Eating out 101
After a leisurely hike at Mt. Tamalpais yesterday, we decided to eat out at San Rafael for dinner. We realized that it may not be the best time to eat out because it was January 1st. Luckily, Taqueria El Farolito on 4th Street was still open. Their Caldo de Res was bomb! I’m not sure about their cleanliness and waste disposal though.
To summarize our dinner experience, I completely forgot to tap into my green mindset and ended up sabotaging the first day to living more sustainably by using single-use plastics. It was only after holding the plastic cups for the sauce, the soda cup, and seeing the food on our table that I realized I made terrible choices. I think it’s also because I haven’t really exercised a zero waste mindset that most of my actions are reactive. So as soon as we got home, I wrote down how I could have avoided this problem.
Here are some of my actions items:
Bring own reusable water bottle. If I had my bottled water, I wouldn’t have ordered the Horchata served in a paper cup with a plastic lid and straw. I could have them pour it in my own water bottle.
Take a look at what other people ordered
You’ll know what kind of plates and cutlery they use. It’s not a bad idea to bring your own utensils if you’re unsure how they serve their food.
You’ll find out how big their servings are. This can be helpful if you need to order a smaller meal or share one. I was surprised by their massive servings. I was able to finish the food but I would have been in double-trouble if I had leftovers. I would have used their plastic to-go containers.
You might find out if they have a ton of side dishes. In our case, there was a pile of warm tortillas we didn’t eat. So my friend had to ask for plastic to-go containers.
Ask if they have compostable or non-plastic utensils and cups. If you see they are serving food with plastic cutlery ask for silverware or compostable utensils. There’s no harm in asking.
Notice how they set up their trash/recycling bins. Do you want to continue eating at a place that doesn’t have proper trash segregation? If you really love the food there, you need to keep your own cutlery and to-go containers handy.
I guess this calls for a different discussion. I’ve been thinking of how I can influence everyone to be mindful of their waste disposal.
Anyone familiar with Yalla Mediterranean, an environmentally conscious restaurant located in Fremont, California? I’m really impressed with this restaurant. It is inspiring to see businesses operate more sustainably. They serve fresh veggies sources from local farms, hormone and anti-biotic free meat and tons of dietary options. They also use compostable plates, cups and utensils. I was also surprised that they one use single bins for compostables. By serving food with eco-friendly materials, it takes less cognitive load for customers to decipher which disposal bin it should go to. My only concern with having a single bin only for compostables is that people will still end up throwing bottles or other plastic material in it. This can be problematic — it pretty much cancels out its real purpose. The composting facility will still need to segregate the waste.
Yalla Mediterranean
I think it is important to practice self-reflection and jot down ways of how you can rewire your habits. How about you? How do you teach yourself to live more sustainably? If you have any tips, let me know!