{"id":4296,"date":"2009-03-18T09:17:23","date_gmt":"2009-03-18T15:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=4296"},"modified":"2009-03-18T09:17:23","modified_gmt":"2009-03-18T15:17:23","slug":"the-greens-restaurant-in-san-francisco-cooking-up-solutions-to-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-greens-restaurant-in-san-francisco-cooking-up-solutions-to-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greens Restaurant in San Francisco: Cooking Up Solutions to Climate Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chef<\/a><\/p>\n

For the last twenty-eight of the thirty years of the Greens Restaurant<\/a> in San Francisco, chef Annie Somerville has championed and celebrated all that sustainable, vegetarian cuisine can represent: local, seasonal, fresh, nutritious, healthy, tasty \u2013 and, especially, direct from the farm.<\/h3>\n

Since opening in 1979 in the rehabilitated warehouse at the Fort Mason Center, the Greens Restaurant has prospered by featuring the finest, local, seasonal organic ingredients, lovingly prepared by chef Somerville and her talented culinary artists to entice your palate and satisfy your hunger to make the world a better place.\u00a0 By how the Greens Restaurant operates, focusing on vegetarian cuisine from local, sustainable, organic farms and businesses featuring artisan foods, they\u2019ve also been leaders in helping mitigate human impacts climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My family and I sat down with Chef Somerville after a delicious meal of grilled polenta with roasted wild mushrooms, shallots and herb cream, followed by farro spaghetti with winter squash and greens as well as mesquite grilled brochettes, mushrooms, yellow finn potatoes, peppers, red onions, yams, fennel and Hodo Soy tofu with charmoula and almond cherry quinoa.\u00a0 Why wait for a taste of heaven?\u00a0 That practically all the ingredients for our vegetarian meal came fewer than a hundred miles away, all the better.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a groundswell,\u201d admits the personable and relaxed Somerville, this despite a rapidly filling restaurant on a Friday night. No sign of a downturn in business here in spite of the faltering economy, something shared in common among other ecopreneurial enterprises<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cOur patrons savor our delicious food because they appreciate just how fresh it is.\u00a0 Because of this, I focus on simple preparations, drawing from the abundance of produce found at the local farmers\u2019 market as well as direct from the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in the Marin Headlands and Bolinas\u2019 Star Route Farms.\u201d\u00a0 Her approach to simple vegetarian cuisine is celebrated in her two cookbooks, most recently Everyday Greens<\/em>, and her earlier cookbook, Fields of Greens<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Besides long-standing relationships with various regional farms, the Greens Restaurant sources their sourdough and other breads from Acme Bread and their delectable cheeses from Cow Girl Creamery \u2013 cheesemakers who pride themselves on an artisanal approach to making cheeses.\u00a0 Quality, not quantity, is the mantra at the Greens Restaurant, though you won\u2019t depart the table hungry either.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good time to be vegetarian,\u201d admits Somerville who recognizes that methane gas is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.\u00a0 With the growing livestock industry globally and shift in more meat-based diets, this could be the next shoe to drop in the climate change discussion.\u00a0 \u201cThe majority of our guests are not strict vegetarians,\u201d says Somerville.\u00a0 \u201cBut they\u2019re aware by eating more locally, vegetarian and organic, they can make a difference in climate change by how they eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impacts of climate are all too real for people living with the widespread wildfires throughout California, and drought in the San Francisco Bay area.\u00a0 So eating local, sourcing food from organic or more sustainable agriculture operations, and, at least some of the time, eating lower on the food chain by consuming more vegetables, fruits, legumes, fungi and nuts are all practical ways to help address our climate change reality.\u00a0 \u201cPeople are very aware about the importance of eating in your foodshed, locally where our food is grown,\u201d adds Somerville.\u00a0 \u201cIt cuts down on emissions from transport and builds a more vibrant local economy.\u00a0 People are also aware of the chemicals added in conventional approaches to agriculture, both in produce and with livestock.\u00a0 It\u2019s just not good for us, for the animals, for the farmers, or for our planet.\u201d\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to read too many headlines these days for signs of ecological stress or collapse resulting from the conventional approach to agriculture.<\/p>\n

With chef Someville finally called back into the kitchen, we settled down to a indulgent flourless mocha torte with espresso caramel and gianduja-stracciatella gelato.\u00a0 Our son, of course, took the last bite — perhaps fitting, because how we eat today will determine the future he inherits tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Photography:\u00a0 Courtesy of the Greens Restaurant (Chef Annie Somerville of the Greens Restaurant)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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