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LA Fresh Poultry: A Store Where Los Angeles Converges

34 points by clairity 7y ago

WheelsAtLarge 7y ago
I worked near LA's Chinatown and would often walk by the polleria on my search for a place to eat lunch. I never got the guts to go in to see how they processed the chickens. What I remember most was the smell. It was very strong and rank. It's been years since but one thing it did was to remind me where our meats come from. The fact that they aren't just packages that come from a factory. They were once live animals.
- Melting_Harps 7y ago
  What did you do down there? And, yes, that is the typical disconnect People have with their food; and possibly an explanation for much of the problems we have with the environment/Nature. Its one of the many issues with the abject commodification of Food, rather than an integral component of Life itself. I think having to take the life and preparing a meal with an animal you slaughtered should be a prerequisite for being able to eat meat in Society. You learn a lot about yourself and sustainable practices, and the value of something giving it's Life for your nourishment.
  - WheelsAtLarge 7y ago
    I worked as a web developer for a company that had its offices near there. A few years ago people were making fun of Mark Zuckerberg for saying that he would only eat the meat he killed. I think he was right. By doing that you get a better understanding of what you are eating.
    - kilroy_jones 7y ago
      I think people made fun of him more because of the associated elitist attitude. How many people have the time, space or resources to procure a live animal? Though I admit the imagery of someone like a Manhattan broker slaughtering a pig in his 15th floor apartment is darkly comical. At the same time, I agree with you, he is right in that we've become detached from what we eat, but that goes for all food. Even the idea that something so routine for many people today, and to almost everyone prior to the 20th century, would be an "experience" to most of us in the modern world is just odd.
      - dekhn 7y ago
        I worked with a few people who lived in midwest US. They hunted a couple times a year and after listening for a while I realized it was a very impressive money saver. In a week, they were able to bag enough elk to eat plenty of meat all year, sold the waste (skin and parts) to a local processor. Apparently this is not uncommon, even for people who live in suburbs.
        Melting_Harps 7y ago
        > I worked with a few people who lived in midwest US. They hunted a couple times a year and after listening for a while I realized it was a very impressive money saver. In a week, they were able to bag enough elk to eat plenty of meat all year, sold the waste (skin and parts) to a local processor. Apparently this is not uncommon, even for people who live in suburbs. I live in CO now, and its definitely more normal than not outside of Denver and Boulder area. I got my Hunter's license this year after putting it off for so long and I will be applying for a tag this year. In addition to it being economical its also very good for sustainability as the gear and the tag help promote and fund wild life protection. An elk can definitely feed an entire family, plus if you have never had game meat (venison in this case) you have the challenge of preparing very lean meat in the kitchen, I find that cooking the meat in animal fats (tallow and lard) can change your entire perspective of how much to eat as it satiates you quickly. Its alarming how much meat is eaten in the US, even more so when you see the ecological damage that comes from factory farming, so I highly encourage more to explore this option.
    - zweep 7y ago
      I think that’s more based on Zuckerberg’s terrible public image. If it was a Wyoming cabin dweller who said the same people would say “hear hear.”
  - _eLRIC 7y ago
    I remember my grandma removing the "pyjamas" (fur) of rabbits before cooking them. Even if you don't kill it yourself, seeing it going from life form to something to eat makes you think twice before wasting any part of it. That's why I do sometimes cook offals / giblets for my kids : if you kill an animal to eat it, you should learn not to waste any edible part.
clairity 7y ago
i remember driving by LA Fresh Poultry during the peta protest (mostly because of the crazy rooster on the top of the building). it was a small number of people but a big enough protest that cars were backing up on the road, which made me wonder what it was and the purpose of the protest. (multi-)cultural peculiarities like this makes what might be an otherwise impersonal city a little more friendly and interesting. i have bookmarked the real chicken house, mnetioned in the article, to try one of these days.
_hardwaregeek 7y ago
There's something so wonderful about single specialty stores. I've started getting chickens from this poultry store in Chinatown. No signs in English, just a big picture of a rooster out front. They're very nice and plus I can get other birds like guinea hen or duck. One thing we've lost with American supermarkets is the diversity and quality of meat products from a butcher. I love going to a butcher and getting whole slabs of bacon, or in house cured ham, or a nice beef shin bone for stew. And these aren't pricey hipster butchers reserved for the wealthy eating their veal. If you know what to get (pork over beef, shin bones and short ribs over steak), then you can eat well for cheap.
- gadders 7y ago
  I'd be interested to see what the welfare standards are for those animals.
- ryanlol 7y ago
  > If you know what to get (pork over beef, shin bones and short ribs over steak), then you can eat well for cheap. Especially if you have a sous vide setup, even the toughest cuts are amazing after a few days at low temperatures.
darshanime 7y ago
The world is crumbling, humans need to eat less/no meat if we want to survive.
forrestthewoods 7y ago
I have no issue with seeing how the sausage is made. But halal and kosher meat makes me uncomfortable. It’s just _needlessly_ cruel. Maybe I’m just splitting hairs here. It’s murdering an animal to eat it either way. But making an animal bleed out instead of putting a bolt through its head is just needless suffering. Anyone else feel this way?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- blahbhthrow3748 7y ago
  My understanding is animals die very quickly from halal butchery. Compared to animals twisting their ankles walking over metal grates, or people stomping on baby chicks with work boots, this seems like a weird thing to focus on
- wil421 7y ago
  I know from personal experience if you kill the chicken the right way it will bleed out almost instantly. They don’t kill animals with bolts they shock them, I don’t think chickens were ever killed with bolts. You can’t murder an animal. If you do it yourself you will respect the animal and food more.

34 points by clairity 7y ago

I worked near LA's Chinatown and would often walk by the polleria on my search for a place to eat lunch. I never got the guts to go in to see how they processed the chickens. What I remember most was the smell. It was very strong and rank. It's been years since but one thing it did was to remind me where our meats come from. The fact that they aren't just packages that come from a factory. They were once live animals.

Melting_Harps 7y ago
What did you do down there? And, yes, that is the typical disconnect People have with their food; and possibly an explanation for much of the problems we have with the environment/Nature. Its one of the many issues with the abject commodification of Food, rather than an integral component of Life itself. I think having to take the life and preparing a meal with an animal you slaughtered should be a prerequisite for being able to eat meat in Society. You learn a lot about yourself and sustainable practices, and the value of something giving it's Life for your nourishment.
- WheelsAtLarge 7y ago
  I worked as a web developer for a company that had its offices near there. A few years ago people were making fun of Mark Zuckerberg for saying that he would only eat the meat he killed. I think he was right. By doing that you get a better understanding of what you are eating.
  - kilroy_jones 7y ago
    I think people made fun of him more because of the associated elitist attitude. How many people have the time, space or resources to procure a live animal? Though I admit the imagery of someone like a Manhattan broker slaughtering a pig in his 15th floor apartment is darkly comical. At the same time, I agree with you, he is right in that we've become detached from what we eat, but that goes for all food. Even the idea that something so routine for many people today, and to almost everyone prior to the 20th century, would be an "experience" to most of us in the modern world is just odd.
    - dekhn 7y ago
      I worked with a few people who lived in midwest US. They hunted a couple times a year and after listening for a while I realized it was a very impressive money saver. In a week, they were able to bag enough elk to eat plenty of meat all year, sold the waste (skin and parts) to a local processor. Apparently this is not uncommon, even for people who live in suburbs.
      - Melting_Harps 7y ago
        > I worked with a few people who lived in midwest US. They hunted a couple times a year and after listening for a while I realized it was a very impressive money saver. In a week, they were able to bag enough elk to eat plenty of meat all year, sold the waste (skin and parts) to a local processor. Apparently this is not uncommon, even for people who live in suburbs. I live in CO now, and its definitely more normal than not outside of Denver and Boulder area. I got my Hunter's license this year after putting it off for so long and I will be applying for a tag this year. In addition to it being economical its also very good for sustainability as the gear and the tag help promote and fund wild life protection. An elk can definitely feed an entire family, plus if you have never had game meat (venison in this case) you have the challenge of preparing very lean meat in the kitchen, I find that cooking the meat in animal fats (tallow and lard) can change your entire perspective of how much to eat as it satiates you quickly. Its alarming how much meat is eaten in the US, even more so when you see the ecological damage that comes from factory farming, so I highly encourage more to explore this option.
  - zweep 7y ago
    I think that’s more based on Zuckerberg’s terrible public image. If it was a Wyoming cabin dweller who said the same people would say “hear hear.”
- _eLRIC 7y ago
  I remember my grandma removing the "pyjamas" (fur) of rabbits before cooking them. Even if you don't kill it yourself, seeing it going from life form to something to eat makes you think twice before wasting any part of it. That's why I do sometimes cook offals / giblets for my kids : if you kill an animal to eat it, you should learn not to waste any edible part.

clairity 7y ago

i remember driving by LA Fresh Poultry during the peta protest (mostly because of the crazy rooster on the top of the building). it was a small number of people but a big enough protest that cars were backing up on the road, which made me wonder what it was and the purpose of the protest. (multi-)cultural peculiarities like this makes what might be an otherwise impersonal city a little more friendly and interesting. i have bookmarked the real chicken house, mnetioned in the article, to try one of these days.

_hardwaregeek 7y ago

There's something so wonderful about single specialty stores. I've started getting chickens from this poultry store in Chinatown. No signs in English, just a big picture of a rooster out front. They're very nice and plus I can get other birds like guinea hen or duck. One thing we've lost with American supermarkets is the diversity and quality of meat products from a butcher. I love going to a butcher and getting whole slabs of bacon, or in house cured ham, or a nice beef shin bone for stew. And these aren't pricey hipster butchers reserved for the wealthy eating their veal. If you know what to get (pork over beef, shin bones and short ribs over steak), then you can eat well for cheap.

gadders 7y ago
I'd be interested to see what the welfare standards are for those animals.
ryanlol 7y ago
> If you know what to get (pork over beef, shin bones and short ribs over steak), then you can eat well for cheap. Especially if you have a sous vide setup, even the toughest cuts are amazing after a few days at low temperatures.

darshanime 7y ago

The world is crumbling, humans need to eat less/no meat if we want to survive.

forrestthewoods 7y ago

I have no issue with seeing how the sausage is made. But halal and kosher meat makes me uncomfortable. It’s just _needlessly_ cruel. Maybe I’m just splitting hairs here. It’s murdering an animal to eat it either way. But making an animal bleed out instead of putting a bolt through its head is just needless suffering. Anyone else feel this way?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
blahbhthrow3748 7y ago
My understanding is animals die very quickly from halal butchery. Compared to animals twisting their ankles walking over metal grates, or people stomping on baby chicks with work boots, this seems like a weird thing to focus on
wil421 7y ago
I know from personal experience if you kill the chicken the right way it will bleed out almost instantly. They don’t kill animals with bolts they shock them, I don’t think chickens were ever killed with bolts. You can’t murder an animal. If you do it yourself you will respect the animal and food more.