Devotay
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Posts posted by Devotay
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Of course you are correct, though it is difficult to not look at something like this without a cynical eye. There is no doubt in my mind that they are doing what they are doing because they see profit in it. Of course, that is a wonderful thing if this approach is now considered potentially profitable by big companies so long as they don't co-opt and ultimately distort the result.
That's the trick, isn't it?
We must use the tools available, and capitalism is certainly one of those tools.
If the goal is sustainability, then one aspect of that must be financial sustainability. Therefore any model for a new food system we put forward must be able to support itself as a business model as well as in quality & environmental terms.
Say what you will about the big conglomerates (and I certainly have), but they sure know how to run a profitable business. Well, the folk in my camp know a lot about high-quality, highly nutritious, sustainable, delicious food. This is not a one way street. We have lots to teach them, and they just might have a thing or two to teach us.
Doc, I'm as big a cynic as the next guy. But if we slap'em down everytime they do something that's a little bit right, then they'll never do anything that's totally right. So I say we tell'em "nice job, now do more."
Cuz if they see no support, they'll stop. Their one prime directive (sorry to show my geek side here) is that of the Ferngi - "Where is the profit in it?" Thus we must show them the profit.
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Devotay, I'm curious. Why do you think Slow Food and Chef's Collaborative would feel threatened or resentful? To my mind, we should all be pulling in the same direction.
I'm not saying that as movements they would or should. I am saying that many activists, both within and without these very worthwhile organizations will tend to have knee-jerk reactions when WalMart or Burger King or McDonalds or Monsanto actually do something "right" - something we have been pushing them to do. For many, their reaction is to instantaneously mistrust and deny any maneuver such entities make, so that even if they were to reform, were to have a true change of heart, those who react in this manner would refuse to see it, in a perverse retelling of the boy who cried wolf.
TAPrice is asking roughly the same questions above as I am. We cannot ask these institutions to change their ways and then scoff when they do, even if it is only a partial effort. No revolution has ever happened easily, nor overnight.
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Yes, it's a miniscule step, but it is a step in the right direction.
As a vocal food activist, my goal and the goal of the organizations I represent is nothing less than a revolution in the food system. We cannot expect to succeeed at this without the support, or at least the acquiesence, of the major global food monopolies.
I am not a WalMart shopper or a Burger King fan. But when they do something right, we should acknowledge it, be appreciative, and then press them to do more.
The fact that WalMart is buying/selling organic food, while their system is flawed, is better than not doing so at all because it is bringing the idea of sustainable food to the masses (even if imperfectly). Chipotle buys its pork from Niman Ranch - that's a good thing. BK is trying to get in on the movement too, and that's fine.
I won't allow them to take credit for things they're not really doing, and I will push them to do it fully, rather than mere token gestures, but if the big corporations are starting to play our game, movements such as Slow Food and Chef's Collaborative should not feel threatened. Instead we should say, "Thanks, welcome to a better way, let's move forward together. Here are some ways you can do more."
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I first discovered this story through my friends at the sympatico (but unrealated) to Edible City blog called EdibleNation. The original post is at the WorldChanging.com archives
What is Edible City about? It's about the fact that very few city dwellers or suburbanites would be able to locate the factory where the milk from the cow ends up in a carton. And who knows the whereabouts of the abattoir where the cow ends its days? Where are our vegetables auctioned, washed, sliced and packaged?Practically everything to do with the production and processing of food takes place out of our sight. The whole chain of action preceding the supermarket or the dinner table is often thousands of kilometers in length: haricots verts from Kenya, wine from Chili and lamb from New Zealand. Dutch pigs are processed into Parma ham in Italy and then sold back the country as an Italian product. I recently read of a company's plans to ship prawns from Scotland, where they are caught, on a 12,000-mile, nine-week round trip to Thailand, where they would be hand-peeled by workers earning 25p an hour. They would then be shipped back to British supermarket and sold as premium “Scottish Island” scampi. Our daily food supply too has become a globalized affair.
The story continues about a sort of utopian museum to what food production could be. Some of it a wonderful idea, some of it frightening, all of it fascinating.
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The winter can be a challenge for "locavores" in the northern climes. Here in Iowa we handled our first winter issue by talking about a lot of meat.
Just to keep everyone up to date:
Edible Atlanta and Edible Rhody just launched, and these edibles are due to arrive later this year:
Seattle
Piedmont
Memphis
Shasta-Butte
Hawaiian Islands
Jersey
Austin
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I was just wondering if there's been any thought given to the idea of an annual "Best of Edible Communites" publication featuring articles selected from among all the regional magazines?
SB (would buy one)
Don't think so, though there has been occasional talk of a cookbook. I'll send your idea up the chain. Meanwhile, the best of our stuff can often be found at the Edible Blog - EdibleNation.com
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Ontario's Golden Horseshoe (which includes Toronto) is definitely ripe for a magazine which will celebrate its bounty. I'm confident that it will be very well received.
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Note to moderators: How 'bout if someone were to consolidate all of these into one list?
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Good for you, FG. Happy to hear that Edible is getting a foothold in the Great White North.
I just came from shooting a launch in Memphis, had a great time. Hopefully when you get ready for your launch, I'll get to come shoot there too.
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Launched just a few short months ago by Bruce Cole of Saute Wednesday fame (<<now archived at that link), EdibleNation.com has beome a rich and diverse source of information about the sustainable cuisine movement.
Using self-generated content as well as that from the 26 (and more to come) Edible magazines around the country, as well as good photos and the obligatory RSS feed, Cole has built a great clearing house of info for anyone interested in any aspect of the sustainable food world.
Hope you'll drop by and tell him I sent you!
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I'm very proud to announce that Edible Communities has just been named a finalist for the IACP Award of Excellence in the Consumer Educations and Communication Materials category, which
Recognizes excellence of materials created and printed during 2006 by or for a corporate, small business or cooking school members.
See the announcement and all the other nominees for this prestigious award here.
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For what it's worth, my wife Kim and I own and operate our restaurant, although she works primarily in the FOH and I in the kitchen.
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My quick, cut-n-paste Des Moines List
Star Bar
Village Bean
Continental – East Village
Gong Fu Tea
De Colores
Tandoor – 72nd St
India Star
Marianna’s
La Rosa – 23rd & Forrest
Mars Café
El Halal
The Varsity
25th St Café
43
African Cookery
Jay Benjamin’s
Tumea & Sons
Java Joe’s – Mike Cappola
The Lift & Vaudeville Muse – 4th St –
Barratta’s – South Side
Highland Park Neighborhood
Chuck’s
Chicago Dog & Deli
Flying Mango
Sage
The Bake Shop – 70th & University
Stams
Café de Scala – Sherman Hill Neighborhood – Anthony
A Dong - Awsome Vietnamese
Thai Flavors – E. 14th & University
Racoon River Brewery
Mosaix
Court Ave Brewing
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Gumbies was a classic late night delivery option for us college students after a night out on the town...mmmm pocky sticks (bread covered in cheese, with dipping sauces of garlic butter, ranch, marinara and a cheese sauce)
.. and pizza delivery boxes the size of a football field!!
The Pizza is much better at:
Pagliai's
Sam's
Wig & Pen
Old Capitol Brewing
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It's also a function of time. Chicago has been a city for 150 years. Prospect Heights, what? Maybe 50?
I know that when I lived in Schaumburg as a kid the population there was 19,000 and it was hell-and-gone from Chicago. Now it's a nearby suburb with about 120,000 people. There's been no time to establish any cultural or neighborhood identity that would foster a culinary tradition, thus the monied chains have filled the vacuum.
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The rates vary widely. Since each magazine is individually and locally owned, each sets its own rates. My rates are lower, but mine is also a smaller market. I did research with other publications in the area and priced our ads competitively. I can only assume Alex did the same.
Thus far, our advertisers have been thrilled with the magazine's quality and with the response they've been getting. I'm sure that the same will be true for Edible Rhody when their first issue hits the stands in April.
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And thank you. Yep, Linn Street is right next door, we share a front entrance. In fact, I was the EC there until I left 10 years ago to open Devotay.
As for the website thing, yes, the battle continues with the guy in Austria who snatched it up. We're working with google to fix it.
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Said to say, Golden Ridge has folded. A Google search turned up this:
Business news and notesTuesday, January 23, 2007
Ames cheese plant halts operations
DES MOINES -- An Amish cheese plant in northeast Iowa has halted operations amid production problems and member complaints that the plant was using electricity and other modern technology to make the cheese.
The Golden Ridge Cheese Cooperative in Cresco stopped accepting milk from its Old Order Amish farmers and stopped making cheese several months ago, said Dan Gingerich, a co-op board member and an Old Order Amish dairy producer.
He said debt and religious disputes contributed to the decision to close. He said the Old Order Amish -- who shun modern conveniences such as automobiles and electricity -- were unhappy with how the plant was run.
He also cited "quality problems" with the cheese that has caused the co-op to lose about $1 million. It was not immediately clear what quality issues needed to be addressed or what caused them.
Cryin' shame. I never had any quality issues with them, and had written about them extensively in an effort to support them. I sure hope they find a way to start making that amazing Harmony Blue again, somehwere, somehow...
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I'll avoid my obvious preference for one local restaurant
I don't need to avoid talking about it.
In fact, I'd like to know more.When I use Google, I find an address that appears to be for a restaurant:
Devotay Inc
117 N Linn St
Iowa City, IA 52245
(319) 354-1001
However, when I click on the link, I find a website about online cooking classes. Assuming Devotay is indeed a restaurant at this location, is there a website where I can find more information about it (menus, etc)?
Yeah, I had a nasty little episode last fall where my original domain name was snatched out from under me while I was in Europe and unable to monitor what was going on.
The real (new) address is www.Devotay.NET (not dot com).
There is also another really good Iowa City thread, recently revived, right here..
We're pretty proud of our humble little place (though I hope we get a chance to win Brad back in our door one day
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I, personally, was obsessed with Pancheros...think Subway but not subs...rather burridos. You choose your fillings including meat/protein and fillers.....they make the tortilla right before your eyes....ball of dough, pressed flat, thrown on grill, 20 seconds or so per side....and voila! MMMMM
The best genuine Mexican in Iowa City is now La Reyna, on Keokuk St. It's a bodega with a little dining room on the side, and they serve chicken tacos and tamales that I've considered selling my children for.
Other stuff worthy of note is:
the chicken samosas at Aladdin out on the strip
The fried pickles and ALL the beers at Old Capitol on Gilbert
Panini at Guidos (also on Gilbert)
And I just enjoyed a nice Indian buffet lunch at Exotic India, hidden behind the (repulsive) Taco John's in C'Ville.
Also hidden back there is my friend Soleil's quirky, self titled place. Delicious Afro-Carribean food.
Bochner Chocolates - True hi-end European-style chocolates. produced on the south side, but readily available at their retail place (again out on the C'Ville Strip), and also at Prairie Table
And speaking of Prairie Table, it is a truly great gourmet shop with wonderful cheeses, a small but good wine selection, great sandwiches and a fine array of cooking classes to boot.
A little farther afield there's redhead in Solon, doing great things with local ingredients, and the classy Italian bistro Cafe Dodici in Washington.
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Thanks for the kind words, and glad you enjoyed it.
The Edible communities around the country are currently working on setting up a package deal, in which one could get a discount by subscribing to more than 1 (4 is the working number right now). Will let you know if/when it comes to pass.
Oh, and "beeves" was new to me, too. I was surprised to discover that it is indeed correct!
Thanks again!
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Forgot to mention, along highway 1 north of Iowa City (and on the most diret route to Madison) are Redhead, in Solon, and Lincoln Cafe in Mt Vernon.
Kim at Redhead is doing creative stuff with local ingredients.
Matt at Lincoln Cafe is perhaps the area's best chef, with 3 years as sous to Ben Barker at Magnolia Grill in Raleigh-Durham under his belt. Matt too is a great "locavore"
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Like those above I dunno what you're looking for, but in Iowa City I can confidently make these recs:
pagliais: unique, tasty pizza
Thai Flavors: outstanding food, though service can be spotty
La Reyna: The best chicken tacos on the planet, and killer tamales too, when they have 'em
Motley Cow: an up-and-comer with great "new american" food and a loyal following
Soleil's: A quirky place with great African and Carribean cuisine
Old capitol Brewworks: Top-notch beers, good burgers and pizza, and addictive fried pickles
India Cafe: Best Indian in town and a cheap lunch buffet
Jimmy Jacks: real good BBQ
Oyama: freshest, most creative sushi
Oh, and a little place called Devotay that I have a admitted bias for
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Thanks, we like it too. Vogue has cover girls, we have cover pigs. It is Iowa, after all.
By the by, don;t think I mentioned, I got the rice. Thanks a bunch! Your first issue should arrive Friday or so.
In our next issue (May) we'll be announcing a pie recipe contest in honor of RAGBRAI (the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Rida Across Iowa). Lance Armstrong is coming again this year. I'm not gonna try to keep up with him, but I am hoping to get a picture of him eating pie for the August issue.
The ethical purchasing topic
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
Yep, or at least, that's what he said. he also acknowledged that it didn't work.
I am not in the camp of those who still hold a grudge against him for that. In fact I never did. I (or any of us) probably could have told him it wouldn't work, if only for the obvious too-much-too-soon reasons, but I like that he ran into that brick wall full speed, like he left a Rick Bayless-shaped hole in it the wall.
We continue to make progress though, we dreamers, underground revolutionaries coming to the surface, we happy few. I think Slow Food Nation will do much to raise awareness as well, taking us another step down the path.