I invite you to dine at Carnivale – a new Nuevo Latino restaurant in Chicago. The playful décor and live salsa funk music on Sunday and Wednesday are enough to make a stop. The menu offers authentic cuisines of the Americas that include Esparragos, Chicken with Jalapeno Parsley Mojo and a great Ceviche tasting. Chef, Mark Mendez, calls it a “Latin House Party.”

Now for the surprise, Carnivale is going green. The restaurant’s “Farm to Table Celebration” event from June thru September features sustainable local produce from farms in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. And, they have just installed a water filtration system to reduce bottled water use in the restaurant.

Enjoy this fun and environmentally responsible new player on the Chicago restaurant scene!

Carnivale
702 W. Fulton
Chicago

¡Diviértase!

Posted by Mary Ellen Hanrahan

How many times have you been at a tradeshow or a conference and been given some trinket or goody bag full of trinkets with a company’s logo on it? Well just between us ... ( I usually throw that stuff out. Shhhhh! ) There’s only so much room on my desk for stress balls and I’m all set on XXL T-shirts to wear to the gym.

Now more than ever, people and corporations are interested in “going green” and what better way to start or continue that effort than by marketing your business in a way that supports greener living and/or is made using eco-friendly materials.

The most obvious way to do this is to print on 100% recycled paper and to use soy-based inks. But what about the giveaways? The premiums? The promos? The trinkets with logos?
Well, I’ve compiled a list of some great ideas for these things that will not only help you market your brand but also support the environment and hopefully offer people something so useful that they don’t want to it throw out.

• Coffee Mugs and Water Bottles: Styrofoam, paper coffee cups and plastic water bottles are piling up in our landfills at an alarming rate. Encourage your clients, vendors and employees to B.Y.O.B.H (Bring Your Own Beverage Holder). They even make them out of corn plastic which is biodegradable in landfills and composting.
• Biodegradable Balloons (hand-tied latex balloons with no plastic attachments)
• Seed Paper: You can print just about anything on this paper or have it die-cut into fun shapes. When the recipient plants it in a pot of soil, the embedded seeds sprout and bloom into wildflowers!
• Can Crushers: This is a personal favorite of mine...and I may be the first to come up with this idea. Now that people are more and more encouraged to recycle, why not give them a fun gift that makes it easier to do.
• Canvas Grocery Bags: This is a no-brainer. Whole Foods has already stopped offering plastic bags because they are so harmful to the environment.
• Seed Packets: You can print any message on these. Plus they are fun to receive!
• Tree Planting Kit: You can print a message or your logo on these.

Posted by Heather Simms

Many of us may remember the classic puppet Kermit the Frog exclaim “It’s not easy being green!” In today’s world it’s not only becoming easy “to be green” (environmentally conscious) but, it’s a necessity. The efforts at global and local levels are relevant in a way that cannot be ignored and the foodservice industry is taking note. For those attending the upcoming National Restaurant Association Show, May 17-20, 2008 (Chicago, IL) there will be a plethora of free educational sessions to choose from with regard to this topic:

• Steve Ells on Food With Integrity: Creating a Sustainable Food Supply — Monday, May 19, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
• 5 Things Operators Must Know About Energy Efficiency — Saturday, May 17, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Marketing to Conserving Customers: A Guide to Operating Green with a Triple Bottom Line — Monday, May 19, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
• Casual Dining Goes Organic — Sunday, May 18, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Making Your Seafood Choices More Sustainable — Sunday, May 18, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
• New Ways to Power Your Business — Monday, May 19, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Organic Growth: Being Green to Build Customer Loyalty — Sunday, May 18, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Lean, Green & Clean: Environmental Practices in Collegiate Foodservice — Tuesday, May 20, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
• It's All About Results: Sustainability in the Food Chain — Emphasis on Animal Products — Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

While we’re on the topic, is Earth Day (April 22) on your calendar? Perhaps 2008 is the year that we all start to take this idea a little more seriously. Something to think about. Or, if you need to chew on it and are in Chicago, step out (literally – to reduce your carbon footprint) to Café Matou in the Bucktown/Wicker Park area. They will be serving French country food prepared with organic, local, or seasonal products.

Posted by Liz Giannini