SHOULD I JOIN A CSA? AND OTHER NEWS IN THE RESERVATIONS DEPARTMENT

Ok, I'm a little annoyed right now because I just wrote this long, lovely post. And when I went to publish it, I got kicked offline. So here I am, retyping. Sigh. I guess it's a good think that I have so much free time at work today.

So as many of you know, I'm off to NY in a week for a food filled weekend (actually, most of you will be coming along.) This will be the first time since before I opened the store when I'm visiting NY and NOT WORKING. I normally just fill in any fun and dining around my work schedule, but not his weekend. It'll just be a weekend of gluttony. Yesterday I got on the phone and started making my reservations, which ended up being much easier than I expected. No one asked for a credit card. On Saturday night, we'll be dining at Tory's (It's a yakitori place; we'll see how it compares to my beloved Yakitoriya in LA). On Sunday we're having brunch at 12th St. Bar and Grill in Brooklyn and lastly, I tried to make reservations at Room 4 Dessert. Unfortunately the woman said that that was their busiest time of the day (9:30 on a Saturday night), so she'd call me back. I have a feeling I'm not going to hear from her, so I'm gonna start searching for another place. The only reservation left is for Enoteca, so I'll be making that reservation next week. I got lucky last time, so am hoping for the same this time around.

In other news, I'm wondering if I should join a CSA. (Community supported agriculture.) Time magazine did a whole cover story this week on whether it's better to eat locally or organically. The article was subsequently picked up by blogs and the Today show. For me, I would rather eat locally than organically. There's something to be said about enjoying an ear of corn that was picked 6 hours ago compared to eating an apple that was shipped from Chile, even if it organic. However, I live in Boston, where the growing season is pretty short. (I'll note that the Today show interviewed shoppers at the SF farmer's market. Unfortunately, nearly 90% of the nation cannot benefit from a year round growing season.)

But the Time article got me thinking and I started looking for CSAs in the Boston area. As most of you know, I have a subscription to Boston Organics, where I get an order of organic fruits and veggies once every two weeks. It's super convenient since they deliver to my store. They source locally when they can, but that's basically impossible 6 months out of the year. So a lot of the stuff comes in from CA, Florida and even South America. The produce I get from them is also highly perishable. It lasts maybe 3-5 days, so I normally have to cook it right away, which isn't always easy. Joining a CSA would be nice because the food would be super fresh. The payment upfront can be a lot (ranging from $300-$600), but I think it averages out. Plus most of these farms have once a week pick up locations in Cambridge or JP. One of them will even deliver. I'm thinking I'll join over the summer, but I'll do some more research and let you know the one I pick.