Upscale New York Restaurant Goes Vegan

For better or worse, most of us center our dinners around meat. And that’s especially true when we go out to eat: it’s hard to resist the temptation of steak or of fresh-caught fish at a place that truly knows what they’re doing with it.

Eleven Madison Park is one of those places. The fine dining restaurant in New York City has three Michelin stars, and is the kind of restaurant that offers a prix-fixe 11-course meal for the sticker-shock-inducing $335.

Those courses used to feature things like frogs’ legs and dry-aged veal. But according to a post on the restaurant’s website, those dishes are a thing of the past, as are any dishes that contain meat. Eleven Madison Park is going vegan.

Chef-owner Daniel Humm told the New York Times that the move was about making a statement: “The current food system is simply not sustainable, in so many ways.” And although Humm wasn’t explicit about exactly what concerns him, you don’t need to look far to get the gist: from the out-sized environmental impact of raising and feeding livestock to the overfishing of the world’s oceans.

Humm is taking a stand, and in a way that could risk his restaurant’s profits. Will people be enticed by an all-vegan menu? And even if they are, will the price point scare them off? (The cost of Humm’s meals isn’t going to change: $335, even without the veal.)

As niche as fine dining can be, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Humm could end up inspiring other chefs to see their menus differently.

What to Do When You’re Feeling Stuck

With not much variety in our personal or professional lives this year, many of us have found ourselves in a rut: unmotivated, unenthusiastic, and uninterested.

There’s no easy answer for getting out of a rut, of course, but Healthline offers some practical suggestions for turning things around.

Some of those suggestions are simple, like giving your brain a break. The idea here is that unfocusing ourselves (letting go of our typical patterns and routines) can spur creativity, and lead to new ways of doing things.

They also suggest letting go of perfectionism; not just because it can slow our work, but because focusing too much on mistakes can lead to anxiety and depression.

Importantly, Healthline puts self-reflection front and center. They point out that what we see as a rut could, in fact, be something more serious: it could point to clinical depression, for example. Far from being alarmist, it’s a good reminder to check in on ourselves, and to ask ourselves why we’re feeling what we’re feeling.

Want to Eat Healthier? Try Eating With Others

From public health sites to the nation’s leading universities, everyone will tell you that sitting down for a family meal is beneficial to a child’s development. It helps kids become less-picky eaters, it can broaden their vocabulary, and it can also help them manage stress and build self-esteem.

But adults get just as much benefit from eating meals with others. For example, when we eat with other people we tend to eat more fruits and vegetables. We also eat less fast food, and are much less likely to skip a meal altogether.

The nutritional benefits are clear. But Anne Fishel points out that the benefits of eating together extend beyond just nutrition. Firefighters who cook and eat together perform better as a team. And parents who eat with their children report better self-esteem and a healthier family dynamic.

Fishel touches on a couple of different ideas, such as whether eating as a family in front of the TV is beneficial (it isn’t), and whether shared meals need to be home-cooked (they don’t). It’s a good reminder that as much as we need to be aware of what we’re eating, we also need to pay attention to how we’re eating.

Iowa Cubs owner sees upside of $4 million loss

 

After a lost season in 2020, minor league baseball is back this year. And some teams have had an easier time than others with ramping back up.

The club with the biggest head start? The Iowa Cubs, the AAA affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs. Where most minor league clubs furloughed staff or laid them off last year, Iowa owner Michael Gartner kept his entire full-time staff on full pay and benefits.

“We lost $4 million,” Gartner told the Des Moines Register. “But they needed the money more than I did.”

It was an act of generosity, for sure. But it also had a pay-off for Gartner and the Cubs. As other clubs scrambled to rehire employees and fill vacant positions, Iowa got down to business. “I didn’t really have to do anything,” said Gartner. “I’ve got all these great people who work here.”

Gary Trent Jr. is Determined to Help His Friend Walk Again

 

It was an eventful season for Gary Trent Jr. Not only did he establish new career highs in minutes and points-per-game, but he was also traded for the first time: he went from Portland to Toronto in a deal at the NBA’s trade deadline. Trent was a good fit in Toronto, starting 15 of 17 games, and he seems to figure into the team’s long-term plans.

In an ideal world, he’d be sharing all of this with best friend Jordan Bolton. Trent and Bolton have been best friends since childhood, a friendship that they maintained through college even while playing for different schools and in different divisions.

 

 

But while Trent was destined for the NBA, Bolton saw his career cut short — and his life changed forever. A drug overdose led to an accident and a spinal cord injury and left Bolton paralyzed from the chest down. Doctors said he had a 5% chance of recovery.

Trent was at his friend’s side within weeks. And in the three years since the injury, he’s been a constant source of support. “The word friendship means being there for somebody, being accountable, and always being there for them: good or bad,” he told ESPN.

That’s meant phoning Bolton every day to check in on his rehab. And when time allows he’s at Bolton’s workouts in person, helping his friend slowly regain the use of his body.

“I really can’t put into words how much of a great friend and guy he is,” Bolton says. “He does a lot of things behind the scenes that people don’t see.”

From 3rd-Stringer to First-Rounder

 

The NFL Draft — and really, any pro sports draft — is filled with stories of kids who have “overcome adversity.” A lot of the time those stories feel manufactured, and the “adversity” boils down to a not-so-serious injury or a poor couple of weeks on the field.

So while the story of Patriots first-rounder Mac Jones could be framed as one of adversity, it’s more accurately a story of focus and purpose.

Jones was a quarterback at the University of Alabama, where he was the clear third option behind Tuo Tagovailoa (who started 9 games for the Miami Dolphins last year) and Jalen Hurts, who has a chance to be named the starter for Philadelphia this season. Unsurprisingly, Jones barely saw the field: he didn’t see a single minute in his true freshman season and saw just 16 snaps the next year.

Jones could have tried to force a move to another team, but he told Touchdown Alabama that the thought never crossed his mind. He was committed to earning his spot, and took pride in leading Alabama’s scout team offense against a defence that was ranked No. 1 in the country. He says his mentality was, “Yeah, I might not play right away, but I’m gonna grind… and it was better that way.”

Jones’ coaches will say that no one grinds as hard as he does. And if you’re a fan of college football, you know that the hard work paid off. When Tagovailoa went down with an injury in 2019, Jones took over, and was more than just a placeholder. In 11 games he threw for 14 touchdowns against just 3 interceptions. The next season? He led the Crimson Tide to a 13-0 record and the national championship.

Now he has a chance to make his mark in the NFL. The Patriots, of course, have an established NFL quarterback in Cam Newton. But with the team in a transitional period — and with Jones’ focus on making himself better — we might see him sooner than you’d expect.

Cleveland Pitcher Allen Goes to Bat for His Brother

 

Cleveland pitching prospect Logan Allen doesn’t have any obvious tattoos on his pitching arm. But his right arm is heavily decorated, and one of those tattoos stands out from the rest. Just under the sleeve of his jersey is a question, spelled out in big black letters: What handicap?

Allen’s older brother Philip has a condition that’s comparable to more severe forms of cerebral palsy. And in an interview with The Athletic’s Zack Meisel, Allen opened up about their relationship. About how the two were close all through childhood. About how Philip loved going to Logan’s little league games. And about how Logan chose a high school baseball academy that was (relatively) close to home, making frequent flights back to see his brother.

Logan also talks about what Philip had to endure: the stares, the pointing, the rude comments. “I would never wish for someone to feel or have to understand what we, as a family, went through,” he told The Athletic. “But if you did have to go through what we went through, it would make you a better person. It made me and my family closer and better for it.”

For Logan, ‘What handicap?’ is more than just a tattoo. He plans to turn it into a foundation that supports people like his brother. Prior to the season he sold T-shirts with the phrase, and donated the proceeds to Miracle League. “I have a platform and the ability to make people understand that it’s something I’m passionate about. This is my life.”

Even as Logan navigates the ups and downs of baseball (he’s currently pitching with Cleveland’s AAA affiliate), his relationship with Philip has never wavered. He calls his older brother after every game he pitches in. “It just reminds you what you’re doing it for,” he told The Athletic. “Philip was what kept me grounded and what got me to where I am today.”

Teen Returns to Football Field After Stroke, Heart Surgery

 

A comeback story is all about defying the odds. In Carson Cathey’s case, he did that twice.

The 16-year-old is a defensive tackle on his high school football team, and earlier this year he suffered a stroke. It’s something that happens to just 0.006% of kids and teens, and Cathey didn’t have a single risk factor.

Doctors were able to stop the stroke, but couldn’t find the cause of it. It meant that Cathey was going to be sent home with blood thinners, his football career over and his life changed forever. But, as Denver7 tells it, there was one last specialist to consult with.

Dr. Joshua Murphy had, like Cathey, had a stroke at a young age. And Murphy thought that Cathey’s case could be similar to his own: a blood clot travelling through a hole in his heart to his brain.

Murphy was right. And four weeks after repairing the hole in Carson’s heart, the 16-year-old was back on the football field. His coach asked him to address the team before his first-game back, and Carson didn’t disappoint. “You have to make every second on your field count,” he told his teammates, “because you don’t know when it’s your last second.”

Boxing Champ Shields Trades the Ring for the Octagon

 

When you think of dominance in sports, you tend to think of sustained periods of greatness: Jordan’s six championships over six (and a half) seasons, or Djokovic’s 17 major championships in just 11 years. And while that kind of run in one sport is rare, what we see even less often is success in two different sports.

That’s what Claressa Shields is gunning for, though. The 26-year-old boxer is a two-time Olympic medallist and the undisputed champion in two separate weight classes. And she’s decided that she needs a little more of a challenge.

“I’ve accomplished everything in boxing,” she told Good Morning America in April. And with that in mind she decided to try her hand at MMA. She recently signed with the Professional Fighters League and will make her PFL debut in just a couple of weeks, on June 10.

Shields making the transition to MMA might sound less daunting than, say, MJ trying to break into baseball. But it’s hard not to admire her commitment to growth, and to challenging her own limits. It’s also hard to bet against her.

“Growing up, I didn’t have a whole bunch of food. I didn’t have clothes and I didn’t have shoes,” she told GMA. “I didn’t have a bed until I was 17 years old. It just kind of taught me that anything I want I have to do for myself.”

“She’s Missing a Paw, She’s Like Me”: The Story of a Lasting Friendship

 

Barb Felt isn’t a matchmaker; not in the traditional sense. But she’s helped create a relationship that seems destined to go the distance.

Felt breeds golden retrievers, and one of her recent pups — Marvel — was born without a front right paw. “When she was born, we knew right away: she has a special purpose,” Felt told CBS Minnesota. “We wanted her to go in a home with someone who had a limb difference.”

That “someone” turned out to be 7-year-old Paxton Williams, who at age 4 had his right foot amputated. Felt was introduced to the Williams family by Paxton’s occupational therapist, and it wasn’t long before Paxton and Marvel were becoming fast friends.

Paxton’s mom, Stephanie, says that the friendship runs deeper than just a boy and his dog. “As he’s introducing Marvel to kids in the neighbourhood, it gives him the opportunity to tell the kids, ‘Oh, she’s missing a paw, she’s like me.’ It gives him that voice to advocate for himself.”