The long range plan (can’t say when because it depends on the other green – money) is for Betty to include a dining guide, but in the meantime I have to give a shout out to two local eateries: Sublime and Brix.
I stopped by Brix, a favorite cafe of mine, yesterday while the kids where at TaeKwonDo. Karen Laetare has been quietly green-conscious since opening her Marketplace on Route 53 eight years ago. When I spoke to her last summer she was continuing to research the lowest-impact containers for her new restaurant at Pantops. I wasn’t able to chat with her yesterday about how much local foods she incorporates in her delicious recipes, but I do know she is ever-conscious of how to reduce waste in the running of her business. She provides mugs and napkins and a recycling option in the cafe (no disposable plasticware for in-house diners, which I love) and the take-home options are all eco-friendly. Compostable coffee cups and paper boxes (no Styrofoam here – not even for the soups).
I also ran into Geoff Robinson, part owner of Sublime All-Natural food and juice bar, on the Corner. Walking into their store is lesson in conscious eating. What impresses me most about this green eat is their complete mindfulness and consideration at every step of the way: delivering food from the Earth to you. They offer local cheese and local fruits from Henley’s Orchard. If you haven’t tried one of their delicious smoothies in a compostable cup, you have been missing out!
Geoff and I were chatting about the challenges of owning a total green eat (unfortunately they took a hit this Summer with the students gone). Their menu items may be higher cost but they are higher (more natural, more nutritional, more sustainable) quality and higher purpose.
When I saw Geoff he was picking, choosing, debating the best bread options for his customers. The inside scoop: this fall they are adding sandwiches to their ever-growing menu. (You heard it here first!) He was excited because he had just found a supplier of grass-fed beef from Crozet. I plan to interview him this fall to get more of the details of all the better world efforts of this local business.
In the meantime, find time to patronize one of these local green eats in the coming week. And be sure to tell them Betty sent you!
In-joy,
BWB
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