London & UK Organic & Sustainable Eating

UK green travelers and residents need never go hungry again! Explore the following super useful tools:

At the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) you can search for restaurants which have been rated based on 14 criteria including use of local and seasonal foods, sustainable seafood and meats, water conservation, and fair trade.

Check out the 2012 sustainable restaurant award winners such as the restaurant at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Great Milton, Oxford where organic food grown in its own two-acre garden supplies the kitchen with over one hundred and fifty different vegetables and herbs. Another award winner, Ode, in Devon, serves local and organic meals for lunch and dinner.


With the new app from the Good Food Guide 2012  you can search for restaurants by cuisine type (vegetarian, French, etc), cost, distance, or alphabetically by name.

And for organic and natural food markets check out The London Organic Directory to find restaurants, cafés, pubs and health food stores.

If you need gluten-free options the UK Celiac Society provides a guide for allergy-sufferers which will help you find eateries and hotels.

Eating in the UK will never be the same—enjoy!

Paola's Restaurant—Inconspicuous Italian

 

I had no idea the treat I was in for as I settled into eat at Paola's with a very dear old friend of mine. I had been in New York for almost two weeks working on the grueling task of emptying a wreck of an apartment while staying at a friend's place. On my walk between the apartments I unwittingly passed Paola's every day, never noticing it behind its subdued facade. When my friend suggested it I was surprised at the address she gave, "Really? It's on 92nd and Madison?" certain there must be an error.

Low and behold, the address was correct and Paola's, whose entrance is on 92nd Street, not Madison (which explains how I missed it—sort of) is a sizable restaurant specializing in Italian food. Open for lunch and dinner, the restaurant is abuzz with people so reservations are recommended.

What many of the customers are likely unaware of is Paola's commitment to using fresh and local ingredients whenever possible. While the political issues of local food are understood, it is the freshness, quality and taste that drive the restaurant to prepare as much of its dishes with New York produced ingredients as it can. 

Vegetables and seasonal fruits come from the Union Square farmer's market (worth a trip if you have never been), as does some of the meat. One of the owner's of Paola's works some land in upstate New York, producing a small amount of vegetables for the restaurant and the future goal is for the restaurant to have its own farm where the restaurant can source a high percentage of its food.

Diners looking for gluten-free options will find plenty at Paola's including gluten-free pasta on request as well as specialty dishes that are senza gluten. My dish samplings included sumptuous spinach and ricotta on a bed of house-made tomato sauce and delectable grilled artichokes— a house specialty with origins from Rome's Jewish ghetto where fried artichokes are still a popular delicacy. The Carciofi alla giudía (Jewish-style artichokes) have a taste and texture not ordinarily experienced with this edible thistle—crunchy and succulent—it leaves you wanting more, as it should be.

While Paola's is not for those on a tight budget, you can certainly eat for under $30 if you order one course, but I warn you it is hard to only have one.

Paola's
1295 Madison Avenue (entrance on 92nd Street)
New York City, NY 10128
www.paolasrestaurant.com
212-794-1890
Open for Lunch: 11:00 am to 4:00 pm; Dinner: 4:30 pm to 11:00 pm
Prices: Antipasti $12-18; Pastas $20-22; Main/Secondi $22-40; Brunch $12-26

Android Vermont Eats App is Here

Android users rejoice! The Vermont Eats app is now available in Android format—and as an individual app (yay!) not within "Sutro World" like on the iTunes store.

So it is easy to get your copy of Vermont Eats and start enjoying the over 400 sources of great local food and places to eat.

Apple® device users—an updated Vermont Eats will be available soon—stay tuned.

Puglia Italy App—The Green & Local Side

Travel guide apps are an easy addiction with photographs and descriptions that draw you into other lands and cultures. Via the Puglia Travel Guide app, I have just traveled to Puglia, the southeastern region of Italy which has plentiful sandy beaches along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts.

While not a green travel app, the Puglia Guide has many listings for travelers wanting to go green. In the Puglia Guide you can learn which towns have farmer's markets, find agriturismo rural farm lodging or you can explore the restored trulli, stone buildings with conical roofs made from limestone specific to Puglia, including the Trulli of Alberobello, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bread lover's and local foodies should not miss the bread from Altamura made with locally grown wheat which made news a few years ago when the locals chose their traditional bread over McDonalds—a great story!

Travel to Puglia either virtually or for real—either way you will be happy to have the Puglia Guide.