Among Things to Like About Our Nation’s Capital – Part 2 + Bay News

Part 1 of this post, published last week, was about-

• “America’s Greenest College Town,” including AU, CUA, GW, UDC, Galludet, Georgetown, Howard and Trinity Washington
• Close-in urban residential developer EYA which offers clustered, walkable for-sale housing

Today’s post, Part 2, is about-

• One of the country’s most sustainable restaurants, co-op-owned Founding Farmers  (LEED and Green Restaurant Association certified)

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For wholesome, great eats and spirits, go to Founding Farmers! I’ve been and recommend it.

This DC restaurant should be conferred “institutional” status for its co-op farm-to-table origination and its certifications for sustainable interior and restaurant practices.

It’s located in a portion of the first 2 floors of the International Monetary Fund HQ building in Foggy Bottom, is near a Metro stop in one direction and is a few blocks from the White House in the opposite direction.

This restaurant is the brainchild of the North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) which selected DC as a demonstration site for a true farm-to-table restaurant, teaming with two industry experts to plan, open and operate.

The restaurant remains owned as a co-op by the more than 40,000 family farmers of NDFU. It’s supplied daily by hundreds of family farms providing fresh food products. (I blogged on farm-to-table about a year ago.)

From its website: “We make every effort to embody the values of the farmers who own us and partner with us. For us, that means paying attention to every detail: from the way we treat our team like family to the way we choose our product. The food prepared in our Founding Farmers kitchens is made in-house, from scratch every day. Our dedication to serving high-quality, real, farm-to-table food is what sets us apart.”

“We bake our own bread (approximately 118,000 loaves per year).” Who would guess, but the flour is sourced from the state-owned North Dakota Mill so flour-making profits are returned to North Dakotans.

“We grind our own beef, we press our own juices, we even churn our own butter. Our menus are inspired by our country’s rich culinary tradition, including our versions of all-American classics, as well as innovative creations based on a wide range of American cuisine.”

Founding Farmers’ sustainability practices are: “about our team, our facilities, our practices, and the hundreds of decisions we make each day that affect the world around us. We believe it’s about finding a balance which allows us to sustain our quest of making quality, accessible food, while also giving back to our community and the environment.” The DC location is the first LEED® Gold Certified restaurant in the country. It’s also a 3 Star Certified Green Restaurant®.

As a Certified Green Restaurant, Founding Farmers reports on a multitude of checklist items, including recycling practices and water and energy usage. “We invest daily in composting services for all of our organic waste and recycling services, including turning our cooking oil into high quality biodiesel. We pay attention to the details, like choosing non-toxic cleaning products and recycled paper products. Each year, we offset some of our greenhouse gas emissions with the purchase of carbon credits through Carbonfund.org.”

If single, FF would be one of the places where I’d hang out in hopes of bumping into partner-potential, i.e., a delightful person into (or at least interested in) all things sustainable. As it stands (more than 31 years ago), I met my bride at Kramerbooks & Afterwards Café, a DuPont Circle bookstore and café. Yeah, well, in Afterwards.

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This Just In–  The U. S. Supreme Court on Monday let stand a lower court ruling that the EPA’s Total Maximum Daily Load is legal. This is a huge validation of Bay restoration planning/efforts!! The TMDL limits the release of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution in the Bay. It’s also known as The Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint.