How green are restaurants and cafes in New York?

I first learned about the green restaurant movement in New York when I attended a networking event for sustainability-minded people organized by econventions at Caffe Notte, an environmentally-conscious community wine bar. I recently talked with Steven Salsberg, owner of the bar and charismatic advocate of this movement, about progress and challenges in the process of ‘greening’ the food & beverage industry in New York. These are some interesting facts I'd like to share with you:

1. New York offers an increasing variety of green restaurants, cafes and bars. Although there is no one definition of what a green eatery is, it includes either one or all of the following: having green certification, doing at least something good for the environment and buying from a green market. For instance, check out this Upper East Side map I found on the Upper Green Side blog.

2. Any restaurant can aspire to get green certification. The Boston-based Green Restaurant Association (CRA), founded by Michael Oshman in 1990, awards a "Green Restaurant" seal to restaurants that commit to such measures as replacing polystyrene foam products, recycling as much as possible, and phasing in processes of composting, conserving water, disposing of grease responsibly and using chlorine-free paper products. Here are the standards and here are the Green Certified restaurants & café in New York. In addition, restaurants aspiring to get organic certification can do so under federal regulations through the Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOLA) like Gusto Grilled Organic in Greenage Village did.

3. Composing is a great thing but might be more difficult in New York. While Boston and Los Angeles already have citywide composting programs, New York City is still considering this possibility. Indeed, some restaurants have their own composting plants, but Steven Salsberg, in his role of vice-chairman to CENYC, thinks that NYC lacks the infrastructure necessary for composting and there are important sanitation issues to be considered with restaurants having their own composting sites.

What do you think about the green restaurant movement in New York City? Have any interesting experiences to share?
Photo credit: foodistablog @CC