Not long ago, I devised a system of thinking about food and how it relates to natural lifestyle – I call it “festivore.” Click here to find out if you are a festivore. I developed a rating system for restaurants and food shops based on the principles of the fourth element of sustainability. Here is how it works:
There are three levels of recognition in festivore
- LEVEL 1: Being one of the few selected for inclusion in the festivore guide (most restaurants do not qualify)
- LEVEL 2: Category Awards for good food, affordability, great places, and sustainable business practices (see below)
- LEVEL 3: festivore CHOICE
festivore CHOICE… our favorite restaurants
Our favorite places are designated festivore CHOICE, chosen for excellence in the most critical factors. Only a small fraction of restaurants in the region qualify (generally fewer than 1%). Culinary pleasure is the first criterion! Then, performance in 8 sustainability categories is considered (see Category Awards below). The featured restaurants on our home page and our city pages are drawn from this pool of top performers.
Our “perfect restaurant” serves delicious food made from plants & animals that are naturally raised, sustainably harvested, or foraged. The preparations are healthy, with ingredients tending to lower on the food chain. The meal is affordable, and most of the restaurant’s products & services are sourced locally. The business is fair to employees and suppliers, respectful of nature, conserves resources and promotes community. Finally, the restaurant is a natural habitat, relaxing and restorative, and is a connector of people.
CATEGORY AWARDS
We give special recognition to restaurants that do a great job in eight specific aspects of sustainable dining:
- the food is natural / organic (real food) and healthy / low on the food chain (low food)
- the cost is affordable, with cheap eats or special deals
- the place is a natural habitat and a third place (connecting people), and
- the business is local and green (eco-friendly and fair)
These eight Category Awards are described below (in alphabetical order):
a third place
These are places that are relaxing, fun, comfortable, and friendly. They are “third places” (the third place in your life is the one after “home” and “work,” where you hang out and connect with others). Third places are accommodating of a variety of the social needs of their patrons (kids, couples on a date, singles, seniors, etc.). They offer great personal service and they build community.
cheap eats
First we should say that, through industrialization, we have driven down the cost of food so fiercely, that in some cases it is no longer “food.” We can continue to drive down food cost, at the expense of the environment, animal rights, good taste and human health… but does it make sense to stay on this path?
Although its efficiency/cost is improving too, real food is often more expensive to produce than industrial food – and much better for our bodies and for nature. Yet, the vast majority of us have limited resources and we need to save money wherever we can. So, we recognize places that are affordable on a limited budget (and inexpensive enough to allow the average consumer to dine there frequently) with the “cheap eats” award. See additional comments on Cost Ratings in the sidebar.
However, if a restaurant compromises health, environment, and taste in an effort to offer cheap food, it won’t be included in festivore.
deep green
Elements of green behavior that we consider include:
- zero waste: reduce, reuse, recycle, compost
- energy reduction
- habitat protection (land, air, and waters)
- animal welfare
- green sourcing
- fairness to employees & suppliers
- support of walking, biking & transit
- building community
Many festivore restaurants are now engaged in some green practices (great!). Restaurants recognized with the “deep green” category award are making extraordinary efforts in this area.
Readings:
happy hours (affordability)
Industrial food may be lacking in culinary pleasure and it may be unhealthy, but it has one big advantage… it is cheap. “Real food,” prepared well, is wonderful but can be expensive… basically inaccessible to a large segment of the population.
At festivore we give special recognition to restaurants that offer cheap eats, but not all food formats have a low enough cost basis to achieve this. Fortunately, some higher-priced restaurants offer affordable plates via a “happy hour menu,” smaller portions at reduced prices, or other special arrangements. This is great news for people seeking real food in a nice environment, if we are willing to accommodate the special terms of the deal (such as dining early or late, on certain days, or eating less). If these offerings are substantial, healthful and frequent enough, the restaurant may receive the “special deals” category award. In any case, these deals can be found with our happy hour food tag in the Service column in the Advanced Search.
In addition to the cost benefits, smaller portions promote nutritional variety and give the consumer the option to eat less (avoid overeating)… and perhaps dine out more often.
Note that if the food quality is compromised or the scope of the offering is insignificant, the restaurant will not receive this recognition.
Check the restaurant’s web site (listed on our restaurant page) for menu details and hours. See additional comments on Cost Ratings in the sidebar.
low food
In festivore, the term “low food” is about maintaining balanced nutrition, while minimizing the environmental “footprint” of the meal. Fortunately, both of these can be accomplished in large part by eating lower on the food chain most of the time.
That includes eating mostly plants, using animal proteins as ingredients rather than main courses. When eating fish, staying low on the food chain minimizes your intake of toxins that bioaccumulate in larger fish, and it can reduce pressure on the marine environment. Restaurants that make it easy to “eat low” receive our recognition.
variety: In order to get the full complement of micronutrients, we need to consume a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. We get pleasure in seeing the brilliant colors of a plate of nutritious food for a reason. Variety in other nutrients – proteins, fats, etc. is also beneficial.
portion size: Smaller portions allow the extent of variety of nutrients required for a healthy meal.
nutrient proportions: Meat, fish and starches are delicious ingredients, but leafy greens, other colorful vegetables and fruits should be the greater source of nutrition in a great meal.
mostly plants: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” In Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food, he reminds us that what we put in our mouths should be real food, eaten in moderation, and that our bodies are not built to handle too many animal products. Meat and dairy products should be embellishments rather than mainstay of our diets. Restaurants that respect this essential biological fact will score in this category.
seasonal and fresh: Our bodies are in tune with time and place, so foods taste better when they are locally grown and in season. Nutrient value (and flavor) are at their peak just after harvest. The best chefs often buy directly from farmers and they know the names of the people who grow their food. Many of them regularly visit the farms to be personally engaged in the farm-to-table process, just as the best winemakers carefully monitor their vineyards.
Readings:
mostly local
Festivore highlights restaurants that are “mostly local,” meaning that priority is given to known and trusted local vendors of produce, meats, and beverages. But realistically, many communities lack sufficient variety of foods in the winter to support a healthy diet. Rather than ask everyone to relocate to warm climates, we allow for reasonable supplementation with non-local ingredients… but we still expect our restaurants to pay homage to seasonality, even in winter.
Not every tasty product can be grown locally. Some obvious examples for Northern cities are coffee, chocolate, and bananas. We also recognize that an artisan food (say, a lovely Basque sheep cheese) may make perfect sense on a menu as a complement to local produce and meats. Many of these exported hand-crafted products have supported families and communities for many generations, while bringing culinary pleasure to their customers.
Local sourcing reduces transportation impacts, encourages sustainable agriculture, supports community and helps to maintain lively local economies. Eating seasonally gives a greater sense of time and place, which can have nutritional, social, and spiritual benefits, too. There’s something wonderful about waiting anxiously for a favorite food to come in season. See our post On Local Food in the FORUM on the sidebar.
We also encourage using local suppliers of other products (like equipment, packaging, disposibles, art, music, etc.) and services (like design, banking, insurance, etc.), where possible.
natural habitat
The restaurant is a habitat for relaxing, socializing, and enjoying food. It should be pleasing to the eye, comfortable and convenient – appealing to all of the senses. How nature and the human element are brought into the space will determine success in this area. [Note: there are many paths to a great design and we enjoy the variety – as long as the principles of a natural human habitat are addressed.]
A habitat may be great because it inspires and stimulates the imagination, or perhaps it has a compelling history and unique features. Some designs simply “work” well – being perfectly appropriate to the setting, space & intent of the restaurant. Good management of sights, sounds, smells, temperature, fresh air, lack of clutter, etc. are important in a great design.
Humans like to feel a sense of “gravity” (stone, heavy beams, vaulted ceilings), which creates a feeling of comfort and security. We benefit from the use of natural, elemental materials and from nature being brought into the space (rocks, plants, sticks, flowers, trees, windows, skylights, gardens, decks, patios, sidewalks, terraces…). A human touch in the building and its contents is another aspect of nature (human nature) and can be seen in antiques and decorations of fine materials and workmanship, a well-worn floor, or a primitive but lovingly made artifact.
Readings:
organic/real food
We look for produce grown in healthy living soil and animals raised naturally, on their proper food.
Ingredients should be mostly natural (with no chemical or genetic modifications), seasonal and local, wild or foraged, wherever reasonable. Great food starts with great ingredients. The best chefs understand and respect their linkage to the farm, the forest, and the oceans – and their role in our health and enjoyment of food. We appreciate chefs who allow the natural goodness of great ingredients to shine in their creations.
Note: we don’t require every single ingredient to be “certified organic,” but naturally-raised local foods should be the norm – within the constraints of the supply chain and menu. Organic certification has become a food industry process and is therefore subject to manipulation and may be inaccessible to many wonderful farmers who meet or exceed the original intent of the regulation. Some of the best farmers do not carry the “organic ” label – we need to make the effort to know where our food comes from.
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