Green-Certified Restaurants for Earth Day Dining

by Jessie Cacciola, Posted Apr 22nd 2011 @ 2:00PM

Brasserie Jo restaurant (Boston) Brasserie Jo, Boston. Photo: colonnade, Flickr

If you're not celebrating Earth Day by dining at one of the many Earth Dinners we offered to you earlier this week, take comfort in one of these green-certified spots approved by the only non-profit that can: the Green Restaurant Association (GRA). This 20-year-old, nationally recognized program is backed by Energy Star and the Environmental Defense Fund. To get an approval from this group, your establishment needs to be Stryfoam-free, recycle-friendly (and compost, if available) and use sustainable food and water.

"The Green Restaurant Association is proud to have attracted scores of highly esteemed restaurants from across the United States," said Michael Oshman, founder and executive director of the GRA, in a statement. Most recognizable: Le Bernardin, Mario Batali's empire, Microsoft corporate cafés, Hyatt hotels, Panera and Jamba Juice. Not to leave anyone out, here's the full list.

Osham adds that the organization's continued growth "is a testament to the overwhelming environmental, financial, and staff benefits of creating a more sustainable restaurant, and these Certified Green Restaurants® are leading the way towards creating a more environmentally sustainable world."

As long as we're celebrating Earth Day, why not try one of these newly approved (and lesser known) locales tonight? Laughing Seed (Asheville, NC), Brasserie Jo (Boston), Tribute (Chicago), and Manito Tap House, in Spokane, WA, are all GRA babies added within the last two weeks. So are Piatti Ristorante & Bar, in Seattle, WA, Organicoa (New York), Homegrown in Asheville, NC and Bourbon BBQ in New Jersey.

Filed Under: Restaurants, Eco-Friendly
Tags: green restaurant association, green restaurants