California’s Best Restaurants For Sustainability

Sustainability is becoming a huge thing in the restaurant industry, and California is leading the way with eateries offering delicious food in a environmental way. 

California restaurant critic for The New York Times Tejal Rao picked the top five establishments in the state that cooked with local ingredients, used reusable or recyclable containers, were energy efficient, and involved themselves in food waste initiatives. 

One of the restaurants she thought is excelling is Café Ohlone, situated in Berkeley. The restaurant is run by Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino, who are “focused on sustaining our traditional Ohlone culture”. 

They have done this by creating a community space for Ohlone people, who are Native Americans in North California, to showcase their food and delicacies to the rest of the region, and to educate the public about this vibrant culture. 

Ms Rao also picked Shuggie’s Trash Pie, so-called because owners use irregular vegetables that are going to be sent to landfills to create delicious pizza pies. 

Kayla Abe and David Murphy, also owners of the Ugly Pickle Co, decided to do their bit for the environment by saving, or re-using, as much wasted food as possible. They revealed 40 per cent of all food in the US is thrown out, mostly for “absurd reasons”. 

“We’re rescuing a huge variety of ingredients that would otherwise go to waste – irregular or surplus produce, by-products from food manufacturing, lower-on-the-food-chain seafood, and offcuts from the meat industry (aka the actual best cuts) – and making them the stars of our menu,” they said. 

The menu includes the likes of underripe tomatoes, spent oats for their pizza dough, and “ugly shrooms”.

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