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Viva Java Vino!

2010-02-13T17:03:00Z

We heard about Java Vino from Phil Palmer, chief cook and bottle-washer (and owner) of Radial Cafe. As of a couple months ago, Java Vino is the exclusive coffee roaster for Radial and this is a good thing 'cause they surely have some fine coffee! Since Palmer is so intent on being green and buying from sustainable sources, it comes as no surprise that we found a story in all this, one suitable for the GGDG.

We dropped in at the coffee and wine shop, all unannounced of course, to speak with Steve Franklin who, along with his wife Heddy Kuhl, are the owners and operators of Java Vino. Steve was there and he was very busy, it being an especially good day for a cup of good coffee (the temperature was in the teens!) and the place was bustling.

Come in out of the cold!

2010-01-06T12:03:00Z

Atlanta Green Drinks, a networking group for people interested in environmental issues, is having their first mixer of the year tonight at Radial in Decatur. Atlanta green brewer SweetWater, has graciously donated beer for the event (muchas gracias) and you're invited to bring your own bottle if you have a taste for other adult beverages, since Radial doesn't have a liquor license. Even though they can't serve alcohol, Radial will be cooking up some light apps for us and if you've ever eaten there, you know you are in for a treat. If you've never eaten there, well, it's about ...

Radial Revisited

2009-12-21T22:08:00Z

As soon as Lisa and Dee told us that Radial Cafe was their new favorite place for a weekend breakfast, we started planning a meetup with them there. Not that I need an excuse to eat at Radial, but it was handy to have one. If you remember, we have an early post about Radial, wherein we praised them for being the only restaurant in Georgia to have gotten certification from the Green Restaurant Association. Well, I just checked and they still are the only restaurant in Georgia to be GRA certified. That says a lot of good things about Radial, not so much for the rest of the state. Come on, people.

Rosebud blooms in Virginia Highlands

2009-12-13T00:16:00Z

Our Saturday night out with friends Lee and Peter started pretty well - rock star parking right in front of the restaurant - and it got better as the night progressed. We were dining at Rosebud in Virginia Highlands, the restaurant which occupies the space formerly known as Food 101 Morningside. Ron Eyester, formerly a chef at Food 101, is the executive chef/owner of Rosebud and has created a classy-casual place that still has the feel of the true neighborhood gathering place. Ron can be seen regularly out in the dining area, meeting and greeting patrons, obviously enjoying himself and making everyone feel welcome. When he's not out front, he's cooking up marvelous goodies, like the cream cheese and rosemary pound cake with whipped cream and blueberries pictured above.

Send a flood of support Gloria's way

2009-09-28T18:21:00Z

Remember this picture of Gloria taking our money at The Mercantile register?

Well, she needs some more. The home of Mercantile manager Gloria Limanni and her husband David was badly damaged in the 100 year flood that recently took Atlanta residents by storm. Since the Limanni's followed FEMA's recommendation to drop their flood insurance (I'm from the government and I'm here to help), they're now up a creek, so to speak, and could really use your help with covering some of the expenses they'll be incurring in the work to restore their home.

Gettin' 10 cents off coupons wherever I go

2009-09-24T17:15:00Z

Last Friday I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up a few things for dinner. I'm ashamed to say I've never noticed before that they give people a ten cent discount for bringing in their own bags. I've been giving credit to Earth Fare and IKEA and Sam's Club for offering incentives for people to bag the bags but somehow I glossed right over the fact that Whole Foods has been doing the same thing all along.

Flying Biscuit

2009-09-22T14:05:53Z

I met Linda for dinner at the Flying Biscuit in Candler Park last week. If you haven't had their fried green tomatoes, which I have learned are not actually fried (but in fact are green tomatoes), I recommend you fly on over there and place your order. Manager Jeffrey told us that the (unfried) green tomatoes are first baked and then finished off on the grill before being topped with a luscious cashew-jalapeno relish and a big fat dollop of goat cheese. They were then finished off again by Linda and me and would be by anybody else that orders them, I'm quite sure.

Buckhead Diner

2009-09-21T19:32:00Z

Just in case you missed this 11 Alive story on the Buckhead Diner's inclusion in the Zero Waste Zone initiative, I thought I would pass it along. Sorry about the commercial - I didn't know how to get rid of it. ...

Great American Dine Out

2009-09-20T17:24:00Z

We're so dad-gummed fortunate to be able to go to all these fabulous restaurants (in our own car, no less), order exquisite dishes, pair food with wines, chat up servers and chefs, leave tips and go to sleep at night with full bellies. When it comes to food, our worst problem is that sometimes our bellies are too full.

It's not like that for everyone. Some people go to bed hungry. Some of those people are children.

August 8, 2010 - Put it on your calendar

2009-09-19T20:54:00Z

I wish I'd written this article about the Killer Tomato Festival. We had such a juicy time there.

And speaking of killers, I could have choked Larry for forgetting to bring the camera. There was so much eye candy (by which I mean good-lookin' food and drink) at this event that we could have captured for your viewing pleasure, if only we'd been more prepared.

The organic tomatoes were supplied by local farmers, mostly by our neighbors at Whippoorwill Hollow Farms, so all the chefs had high-quality ingredients to start with and their abundant creativity carried them from there. We learned about new restaurants we haven't visited yet (but will) and saw chefs (like Billy Allin of Cakes & Ale) and mixologists (like Miles of Leon's Full Service) from some of our favorite eateries. Fresh, local, organic produce was the star of this show and it shone for an enthusiastic audience of boozy foodies.

GIANT shrimp festival

2009-09-19T01:39:00Z

The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival got underway today at the Jekyll Island Landmark Historic District with the $3 Shrimp Sample Night, which gave attendees a chance to taste recipes from the each vendor for the low, low price of (you guessed it) only 3 dollars. Highlights of tomorrow's programming will include an Amateur Cooking Competition, cooking demo by Chef Robert Tulko, entertainment by the Big Dawg and Paul Show, music by the Randall Bramblett Band, magic shows and more.

My sweet compostable you

2009-09-18T02:21:00Z
Here's a great article from Biocycle magazine about the impressive increase in compostable packaging products that are available to restaurateurs and grocers who want to green up their operations and to individuals who want to green up their homes. This may be the most thorough and informative article written for a general audience that I've seen yet but if you're not interested in all the technical details of different compostable materials, let me share one idea from the article that caught my eye.

Buzz Chandler, President of Asean, a manufacturer of compostable products, is quoted in the article as saying, "...when something goes to a landfill, it’s being sealed in a mummy’s tomb where nothing goes away.”

Uh-huh. So true. And he's not just talking about Styrofoam here; he's talking about his own (and everyone's) compostable products.

Happy birthday, Mercantile

2009-09-16T17:37:00Z
The Mercantile in Candler Park is celebrating its one-year anniversary on September 20. They'll be handing out chocolate chip cookies between noon and 3 and Larry and I plan to be eating chocolate chip cookies between noon and 3. Sweet.

Want a side of milk with your cookie? Russell Johnston of Johnston Family Dairy near Madison (no Georgia; I know what you're thinking) and a Mercantile vendor, will be a featured guest at the soiree. The Johnston Family Dairy does what unethical producers(un)scrupulously avoid - invites people to come in and take a look at their operations.You can arrange to visit the farm, tour the milking barns in between milkings and even pet and feed the cows.

Brunch at Wahoo! Grill

2009-09-15T15:35:00Z

After our trip to Cedar Key, when we first started noticing all the trash that gets dispensed in the service of carrying out leftovers so as not to waste food, Wahoo! Grill in Decatur was one of the first restaurants we saw using compostable take-out containers. WooHoo!
We were already crazy about their food and observing this act of thoughtfulness toward the world made us feel even better about them. It was like finding out that someone you've already fallen in love with just happens to be independently wealthy and you didn't even know it. It was icing on an already sweet cake.

The REAL green beer - with all due respect to Saint Patty

2009-09-13T14:49:00Z

We recently had dinner at Max Lager's American Grill and Brewery in Atlanta with our beer-loving Athens friends. When JR, Max Lager's owner, manager, CEO, executive chef and brewmeister, stopped by our table to see how we liked the beer (as brewers always do when we're with Owen) I took the opportunity to snap his photo and ask about the brewpub's green practices.

I was happy to hear that this restaurant is taking steps toward the greening of their operations. Max Lager's has recently switched to compostable take-out containers, which was especially good news for me since we were running behind to catch the Los Lobos concert at the Botanical Gardens (great show) and I had forgotten to bring my little plastic tub in with me. The veggie Maxadilla was just too good to leave half-eaten on the table like a tip, so it was nice to have something I felt okay about carrying it home in. Well, to the concert and then home.

Keeping dry in WaterHaven

2009-09-11T00:40:00Z
Last month Larry and I attended the first meeting of the Mission Zero Meetup. We met some very nice, smart people whose mission is to treat the world with care and integrity so that it will last long enough to host the next generation and beyond. Not a bad goal, eh?

When we left the Interface building it was pouring outside so we decided to dash over to WaterHaven and ask them to pour us one inside. Behind the bar we met Tom, a 30 year veteran of the restaurant industry and another nice, smart person who aims to treat the world with care and integrity so that it will last... It seemed to be the theme of the evening.

Eat wild

2009-09-07T00:59:00Z

For the locarnavores out there who are interested in purchasing meat, cheese and dairy products from farmers who raise animals with kindness and engage in sustainable environmental practices, eatwild.com is a superb resource.

The Eat Wild web site is owned and operated by Jo Robinson, author of Pasture Perfect, a book that educates readers about the superiority of grass-fed livestock over animals that are raised in factory-farm conditions. Robinson's research into this subject has concluded that meat from grass-fed animals is higher in Vitamin E, beta-carotene and omega-3 fatty acids than meat from animals raised with more conventional farming methods.

Givin' it the greenwash

2009-09-03T16:39:00Z
Who wouldn't want to cash in on a trend? Now that green is all the rage, it can be hard to distinguish the restaurants and groceries that are really making substantial changes to lower their carbon footprint and which are just trying to cash in on the public's interest in all things sustainable.

The latter often engage in a process called greenwashing. Greenwashing includes all actions that are adopted in an attempt to appear to be green, without any real consideration as to what impact, if any, these actions will actually have on the environment.

Take plastic bags (please...). True green practice in this area means not contributing to the world trash problem by handing out plastic bags to your customers. There are environmental problems with paper bags too, primarily in the energy spent to produce and recycle them, but they aren't going to last past your lifetime in a landfill, leaving your children and grandchildren to solve the problem that you (we) created.

James Joyce - a "touch" o' the green

2009-09-02T00:25:00Z

Larry claims that James Joyce in Avondale serves the best Guinness on tap in Atlanta, so we pop in every so often just to make sure he doesn't develop some kind of crazy beer deficit or something. Although you couldn't exactly call it green yet, James Joyce is starting to make some changes in its restaurant operations. They recently coaxed chef Bobby Hall out of Five Seasons in Alpharetta, which is more than I can do with Larry at times, and he is starting to tweak the menu in the hopes of bringing in new diners. As for us, we would appreciate a few more vegetarian offerings, even though we plan to keep on ordering that roasted garlic/olive app as long as it's available.

Get half off at area green restaurants!

2009-08-31T01:12:00Z

Now you can be good to the planet and to your pocketbook at the same time. Half Off Green, a joint venture between the Atlanta Intown newspaper and restaurant environmental educators, Green Plate, are issuing coupons that are good for deep discounts at select Atlanta area restaurants.

Locals do us proud

2009-08-21T13:52:00Z
Bon Appetit included Billy and Kristin Allin's lovely green Decatur restaurant, Cakes & Ale, on their list of the Top Ten New Restaurants in America. Bon Appetit noted that the theme for today's most exciting restaurants, including the ten that made the final cut on their list, "support local farmers, sustainable agriculture, and regional cuisine." That's good news for the environment as well as for diners who desire fresh and healthy food.

Zoës Kitchen: The fresh future of leftovers

2009-08-20T02:28:00Z

It’s fast. It’s fresh. It’s far from foam. You won’t find a lick of that satanic Styrofoam at Zoës Kitchen in Buckhead. In the restaurant’s quest for greenhood, the first overhaul has been in the packaging. This location is the first in Georgia of the chain which originated in Birmingham, Alabama, and having been open only a few months, my hat is off to Zoës for entirely converting to sustainable takeout packaging.
Zoës is essentially a fast food restaurant, but not in a greasy, sketchy, corner-drive-through sort of way. I mean that one orders at the counter and can expect their meal to be ready in minutes, whether for a dine-in experience or a takeout delight—yes, it’s delightful to walk out feeling guilt-free with recycled Enviroware and Greenware cartons, cups, lids, and all. Plus, in the place of a typical fast food garbage bin, I found three separate recycling receptacles for paper, glass, and the sustainable ‘plastics’. If you’re not driving back to work with your Greenware corn cup in hand, indulge in a beer or wine to add an upscale, Euro-chic flair.

Mob rules!

2009-08-18T12:15:00Z

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Here's another group that uses their greenbacks to encourage green business practices - the Carrotmob is a new breed of activist organization, one that uses incentives such as improved customer relations, PR opportunities and everyone's favorite, cash, to facilitate change. This is a much more effective approach than the old "beating them over the head with a stick" tactic that has been the norm for reform until very recently.

Milltown Arms Tavern

2009-08-14T13:35:00Z

Last night we ate at Milltown Arms Tavern in Cabbagetown, a cool but unassuming little space with outsider art on the walls and comfy seating around the bar. The menu is primarily made up of standard pub fare but with some interesting twists, such as the wasabi mayonnaise cole slaw. The crispy home-made chips, topped with a generous serving of bleu cheese (not that bleu cheese salad dressing that some bars are using for this app) were some of the best we've had.

All tapped out and no place to go

2009-08-13T23:28:00Z

Just in case you haven't seen enough scary food films this year, here's one more that ought to push you over the edge. Tapped, brought to you by the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car and I.O.U.S.A., illuminates the dangers of bottled water. As you know, these hazards include chemical leaching, significant energy usage with zero added value and of course, the humongous problem of plastic waste as symbolized by that swirling sea of poisons right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Getting certified

2009-08-10T11:24:00Z
As you may remember, Restaurant Associates, working with the Environmental Defense Fund, recently developed a code of Best Practices for sustainable restaurant operations. RA vowed to begin working to bring all of their restaurants, including Atlanta's Table 1280 and the World Trade Center Atlanta, into line with these green guidelines.

Fresh - exciting!

2009-08-03T11:15:00Z

Food has become America's brightest star this year, progressing from having its own TV network to the big screen in movies like Food, Inc. and The End of the Line. These horror shows have done a huge service in educating people about the unsustainable practices that are today's norm in food production, and this kind of shock journalism is surely a necessary part of consciousness-raising. At the same time, it's really nice to also hear about what people are doing right and Fresh is the food flick that tells that side of the story.

Crimson Moon

2009-08-01T17:54:00Z

I had the good luck to spend the whole day in Dahlonega last Saturday. Laura, Kay, Deb and I wanted to go see the Southern Living Idea house in the afternoon, then Larry came up to meet me for dinner and music.

You've probably heard that there's gold in them thar hills and for my money it can be found right on the square at Crimson Moon. I don't get to Dahlonega very often so I made up for it by eating at Crimson Moon twice in the same day, in additon to an afternoon stop for a cool drink when the girls handed me off to Larry after touring the house.

Find out how you can protect yourself

2009-07-30T10:42:00Z
...from the risk of cancer. Edward Giovannuci, of Harvard University says here that the "consistently lower risk of cancer for a variety of anatomic sites that is associated with higher consumption of tomatoes and tomato-based products adds further support for dietary recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable consumption." Even better if they're organic. Find out more about the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes by going to Georgia Organics' web site and scoring tics to the big event. There's a discount if you join this worthy organization. Be healthy.Be organic.Be there. ...

You don't have to be a genius...

2009-07-29T11:45:00Z
...to know that everything we buy has an environmental cost. I'm learning a lot more about how engineers are determining what the true costs are by reading Daniel Goleman's new book, Ecological Intelligence: how knowing the hidden impacts of what we buy can change everything.

According to Goleman, scientists are working up Life Cycle Assessments (LCA's) for all kinds of products, from glass to plastics to food items, so that customers will have the information they need in order to make informed buying decisions. Goleman believes that when consumers can compare environmental impacts between items, they'll go with what is the least costly.To the environment, that is. It'll be sort of like the way that nutritional information on food packages helps people compare calories and the nutritional components of food.