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An Intregal Link in Sustainable Cuisine

If you've rather not think about where your food comes from, you may want to stop reading now.

Dana Bowen at the Times writes about the process of getting that grass-fed, corn-finished Black Angus from the farm in Massachusettes to your table in a Chelsea restaurant. It turns out the shipping and butchering must be carefully managed...

“A lot of small slaughterhouses are sloppy,” Ms. Small said. It’s not uncommon, distributors say, for porterhouses to come back as hamburger meat or for oxtails to fall off the back of the truck. That is why Ms. Small and Fleisher’s covet slaughterhouses like Hilltown Pork, a small family-run operation near Pittsfield, Mass., that works with a longtime country butcher, Ted Johnson.

Because Fleisher’s, like most butcher shops, isn’t federally inspected, the Applestones can’t butcher meat destined for restaurants. So they work with Mr. Johnson, who took them under his wing when they were learning to butcher, dividing carcasses into manageable cuts, known as subprimals, and giving chefs a crash course in butchering at their restaurants.

“If you want to be a part of this sustainable agriculture and local livestock, you’ve got to learn how,” said Dona Abramson, chef of the Bright Food Shop in Chelsea, uneasily carving a four-foot-long shoulder clod into flatiron steaks as Mr. Applestone watched.

Warrior Flow Yoga: Body + Mind Workout at Divine Fitness

The Daily News looks at gyms that cater to the mind as well as the body. The space at Divine Fitness is either terribly gimmicky or quite wonderful...

The 2,500-square-foot space was specially constructed out of Chinese bamboo for the in-house shifu, or shaolin master, who trains there. The Ivory Coast native teaches classes in his mystic brand of fitness. "We teach yoga in there, too, because there's a sprung wood floor," explains coordinator Sadie Nardini, "and usually you get this hard, crappy floor in New York gyms."

Nardini has devised a signature discipline, called Warrior Flow Yoga, that incorporates martial arts-style moves. But even if you opt to pump iron here, she says there's a major difference from most gyms. "If you're working out, it's a spiritual gym. You're not just working out with a load of meatheads, but training like a shaolin monk. It's a much more chilled atmosphere than people are used to. We have a waterfall."

A Huge, Gay Home in New Jersey

Kerry Eleveld at the Blade looks at how New Jersey's 2004 domestic partnership law has attracted gays across the river, and includes the depressing real estate statistics...

All it takes is a quick turn on realtor.com to do a little bang-for-your-buck comparison. For about $550,000, you could score a 510 sq. ft. studio in Chelsea or take your pick of a four bedroom, 1.5 bathroom home in Maplewood, NJ; a three bedroom, two bathroom house in South Orange, NJ; or perhaps a five bedroom, four bathroom home in Plainfield City, N.J.

Though as someone who grew up near Plainfield I must say, you probably don't want to live there. You're probably better off in Montclair than Maplewood and Red Bank than Plainfield.

Chelsea Resident Pursues and Apprehends Burglar!

After coming home and finding his laptop gone and his window open, this Chelsea resident goes up to the roof and after the burglar. Watch the video!

Link courtesy Luke, who, incidentally, co-authors some pretty cool software for keeping yourself organized.

The Jade Pods

Suzanne Slesin at the Times gives us a peek inside Jade, the 57-unit condo conversion at 16 West 19th Street. It irks me to think of living in a place named after Jade Jagger (jewelry designer daughter of Mick and Bianca), but I have to admit these pods look pretty cool and use space well: "...a cubelike structure that incorporates a mosaic-tiled bathroom, a sleek kitchen (with Miele and Sub-Zero appliances), a closet and a washer-dryer. When closed, the pod looks like an architectural cube set down in your living space. It comes in four color variations -- all of which Ms. Jagger has masterminded -- from the gold Luxo to the black and red Baroco."

Art + Park + Meat

From The Villager: Dia Museum would form art junction with High Line...

The Dia Art Foundation, which has its permanent collection in Beacon, N.Y., intends to replace its Chelsea exhibit space on W. 22nd St. with a new facility along Gansevoort St. connecting to the [High Line] viaduct. Under the plan, part of the area beneath the museum would still be used by meat businesses.

I've been jogging through the Hudson River Park a lot lately and really enjoying the completely crazy adaptation of industrial riverfront to recreational use. Why not run the path around the garbage collection facility, the multi-story parking deck, the Police horse stables? Why not throw some art galleries into the mix? It works. I don't like removing what works to make a sterile patch of grass. If I wanted that, I'd move to Seattle.

Capital Fishing is Moving

Anthony Ramirez at the Times covers Capital Fishing's move to the garment district after residing below the Hotel Chelsea for 42 years...

The recession after the Sept. 11 attack, as well as new government restrictions on fishing, hurt the retail business. Facing higher rent if he stayed at the Hotel Chelsea, Mr. Collins considered closing the store. Luckily, a real estate broker introduced him to Steven J. Kaufman, who offered Mr. Collins a modestly higher rent, but less than he would be paying at the hotel if he stayed, and a 15-year lease in the garment district.

Did You See a Car Stolen on 25th St Monday-Wednesday?

J writes, "My car was stolen off of 25th Street between 9th and 10th. I've already reported this to the police and my insurance company, but I'm hoping maybe somebody in the neighborhood saw something (or may see the car somewhere in the neighborhood)."

If you have information about the theft of a 2003 Green (w/white top) Mini Cooper S, NY Lic. Plate BHC-6945 from the 400 block of West 25th Street sometime between Monday, July 17 and Wednesday, July 19 please leave a comment or contact the police (10th Precinct) at 212-741-8231.

Update: There's a (somewhat) happy ending to this one: "The car was actually recovered by the police (thank you LoJack). I later found it that it was the police who moved it (the same precinct I filed my claim with) because there was a movie on the block where it was parked (and of course--no signs or anything)."

This happened to me too, years ago on the UWS. You park, think it's safe cause there's no signs, leave it there for a few days, then wham -- it's gone. You'd think they'd try calling you, it's not like they don't have all your contact information on file.