A Greener Life

Spicy Fish Tacos: not vegan, but lovely nonetheless

My companions and I ate at Ruggles Green this week and I thought that since it’s Houston’s first (and only) “certified green restaurant” that I needed to check it out and write about it here.

So, what exactly is a “certified green restaurant”? According to the certificate, Ruggles Green does not use styrofoam (yay!), recycles extensively, and does some other stuff–like compost their coffee grounds, energy-efficient lighting, use of “green” building materials (bamboo was used in their dining booths), and non-toxic paint on the walls.

Veggie nut burger: hemp protein, sauteed vegetables, pecans, almonds, macro greens and fresh mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, and red onion served on a whole wheat bun. Served with sweet potato fries.

The dining area is long and narrow. When you walk into the restaurant, you order at the front, take a number, and your food is delivered to your table. I, myself, like this setup because I can’t imagine a server trying to navigate such a narrow dining area with a huge tray full of food. Also, if you only have an hour or so to eat lunch, cutting out the service can save some time.

The restaurant is in the Montrose area of town, which is part boho, part yuppie. This place was more “wine bar” than “burrito” if you know what I mean, but I felt that the menu was reasonably priced, especially for the large portions.

Speaking of the menu–there weren’t any vegan options I could identify, but I just left the cheese off my burger and was fine. There were also a couple of decent-looking vegetarian and raw options, and the staff seemed pretty vegetarian/vegan/raw-friendly. They seemed unfazed when I asked for them to leave the cheese and whatever else dairy off my sandwich.

2 of my companions ordered the Naturewell Natural Beef Burger, another had Spicy Fish Tacos, and I had the Ruggles Green Veggie Nut Burger. Mmmmm…nut burger.

Overall this place was great–it had a good vibe and has a children’s menu, so I suspect they like kids (even though we didn’t see any). I’ll definitely be returning, probably when/if our parents come to town.

Maybe Little Joy Recycling will help me to stop moaning and groaning about how my homeowner’s association doesn’t care about initiating a recycling program. Currently we lug all our recycling to the Westpark Recycling Center but only after it sprawls across our back patio for about 3 or 4 weeks.  Not to knock Westpark, because it’s great, but you know, nothing really beats curbside.