Bostonist: Taranta RW preview

I've been doing some consulting for IzzitGreen.com, which recently held a party at Taranta. It had been on my to-do list before then, but more for its interesting mix of Italian and South American cuisine, not for its green-ness. As we mingled over pinot noir (good pinot noir, I might add, not the usual cheap skronk they serve at gatherings like this), the chef, Jose Duarte, who loomed hugely over the crowd in a long ponytail and a stained white chef's apron that barely seemed able to contain his barrel chest and enormous frame, gave a little speech on green restaurants.

As he laid out detail after detail about his changes to the restaurant (new lights, recycling), finally finishing up with the particulars of his own car, which runs on kitchen oil, my jaw creaked lower and lower until finally it just hung loosely like a door with a broken hinge. Innovative and hardworking, the Peruvian chef is an impressive and jovial person who is knowledgeable without being pretentious, and who originally became an expert on restaurant eco-tweaks simply because he wanted to cut costs, not due to any smug Prius-style sentiment. He's a great ambassador for the Boston green restaurant movement and deserves the support of Boston's green community.

Anyhow, that's my quick polemic - now for the slightly more food-focused piece on Bostonist.

(Image of Duarte above from www.wineandfoodweek.com.)