Healthful Bites

As an post-work treat on Monday, I met a few new friends for dinner at a recently opened restaurant that can only be found in NYC and London: Otarian. I had seen ads all around town and online for this “green” restaurant and suggested it as a fun place to try. Especially after I found out that one of my fellow diners (hey Jennifer!) was the host and producer of an environment-focused radio show. Perfect!

Despite some fairly negative Yelp reviews, the four of us decided to give Otarian a shot and make our own call.

The vegetable-based menu is divided into:

• Openers (soups and salads)
• Quick Bites (wraps, tacos, flatbreads, burgers)
• Offerings (lasagna and other pasta dishes, tarts, biryani)
• Obsessions (desserts)
• Others (drinks, sides, condiments)

While this can be a bit confusing at first glance, it’s kind of cute to have new categories rather than appetizers, entrees and desserts. The other unique thing about the menu: it lists the calories (since it only has two outlets, this isn’t required) and the carbon footprint savings for each meal ordered—when compared to the “traditional” meal’s carbon output. 

Throughout the restaurant, and on napkins and packaging, Otarian tosses in facts about how vegetarianism and other green habits can make the world a better place. Otarian “walks the walk” too, recycling, composting and reusing about 98 percent of each restaurant’s waste. 

While I’m all about making good choices for my body and my planet, I rarely find myself shelling out too much extra money for eco-goods, as I’m trying to watch my budget as well. If the green option’s price is comparable to the traditional item’s price, I’m sold! 

But I’ll cut to the chase here…the food at Otarian was so tasty, that I’m willing to pay a few extra bucks. Plus, they have pretty admirable goals and innovative methods.

I ordered the small roasted tomato soup and the small sweet potato chiplets, plus a glass of water that I refilled many times during our great conversation. (Sidenote: even the sticker that labels the packaging is compostable! Who knew there were such things as compostable stickers?) We noticed that the utensils had an interesting texture. A little web research taught me that most of Otarian’s packaging is made from sugar cane industry byproducts. How do people think of this? 

The “chiplets” were sweet potatoes coated in a breadcrumb mixture, then baked. Reminiscent of a fish stick, except not fried and with a vegetable filling. The tomato soup had a nice basil flavor and a hearty texture that must come from pureeing the ingredients, which include potatoes, before serving. (Remind me to try out my hand blender, by the way. I’ve had it since Christmas and keep forgetting to give it a shot!)

While people who are not green fiends may find the onslaught of eco-tips off-putting, this restaurant received a thumbs up (A-/B+ on the school scale) in the food department by all four of us. The prices were pretty high for each dish and the combo meals.

But Otarian does a pretty decent job of telling you where this extra change is going. If you’ve ever read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” or seen the documentary “King Corn,” you can rest easy in the fact that your meal did not all come from corn origins :) In fact, the Otarian site says that the restaurant never uses foods that need to travel by air because, ” Travel is fun but our ingredients aren’t off on a holiday! So we avoid buying them air tickets because vacations are for people not food.” ;)

Do you invest in products that tout their environmental benefits? What is the most unusual restaurant concept you have ever come across?