Uploaded to flickr.com by DistractedMind
“Ordering out” is a common occurrence in many households. In our home we find ourselves phoning in an order at the end of a long week (especially during the school year) or Saturdays at lunch, though there are exceptions to those patterns. As I reached for a helping of moo shu pork a week or so ago I noticed the container wasn’t what I was expecting. It was reusable and recyclable. I made a mental note to start compiling a short-list of restaurants that offer to-go or delivery containers that are better for the environment than the old stand-bys of Styrofoam, wax paper, and the like. My criteria were simple: give me packaging I can easily reuse, recycle, or that is biodegradable; bonus points for using organic or locally-sourced products and using other green strategies within the restaurant. I’ve often read to vote with your wallet (or purse) and let establishments know you appreciate the lengths they go to in an effort to be socially or ecologically responsible. Of course, it helps if you like the product the packaging holds.
Here’s the start of my list—not in any way meant to be exhaustive or complete. Please fee free to leave a comment adding information about other restaurants or take-out places on the Hill. I imagine there will be a “part two” to this post in the near future.
I enjoy a good sandwich, and why not a side of deep-fried thingies too? Taylor Gourmet packages their hot subs in aluminum foil, cradles the risotto balls and ravioli in biodegradable paperboard that is then wrapped in foil, and offers paper bags for carry-out. (Aluminum foil is recyclable in DC, by the way.) The H Street location also employs low-energy lighting and green cleaning products. These guys even devote a part of their website to their green efforts and recycle their fryer oil.
The almost-new Ted’s Bulletin does a good job in providing greener doggie bags. Food can be taken home in a paperboard container, which is recyclable, maybe even compostable. A single pop-tart is provided in a paper sleeve. Much of the inside of the restaurant was salvaged and reused from a site in Philadelphia, which kept the stuff out of a landfill somewhere.
To-go containers at Le Pain Quotidien take on a variety of shapes and sizes depending on what you plan to eat, but similar paperboard containers are offered when you can’t finish your sit-down meal. They also bake with organic ingredients and their communal tables are reclaimed wood, which means trees weren’t annihilated to create them.
Pizza has always been the ecological front-runner in delivery foods. The flat cardboard box is recyclable and has been for decades. So we must stop and salute places like Al’s Gourmet Pizza, New York Pizza, and even Domino’s. We don’t really do delivery pizza all that often as I’m originally from New York and, well don’t get THIH started on pizza pickiness again. Now if we can just limit the grease that saturates our recyclable cardboard boxes…Pies come in all types, though, and Dangerously Delicious uses the same pizzeria-esque cardboard transport containers for its decadent desserts. Individual slices also come in recyclable boxes.
Oh yes, and that moo shu pork. Hunan Dynasty has been serving the Hill for years and when you get delivery from them, many of their dishes come in reusable plastic containers. We’ve found the vessels to be dishwasher and microwave safe. The rice still comes in the traditional Chinese food containers, but the cardboard is recyclable (just toss the little metal handle).
Yes, delivery often arrives in a plastic bag. Horrible, horrible plastic…which is recyclable, and reusable.
So what did your take-out arrive in last Friday night?
No styrofoam was accepted in the making of this post.
The Argo once encouraged diners to bring back their to-go containers for a percentage off their next bill. But I think that they are limiting their “promotions” until they are back on their feet.
Uncanny– this morning I was just thinking about how much I hate Styrofoam containers and wishing there were a way to know in advance whether a restaurant uses them or not. My favorites are those small round plastic reusable containers (most often used by Chinese restaurants); they’re the perfect size for taking to work and they don’t leak.
pizza boxes are technically NOT permissible for recycling due to the layer of grease that accumulates. They SHOULD be though. I’ll usually tear off the top (if clean) and break it into enough small pieces which do not appear different than ordinary cardboard
http://dpw.dc.gov/DC/DPW/Services+on+Your+Block/Recycling/Residential+Recycling+FAQs
Not a fan of the plastic containers which contain BPA and hold hot food, which is a bad combination (potential endocrine disruptors). The stuff that Taylor uses are disposable, biodegradable, and compostable (made from either corn husks or sugarcane fiber).
Pizza boxes are not permissable, but the material IS recyclable. It’s the, hmm, quality of the food being contained that often renders it un-recyclable. Some establishments put a piece of wax paper under the pizza in the box. While the wax paper isn’t recyclable, it salvages the box. Dangerously Delicious Pies usually don’t come with a layer of grease, at least the pieces I have had. The whole pies sit in a container in the box too.
Great post,
I think a more important list would be a list of restaurants that DO use styrofoam, etc. That way you know not to go there and perhaps they will change their methods. There’s certainly no need for that stuff anymore.
Dan, I agree styrofoam is no longer a necessity for carry-out.
THIH tries to accentuate the positive though, instead of creating witch-hunts. Why not choose to spend your money where you KNOW the folks are doing right for the planet and cooking up a mean whatever-you-are-hungry-for?