I got a burger at Lot 2

Never Done: I got a burger at Lot 2

It's a little thing, but once a month I get a snobby burger somewhere I've never been before. Snobby = organic, grass fed, free range, antibiotic free, lovingly read Goodnight Moon every night. In other words, it's not snobby; I am.

This month I planned my outing for after a running session, so I would be good and hungry. And I invited both Mich and Josh to join me at Lot 2, a snooty little locavore joint only about 10 blocks from my apartment. The burger is fabled to be one of the best around, served with duck fat fries and house-made pickles.

To cut to the chase, it has now either moved into first place (surpassing Flatbush Farm) or it's in a close second. It's been so long since I had the burger at Flatbush Farm that I'll have to go back soon for comparison's sake....

What I really liked though was that because there were three of us, and we also wanted some gorgeous salads they had to offer, we ended up splitting three burgers two ways. Actually, Josh and I ended up splitting one, and Mich and Josh ended up splitting the other, so I ended up with one half, which turns out to be a perfect amount of burger for me. I'll be splitting from now on.

Which is, if you expand your definition of frugality to include all resources and not just money, interesting from an ethics perspective. Why consume more than I need to, if I have the option to consume the right amount? After all, a hamburger was once part of a cow, so why would I want to waste any part of it? Especially such a lovingly-raised, highly literate cow!

I once read an interview with the Dalai Lama in which he came out as an omnivore -- who eats hamburgers! He said that he would rather eat part of a cow -- one sentient being that can feed many people, rather than eat a plate full of shrimp (that was the example he gave) -- which he saw as a plate full of many sentient beings. I loved the interview, partly because it was so surprising, and also because it led me to understand that everyone gets to choose their own morality -- as long as it's founded in a deep personal ethics, and doesn't impinge upon someone else's freedoms.

Me? I was a vegetarian for 12 years, and while it made perfect sense for me politically, it wasn't right for me physically. Me cholesterol was high because I ate too much cheese and ice cream, I was super anemic, and I was generally not in balance. Now mostly I eat lots of veggies and rice and fish and turkey and tofu, and once a month I eat a burger. And if you want to join me next month, I'll split it with you.