Local Restaurants for Local Kids

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Guest post by Andrea Northup

Support locally-owned restaurants, the sustainable local food economy, and DC-area kids by participating in the DC Farm to School Network’s Local Restaurants for Local Kids Fundraiser on Friday January 22.

Select area restaurants will be donating a portion of their proceeds to the DC Farm to School Network, which works to bring healthy, local produce into DC public school cafeterias.  By simply enjoying a delicious snack, cocktail, or dinner at one of the great participating restaurants, you will help to improve access to healthy, tasty, and local foods in area schools.

DC Farm to School Network volunteers will be available at the restaurants to answer questions or chat with you about our work. For volunteer opportunities, contact Lauren@dcgreens.org.

Participating restaurants include:

Busboys & Poets, 5th and K Street NW (Mt. Vernon Sq. Metro); 14th and V Street NW (U St. Metro); 4251 S. Campbell Ave,  Arlington, VA.

Coppi’s Organic (from 6pm-11pm), 1414 U Street NW (U St. Metro)

Eatonville, 2121 14th Street NW (U St. Metro)

Bar Pilar, 1833 14th Street NW (U St. Metro)

Farmers & Fishers (All day!), 3000 K Street NW (Georgetown Waterfront—Foggy Bottom Metro)

Clyde’s, 3236 M Street NW (Foggy Bottom Metro); 707 7th Street NW (Gallery Place Metro); 5441 Wisconsin Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD (Friendship Heights Metro)

PS-7 (Lounge from 4pm-2am), 777 I Street NW (Gallery Place Metro)

Bread and Brew (5-8pm in bar), 1247 20th Street NW (Dupont Circle Metro)

Cafe Saint-Ex, 1847 14th Street NW (U St. Metro)

ris (Proceeds from seasonal cocktail and appetizers after 4:30pm), 2275 L Street NW (Foggy Bottom Metro)

Sustainable Happy Hours

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

We love the idea of  supporting local restaurants that offer tasty sustainable cuisine and cheap happy hour deals. Here are our top picks:

CommonWealth Gastropub
It’s bloody cold out. Shake off the icicles and get yourself over to the happy hour (4-7) at CommonWealth which includes a selection of local beer, 1/2 price selections of wine, and 1/2 off grassfed burgers (Wednesdays) that are out of this world. For a complete rundown of what’s available, check out the review written by our friends over at Sustainable in the City.

Dino
A menu planned around weekly finds at the Dupont Farmer’s Market and meats and seafood from all natural and sustainable sources. Those are just a few reasons to love Dino in Cleveland Park. Want more? How about an amazing happy hour from 5:30-7 (Sunday-Fridays) featuring free antipasti and 25% off drinks. Oh, and bartender Scott is a master mixologist and will help you find the perfect glass to accompany your meal.

Poste Brasserie
We’ve written about Poste’s sustainable practices before. This time, we’re all about the deal. Next time you find yourself killing time before an event at the Verizon Center, stop by from 4 to 7 (Monday-Friday) and enjoy $5 glasses of red and white wine, $5 beer, and truffled frites for just $5.

Radius Pizza
This Mount Pleasant eatery was recently bought by former Poste Brasserie employees Todd and Nicole Wiss. Although they still serve pizza, the menu now focuses on local and organic ingredients and more upscale fare. Happy hour is 5-7 and on Wednesdays you get a free bottle of vino with the purchase of a large pizza and appetizer or two entrees and an appetizer.

Redwood
Tucked away in Bethesda Row, Redwood serves a seasonal menu that showcases the best mid-Atlantic ingredients. Meats, cheeses, produce, and seafood are naturally-raised, organic, or sustainable whenever possible and are sourced from local growers. A thoughtful wine list features some organic wines and small production vintners who practice sustainable viticulture. Belly up to the 75-seat white-marble bar and treat yourself to $4-$5 food and drink specials Monday – Friday from 4 to 7:00pm.

What did we miss? Feel free to post your favorite sustainable happy hour spots in the comments section.

The Buzz About Bread & Brew

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Tired of the same old BonBellyCosi routine? Take heart. Bread & Brew, which opened at 1247 20th Street in mid January, elevates lunchtime options to a new level by being one of only four DC-area restaurants certified by the Green Restaurant Association.

Owner Teri VanGoethem has incorporated earth friendly practices throughout her new casual dining spot including biodegradable to-go containers and catering packaging. There’s also a chandelier made from recycled beer bottles and reusable water bottles that can be purchased and refilled every time you come in.

The menu features artisan pizzas, organic espresso and coffee, sandwiches, quiche, and soups made with fresh, natural ingredients from local purveyors like Hawthorne Bakery (Severna Park) and Counter Culture.

Buzz heard on DonRockwell and other foodie blogs suggests the food is tasty, if a bit more expensive than some other nearby lunch spots that don’t source locally or emphasize green practices.

Cathal Armstrong’s Green Cuisine

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Check out this article by Jane Black in the Washington Post’s Food section, which profiles the green efforts of Chef Cathal Armstrong, who, along with his wife Meshelle, run the acclaimed Restaurant Eve, the Majestic, Eamonn’s fish and chips shop, and PX.

Here’s are the highlights of the Armstrong’s eco-practices:

  • a wormery produces enough organic fertilizer for Restaurant Eve’s garden.
  • bottled water has been banned from the restaurants; instead, a water filtration system supplies fresh, filtered water for free to patrons.
  • tinted skylights cut the restaurant’s energy costs by 88%.
  • the seasonal menu showcases vegetables from the restaurant’s own garden.
  • a composter processes food refuse and other organic waste.
  • a company called Smarter Fuel picks up the kitchen grease and turns it into biofuel.
  • all cleansers used at the restaurant are non-toxic and biodegradable.

Looking for other dining destinations that make green a priority?  Check out this list of eco-friendly restaurants around DC.

New Food Spots with an Eco-Friendly Twist

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

This week has been filled with news of brand new food spots in and around DC that all have green or sustainable elements. By this, we mean anything ranging from sourcing sustainable, local ingredients to using recyclable material to full-on organic menus. Here’s a sampling of what’s already open and what’s to come in the next few months:

  • Organic to Go: It was only a matter of time before a natural alternative to Cosi and Au Bon Pain came to town, thank goodness. Organic to Go is a USDA certified organic cafe and catering company that’s opening several locations in the area including Dupont Circle, McPherson Square, and Rosslyn. Based in Seattle, the company already has 170 locations including 33 cafés and 120 wholesale locations. Everything on the menu is made with organic ingredients whenever possible and is natural and free of harmful chemicals. Along with recyclable packaging material and biodegradable plastics, the company uses Prius vehicles whenever possible for catering and delivery.
  • Hello Cupcake: Who doesn’t love an adorable cupcake? And while the trend may be late to hit our dear city, the offerings at Hello Cupcake (opening late summer) look to be delightful. There’s 24 Carrot, Peanut Butter Blossom, and Triple Coconut, to name a few. Plus daily gluten-free and vegan selections. The modern shop with “old-fashioned elements” is in the same building as the U.S. Green Building Council (the people responsible for LEED certification), and has “inspired” HC’s owners to use recycled or recyclable packaging (they wrap their cupcake boxes with biodegradable twine and a reuseable carry handle, for example).
  • Commonwealth: Jamie Leeds, who runs the two popular Hank’s Oyster Bars, is slated to open a “gastropub” at 14th and Irving, right by the Columbia Heights Metro in the Highland Park Building. Anglophiles will delight in loads of British fare such as fish and chip, pork pastie (meat pie), and steak and Guinness pie, not to mention britpop on the sound system, British beer and American microbrews, backgammon and checkers in the pub area (what, no darts?), and a traditional British “Sunday Roast.” The pub’s design will be eco-friendly using reclaimed wood salvaged from barns, while meats and other ingredients will be locally sourced whenever possible. My only suggestion? Add English Triffle to the menu, and you’ll have yourself one very loyal customer.

Thanks to Metrocurean, Washingtonian, and Collaborations in Health for the tips.


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