is it wrong to eat duck eggs in front of a duck pond?

any of this blog's readers know that I have, over the last two years, been evolving and refining my relationship to meat as a cook, as a consumer, and as an eater. though I didn't get a chance to try alain passard'd michelin-starred vegetarian cuisine in Paris (as it costs $170 per person), I was moved by his frustration "trying to have a creative relationship with a corpse."

and yet: I love the taste of meat when it is one part of a brilliantly prepared meal. i do, however, grow increasingly uncomfortable when I don't know the sourcing or the ethics of the meat's origin.

it is, therefore, always thrilling to come to London, where they take these issues very seriously. enter: inn the park, an incredible breakfast spot nestled in st James park and overlooking the duck pond. their menu lists the source of every ingredient and all of these sources are local farms with ethical practices. nothing tastier than ethics!

I had the above English breakfast with duck eggs, black pudding, massive (and perfectly-cooked) whole mushroom and tomato, baked beans, a tattie scone (need to figure out what this is besides delicious), unsmoked bacon back, and the piece de resistance, sage sausage with smoked bacon IN it.

So, while I struggle to figure out what relationship to meat will make me (and the world and the animals) as happy as possible, it's lovely to know that places like Inn the Park are around, making sure omnivores (ambivalent and otherwise) can make healthy, ethical, and environmentally responsible choices.