Restaurants have the ability to provide a way to survey our collective response to climate change, especially in California, where more businesses are starting to use compostable takeout containers, as well as take part in energy efficiency programs, and cook with local ingredients.
Here are a few places where the chefs' ideas around sustainability are shaping their menus in sustainable and delicious ways.
Shuggie's Trash Pie
Kayla Abe and David Murphy's Ugly Pickle Co. made the most out of vegetables in order to minimize produce that was being sent to landfills. Everything you order at Shuggie's is meant to lower your carbon footprint. You can read more about Shuggie's here.
The Anchovy Bar
While the best time to visit is during the months of April to October, when they offer several preparations of local anchovies taken directly from San Francisco Bay, Anchovy Bar also offers several other seafood dishes sourced from California.
You'll find oysters farmed an hour north in Tomales Bay by Hog Island Oyster Company. Albacore from Eureka, CA, seared with charred tomato salsa and smoked chile aioli. And a whole lot more. Read more about The Anchovy Bar here.
Joodooboo
Steve Joo's delicious tofu is the star of this warm and unfussy Korean banchan shop in Oakland. On top of that, everything is made fresh daily. Here, you'll find small, simple, intensely flavored dishes that change according to what's in season and are mostly vegetarian.
