to order, and with no hesitation, I ask for the number two. The number two consists of two cheese burgers, fries, and a diet coke. She asks me if I would like my order to be supersized, and I say no. As I am waiting I begin to see happy little children coming into the restaurant with birthday presents. As I am following them with my eyes I realize the stairs to the basement of the restaurant are roped off with pink balloons, and the distant laughter that I had heard was coming from a little girl’s birthday in the party room downstairs. A few moments later the cashier tells me that my order is up. I take my brown paper bag, with big red McDonald’s logos on it, and my empty soda cup. I walk to the right hand side of the restaurant where they keep their soda dispensers. I fill up my soda, no ice beacuse it takes up to much room, dump out the extra soda fuzz, fasten the lid and I walk down the aisle to the exit. I push the big glass heavy door open and I head home.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
My McDonald's
I always know that I am home, when the N (elevated) train is pulling into the last and final stop on Ditmars Blvd and you see the Golden Arches of McDonald’s. When the train stops and those doors open, then begins the rush of people getting off the train and then running down the two flights of stairs, periodically moving to the side for pedestrians making their way up the stairs to board train. When you get to the bottom of the stairs, you are faced with floor to ceiling glass doors with gold m’s running across the middle. I pull the heavy glass door open for me and the eight people who followed me in, I walk down the aisle. The aisle is surrounded entirely by tables; to my left is a group of elderly gentlemen sitting together enjoying nice friendly chatter, coffee and little apple pies. I continue to walk and I begin to hear the sound of children laughing in the distance, I get to the end of the aisle where the cashier is. I order the number two, which consists of two cheese burgers, fries, and a diet coke. They ask me if I would like my order to be supersized, I say no. As I am waiting I begin to see little children coming into the restaurant with birthday presents. As I am following them with my eyes I realize the stairs to the basement are roped off with pink balloons and the distant laughter I heard was coming from a little girl’s birthday in the party room downstairs. The cashier tells me that my order is up. I take my brown paper bag with big red McDonald’s logos on it, and my empty soda cup. I walk to the right hand side of the restaurant; this is where they keep their soda dispensers. I fill up my soda, dump out the extra fuzz, fasten the lid and I continue down the aisle push the big glass heavy door open and I head home.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
To Be a King Crab or a King Crab fisherman that is the question?
Last night before bed I got caught up in a reality show called Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. So far I have learned the day and the life of a chicken grower, a turkey inseminator, and farmers who tend to big companies distributing, beef, pork, and veal. When talking and taking into consideration cruelty to animals, fish very rarely comes to mind, and in this incidence the crabs that are being sort out arent the only ones that leave hurt or dead. So I thought it was important to share a few facts with you about what I learned.
Fishing for King Crab is carried out during the winter months off the coast of Alaska, also fishing is done off of Russia and international waters. The fishing season is very short lasting only from October to January. Being a King Crab Fisherman is a very dangerous job. The fatality rate is 90 times that of the average worker and on average one fisherman dies weekly during season. Because you are out fishing in the Bering Sea, the water is rough and freezing, most deaths are caused by hypothermia and drowning. Also fisherman encounter very crippling injuries from dealing with heavy machinery. The pots that they use as traps to catch the crabs weigh between 600 and 800 pounds, if this falls on you are your clothing gets stuck on it while you are trying to throw it over board who can get yourself seriously hurt. The pots lie at the bottom of the sea filled with herring or codfish as bait, for two to three days waiting to catch the red, blue, or golden king crabs. When the pot is bought on board, the fisherman sort through it and the crabs that do not meet the criteria are thrown back. The remaining live crabs are stored in tanks on the boat until it reaches shore. If the weather is too cold on boat, the crab freezes and bursts open. Also if left in tank to long the crabs become cannibolistic and kill one another. When a crab dies it releases toxins that can kill up to ten surrounding crabs and potentionally ruin the fishermans whole catch costing them nothing or ten to thousands of dollars. Since the seasons are so short, the fishermen try to catch as much as possible to make enough money to last them the whole rest of the year.
The King Crabs that are then brought to shore and sold don't have an easy road either. King Crabs are mostly bought by companies that prepare them for you. If you happen to buy a live crab the appropriate ways of killing them are as follows. You are to boil the crab in water for twenty minutes, and you hear the crab screaming as it is getting lowered into the boiling water. Another method is putting the crab in fresh water for thirty minutes or until it drowns. The third method is turning the crab on the back with the legs facing upward, towards the back of the shell there is a flap and under this flap an opening, you are to stick a sharp screw driver up to the other end of the shell and then flip the crab back over and let it drain out. All three of these methods are completely awful, and although in cooking recipes they mention this as being the best and least painful ways of killing the crabs, I think that drowning and boiling to death do not come pain free.
So to go back to my question what is better to be a King Crab or King Crab fisherman? I really do not know, it is a very dangerous job with very little benefits, and there is a great risk of coming back empty handed, so is putting yourself in all that danger worth it? and is it right to put the crabs in dangerous conditions to be brought to shore and then tortured? I know that I will definately think twice before ordering fresh crab again.
Fishing for King Crab is carried out during the winter months off the coast of Alaska, also fishing is done off of Russia and international waters. The fishing season is very short lasting only from October to January. Being a King Crab Fisherman is a very dangerous job. The fatality rate is 90 times that of the average worker and on average one fisherman dies weekly during season. Because you are out fishing in the Bering Sea, the water is rough and freezing, most deaths are caused by hypothermia and drowning. Also fisherman encounter very crippling injuries from dealing with heavy machinery. The pots that they use as traps to catch the crabs weigh between 600 and 800 pounds, if this falls on you are your clothing gets stuck on it while you are trying to throw it over board who can get yourself seriously hurt. The pots lie at the bottom of the sea filled with herring or codfish as bait, for two to three days waiting to catch the red, blue, or golden king crabs. When the pot is bought on board, the fisherman sort through it and the crabs that do not meet the criteria are thrown back. The remaining live crabs are stored in tanks on the boat until it reaches shore. If the weather is too cold on boat, the crab freezes and bursts open. Also if left in tank to long the crabs become cannibolistic and kill one another. When a crab dies it releases toxins that can kill up to ten surrounding crabs and potentionally ruin the fishermans whole catch costing them nothing or ten to thousands of dollars. Since the seasons are so short, the fishermen try to catch as much as possible to make enough money to last them the whole rest of the year.
The King Crabs that are then brought to shore and sold don't have an easy road either. King Crabs are mostly bought by companies that prepare them for you. If you happen to buy a live crab the appropriate ways of killing them are as follows. You are to boil the crab in water for twenty minutes, and you hear the crab screaming as it is getting lowered into the boiling water. Another method is putting the crab in fresh water for thirty minutes or until it drowns. The third method is turning the crab on the back with the legs facing upward, towards the back of the shell there is a flap and under this flap an opening, you are to stick a sharp screw driver up to the other end of the shell and then flip the crab back over and let it drain out. All three of these methods are completely awful, and although in cooking recipes they mention this as being the best and least painful ways of killing the crabs, I think that drowning and boiling to death do not come pain free.
So to go back to my question what is better to be a King Crab or King Crab fisherman? I really do not know, it is a very dangerous job with very little benefits, and there is a great risk of coming back empty handed, so is putting yourself in all that danger worth it? and is it right to put the crabs in dangerous conditions to be brought to shore and then tortured? I know that I will definately think twice before ordering fresh crab again.
Is Shake Shack Fast Food?
Hello Everyone,
In class on Tuesday we had an in depth conversation on what we consider to be fast food, why we love fast food, and where we can usually find fast food. Shake Shack is a hamburger joint that quickly swept the borough of Manhattan and now has opened it's first location in Queens, located in Citifield. Making it a total of four locations in New York, with more to come. But is Shake Shack fast food? I had the opportunity to eat Shake Shack last night while I watched a Met game at Citifield. Although the burgers are pre-made, you will never stand in a line for less then twenty minutes. I actually know people who work across the street and spent there whole half hour lunch break waiting for one of these burgers. But it is definately worth the wait. The burgers at Shake Shack are regular hamburgers, with lettuce, tomato, and you have the choice of adding cheese or not. Also on the menu they have cheese fries, regular fries, hot dogs, and many options of milk shakes, but aside from that the menu is very limited and consumers usually walk out with just a hamburger and a shake.
I would'nt consider Shake Shack fast food because there burgers taste fresher. The burgers arent as big as one you might get from a restaurant for relatively the same price, but it also is not a small freezer burnt processed hamburger that is heated up for your enjoyment. The burgers at Shake Shack are juicy patties, made up of chop meat. There isn't much mystery to there meat, because it tastes like something you can very well make for yourself in your own kitchen. Will it one day be all over, and have drive through's on highways and rest stops? Who's to say? I am just happy that it started here in New York City and I had the opportunity to enjoy it before if falls victim to the fast food monopoly.
In class on Tuesday we had an in depth conversation on what we consider to be fast food, why we love fast food, and where we can usually find fast food. Shake Shack is a hamburger joint that quickly swept the borough of Manhattan and now has opened it's first location in Queens, located in Citifield. Making it a total of four locations in New York, with more to come. But is Shake Shack fast food? I had the opportunity to eat Shake Shack last night while I watched a Met game at Citifield. Although the burgers are pre-made, you will never stand in a line for less then twenty minutes. I actually know people who work across the street and spent there whole half hour lunch break waiting for one of these burgers. But it is definately worth the wait. The burgers at Shake Shack are regular hamburgers, with lettuce, tomato, and you have the choice of adding cheese or not. Also on the menu they have cheese fries, regular fries, hot dogs, and many options of milk shakes, but aside from that the menu is very limited and consumers usually walk out with just a hamburger and a shake.
I would'nt consider Shake Shack fast food because there burgers taste fresher. The burgers arent as big as one you might get from a restaurant for relatively the same price, but it also is not a small freezer burnt processed hamburger that is heated up for your enjoyment. The burgers at Shake Shack are juicy patties, made up of chop meat. There isn't much mystery to there meat, because it tastes like something you can very well make for yourself in your own kitchen. Will it one day be all over, and have drive through's on highways and rest stops? Who's to say? I am just happy that it started here in New York City and I had the opportunity to enjoy it before if falls victim to the fast food monopoly.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Welcome to my blog
Hello everyone,
My name is Mary and I am enrolled in ENG103- Research Methods and The Ethics of Food at LaGuardia Community College. I am excited about what I will be learning in this course because I never gave much thought as to what I was eating before. I live with my parents so I very rarely cook for myself, but when I do it is mostly frozen dishes that I can heat up in the microwave, or I will eat left overs from the night before. If i am really hungry and there is no dinner I will usually order out. When I do order out I still try to eat on the healthier side so I will get a salad with grilled chicken, soup, or dishes that tend to have a lot of vegetables in it. I do go grocery shopping with my mother, and it is at Best Yet and Keyfood, which are regular super markets where you can basically find whatever it is that you are looking for. Aside from the regular groceries my parents buy, I will buy yogurts and nutrigrain bars to have for healthy snacks and as a treat at night time I like to munch on chocolate chip teddy grahams. I do not know that much about the food that my parents buy except for the fact that it is boxed and the meat comes pre-cut and packaged ready for cooking.
My dad does most of the cooking in my house, and he makes hamburgers. hotdogs. pasta with salad/ or vegetables, chicken cutlets, porkchops, and on the weekends we tend to eat bigger meals. On Fridays we order pizza, Saturdays is typically fend for yourself day because everyone has there own plans and nobody is around, and on Sunday is my mom's turn to cook and she will make a turkey, with all the fixings, or she will make a loin of pork, or roast beef. In my house we do not venture out form the normal and the meals tend to repeat themselves a lot.
I believe that taking this course with give me a better understanding as to what I am eating and where it is coming from and hopefully not change my mind about food to much.
My name is Mary and I am enrolled in ENG103- Research Methods and The Ethics of Food at LaGuardia Community College. I am excited about what I will be learning in this course because I never gave much thought as to what I was eating before. I live with my parents so I very rarely cook for myself, but when I do it is mostly frozen dishes that I can heat up in the microwave, or I will eat left overs from the night before. If i am really hungry and there is no dinner I will usually order out. When I do order out I still try to eat on the healthier side so I will get a salad with grilled chicken, soup, or dishes that tend to have a lot of vegetables in it. I do go grocery shopping with my mother, and it is at Best Yet and Keyfood, which are regular super markets where you can basically find whatever it is that you are looking for. Aside from the regular groceries my parents buy, I will buy yogurts and nutrigrain bars to have for healthy snacks and as a treat at night time I like to munch on chocolate chip teddy grahams. I do not know that much about the food that my parents buy except for the fact that it is boxed and the meat comes pre-cut and packaged ready for cooking.
My dad does most of the cooking in my house, and he makes hamburgers. hotdogs. pasta with salad/ or vegetables, chicken cutlets, porkchops, and on the weekends we tend to eat bigger meals. On Fridays we order pizza, Saturdays is typically fend for yourself day because everyone has there own plans and nobody is around, and on Sunday is my mom's turn to cook and she will make a turkey, with all the fixings, or she will make a loin of pork, or roast beef. In my house we do not venture out form the normal and the meals tend to repeat themselves a lot.
I believe that taking this course with give me a better understanding as to what I am eating and where it is coming from and hopefully not change my mind about food to much.
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