is "sustainable hotdog" an oxymoron?

...Maybe not. Last night, feeling both terribly hungry and terribly indecisive, Chris and I played the time-tested "I'll list restaurants and you tell me when I get to one you want to eat in" game. Lucky for us, the winner was Bark Hot Dogs in Park Slope, one of the newest sustainable/local/green additions to the NYC restaurant scene.

Now, while I'm generally NOT a fan of hot dogs (or veggie dogs for that matter), I was excited to scope this place out. I mean, how often do the words "sustainable hot dog" even cross one's mind? In my case, I'd have to say never, so getting the low-down on these local dogs was really overdue. Plus, it was Saturday night, which seems like as good a time as any to chow down on some quality fast food. (For the record, quality fast food is NOT an oxymoron, but a real, live, viable business model. Check out Burgerville in the Pacific Northwest - motto: "Fresh, Local, Sustainable". I can say from personal experience that it's also DELICIOUS.)

Back to Brooklyn. We stoked our appetites for the big occasion by walking the 2 miles to Bergen Street. This helped curb the guilt inherent in having a hot dog, onion rings and milkshake for dinner (note - sustainable fast food is yummy and socially responsible, not healthy). It also left me hungrier than Hell. I liked the look of Bark as soon as I stepped inside: clean and bright, long communal pine tables, an awesome trash sorting station for landfill, compost and recycling, and a tap for self-serve NYC filtered water.

The food didn't disappoint either (though the Fries were a little on the thin side, I thought). I got the Veggie Dog with roasted mushroom-chickpea topping and pickled garlic mayo. It was, without a doubt, the best veggie hot dog I have ever consumed. Hands down. And I don't just mean compared to the low standards of other veggie dogs . This was GOOD. More like a veggie sausage than dog, and super duper yummy. Chris gobbled up his meaty hot dog (grass fed, NY state meat), and the onion rings and PB milkshake were pretty killer. Even though I abstained from the meat-dog pleasures myself, I'm psyched that sustainable meat is slowly but surely infiltrating the NYC restaurant scene. Check out this recent article in the Times about the connection between industrial livestock and global warming, and the importance of small-scale family farms.

More than the food though, I was SUPER excited by the resources menu (food/beverage/operational) that was posted on each table. Transparency - what a concept. There's something really comforting about going into a restaurant and being able to trace each item on your plate back to its source. This, combined with the fact that we were able to compost or recycle everything on our tray, left me feeling all warm and fuzzy about local food, and wishing I had a little sustainable restaurant of my own...hmmm...just have to think of a gimmick...sustainable grilled cheese, anyone?