The Missouri Botanical Garden is recognized throughout the world as a leader for plant conservation. Now the garden’s café, Sassafras, has been recognized for its conservation efforts. Sassafras is Missouri’s first certified green restaurant. It’s one of only two museum restaurants in the country with this certification; the other is in Boston.
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Top: Guests on the dining terrace at Sassafras have great views of Missouri Botanical Garden.
Below: Chicken tortilla soup and white-meat chicken salad are served on colorful, washable dishes with real cutlery, which cuts down on waste. |
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The Garden and Catering St. Louis, which operates Sassafras, have been working with the Green Restaurant Association (GRA) since early this spring on the certification, said Jean Ponzi, program manager for EarthWays Center, a division of Missouri Botanical Garden. After filing an exhaustive application, the GRA thoroughly evaluated the café’s site and practices and made a few recommendations to the restaurant. Aerators were installed on both sinks, which cuts down on water consumption. Napkins were switched to an unbleached 100-percent recycled product. Hot cups now are 10-percent post-consumer waste, the most allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
For the café’s 2005 remodel, environmentally friendly materials–including tabletops made of recycled paper products, and a service counter made of natural cork oak bark–were installed. These are a few of many behind-the-scenes efforts to protect the planet that are in place at Sassafras. Ponzi said there will be more information to educate guests about the Garden’s efforts to be more sustainable.
“We have a very strong commitment to educate visitors in every way we can so they can apply these principles in everyday life,” Ponzi said.
Diners will notice other sustainable efforts at Sassafras. At the beverage station, guests can fill their cup with Earth and Sky coffee, an organic, fair-trade product. The self-service condiment and beverage lid station has the suggested “think before you take” message that encourages diners to stop before automatically grabbing a straw or lid.
More locally grown food will be used in menus whenever possible, although Ponzi said “that’s a relationship we really have to establish.” Some local produce, however, is used in salads.
Recently, I stopped for lunch at Sassafras and tried the favored sandwich, Peter’s Chicken Salad Sandwich, a classic white-meat salad that’s made fresh daily and served on a wheat bun. The mayonnaise was creamy and the diced celery gave the sandwich the right amount of crunch. I paired this with the chicken tortilla soup for $6.50. The soup was quite good with chunks of white chicken meat plus carrots, tomatoes, celery, corn and onion. The chipotle provided the zing of flavor while the sour cream swirled in the soup provided balance. The cup of soup was topped with tortilla chips, which would have been better served on the side. A better pairing with this soup might have been the grilled black bean and rice quesadilla.
The popular French Spring Farmer’s Salad is locally grown greens topped with ham, fresh asparagus, brie and spiced walnuts with a champagne vinaigrette dressing. Hamburgers and hotdogs, staples of the institutional restaurant menu, are there, as is a children’s menu. Adults can enjoy a glass of wine with their salad or sandwich, or a cold Fat Tire with a burger.
Lunch can be eaten indoors or on the terrace, a great place to watch people. Table umbrellas and mature trees keep guests in the shade. Recycling bins are accessible on the terrace, as well as around the garden. Dessert choices are frozen treats, cookies, brownies or fruit. Beverages, snacks and sweets are served before and after lunch. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis. For information about Sassafras going green, click on www.mobot.org/shop/sassafras.asp.
At Sassafras, guests can enjoy good food and feel good about their dining choice. After all, green isn’t just for the salad bowl anymore.
Deborah Reinhardt Palmer is managing editor for AAA Midwest Traveler.
