Category Archives: Restaurant

Reshaping Restaurants

As discussed in this article, mid-tier casual restaurants are starting to suffer due to rising food costs and dropping consumer spending. Bennigan’s and Steak & Ale restaurants are closing their doors. My empathy goes to the restaurants’ now unemployed workers, but maybe that pain will reap some greater good. I have an idea for restaurants: […]

July 31, 2008 | Posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Rescued Brunch

I was reading this impassioned opinion piece on Philadelphia food security, I found myself nodding along. Then I got to the bottom and read this little disclaimer: Meghan McCracken is the Public Relations Associate at the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. She and her housemates run an underground secret café, serving handmade local seasonal and/or […]

June 26, 2008 | Also posted in Food Recovery, Household | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Don’t waste bananas–they might not be around much longer (at least not at $0.49/lb.) — — This just in: Australians waste $6 billion worth of food. Maybe it’s time Aussies *not* ‘put an extra shrimp on the barbie.’ Apparently those in the Australian capital of Canberra waste the most. Fortunately, Australia’s first food recovery operation, […]

June 20, 2008 | Also posted in Composting, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Household, International | Comments closed

Doggie Bag

If I’m going to confess the skeletons in my pantry, I may as well describe what I’d call a recent success. My wife and I went out to dinner last night. Instead of the standard two appetizers and two entrées, we went with the smörgÃ¥sbord approach–four smaller dishes. I find this kind of ordering usually […]

June 5, 2008 | Also posted in Personal | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

This just in from the Not In My Backyard Our Park Department: A British Columbia business association requested that a church stop handing out food donations in a park because it was attracting too many “indigent people.” I guess the association won’t go for this plan, then. — — Food waste and water loss are […]

May 23, 2008 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, Household, International, Personal, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Abu Dhabi Does Green

I’ve got some good news and some bad news about Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. First, the bad: Abu Dhabi’s resort buffets produce massive amounts of food waste. While this isn’t much different in Las Vegas or other buffet-laden destinations, it’s a problem. Without local food recovery groups, Abu Dhabi’s resort […]

May 5, 2008 | Also posted in International, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Bottomless Waste

Our friends at Chili’s have found a new way to encourage food waste: The Bottomless Express Lunch. Not content with over-sized portions, Chili’s is pushing waste–and no doubt waistlines–to new levels with this new promotion. The price and use of the word ‘bottomless’ will likely compel customers to eat to “get their money’s worth.” That […]

April 21, 2008 | Posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Tigers and Strawberries continues its series on avoiding restaurant food waste, discussing efficient storeroom procedures and utilizing surplus. — — You cartographers and map lovers will enjoy the compost path at Vermont’s Green Mountain College. The school feeds two pigs with the prep waste (kitchen scraps) and composts the plate waste (what students discard). — […]

April 11, 2008 | Also posted in College, Friday Buffet | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

With Passover just around the corner, it seems ironic that Egyptian bread is in the news. The Financial Times of Germany (even more irony?) reported that 20 percent of Egyptian bread made with subsidized wheat is going to waste. The culprit: Corrupt bakers sell their cheap flour on the black market or deliberately ruin some […]

April 4, 2008 | Also posted in College, Friday Buffet, International, Supermarket, Trayless | Comments closed

Comparing Chains’ Waste

I’ve often heaped praise on T.G.I. Friday’s for offering smaller sized meals in the “Right Portion, Right Prize” menu. Here’s where I prove I’m not on the T.G.I. payroll. I recently came across a list of organic waste produced by all restaurants in Southeastern Massachusetts (no link, because it’s not online). Given the geographic specificity, […]

March 20, 2008 | Also posted in Stats | Comments closed