O! Burger: Organic fast food in West Hollywood

Fast food's gone organic, with the opening of O! Burger in West Hollywood late last month. This cute burger joint uses only certified organic ingredients, bringing grass-fed beef, free-range turkey and spinach-and-corn veggie burgers to the masses.

Already, the small restaurant's doing a brisk business. A steady stream of customers dropped in for their burger fix when I stopped by mid-afternoon on Sunday; many stuck around to enjoy their meals in the small dining area or at the sunny sidewalk tables.

In addition to the burgers, customers can get organic hot dogs and fries -- and pick from drinks ranging from kombucha to organic sodas to an organic shake made with Aseel dates, bananas, chocolate and live-culture yogurt.

O! Burger's burgers are pricier than those at chain fast-food places -- my veggie burger (above) cost $7.99, for example -- but come with organic cucumbers and grilled onions -- as well as the health benefits of eating organic.

O!Burger 8593 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. (310) 854-0234.

Top photo courtesy of O!Burger; other photos by Siel

Jun 17, 2008 12:10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

A.M. Greenlist: Local green happenings

>> L.A.'s greener than San Francisco and New York City, according to a study by think tank Brookings Institution. But Margot Roosevelt delves through the fuzzy math: "The calculations did not account for the fact that half the city's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. Instead, Brookings used a state-wide average that included the hydroelectric and nuclear plants in Northern California. Omitted from the data are emissions from industries and commercial buildings, and from local roads apart from federal highways." Also omitted were CO2 emissions from long-distance commuters.

>> The L.A. River's getting revitalized -- and also getting tagged a lot. L.A. Times describes the graffiti as "tagging on steroids, with monikers big and bold, containing letters that often are as big as garage doors." Earlier: L.A. River, now with its own controversial mural.

>> Your own private L.A. traffic island. Guerrilla gardeners are taking over unkempt public spaces, bringing greenery to urban blights. "One of a slew of DIY gardening currents, such as permaculture (design of highly sustainable ecosystems), urban homesteading, composting and free fruit movement, guerrilla gardening is a response to dwindling green space, limited land and suspicions about food sources, say experts."

>> Go species scoping in the Santa Monica Mountains. BioBlitz 2008 starts at noon to end 24 hours later! Join scientists, naturalists, and fellow Angelenos to observe and record as many species as possible in a 4-hour-shift. Register on-site at one of the stations (PDF).

>> An organic burger-n-hot dog joint called O!Burger opens in WeHo this Saturday (via LAist).

Photo by Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

May 30, 2008 9:35:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Visionary: West Hollywood's new one-stop eco-boutique

If your shopping list includes everything from a $3 natural wood crayon set to a $26 make-it-yourself eco-cleaning kit to a $500 Linda Loudermilk designer jacket, your new favorite eco-shop's just opened its doors.

Visionary, a new eco-boutique in West Hollywood, celebrated its launch on Wednesday with a fundraiser for Global Green, featuring organic cupcakes, fair trade Steaz tea, and carbon neutral Parducci wines. Self-described as "your one-stop eco-chic boutique," Visionary offers a very eclectic collection of household goods and green fashions -- with a price range to match.

Some of the items were oddly inexpensive -- like the handcrafted wooden toy motorcycle above, yours for just $15.99. Others were more high-end luxury products -- organic towels that ran $100+, eco-fashions at designer prices. Most goods fell somewhere in between.

What makes the products at Visionary eco? That depends on the product. According to owner Magda Rod, Visionary's products meet one or more of the criteria listed on the Visionary tag (pictured below) attached to each item:

Some of these qualities -- such as the use of organic, recycled or reclaimed materials -- are clearly environmentally desirable. Others -- like handcrafted or locally-made -- are concrete, positive attributes, but are not necessarily eco in my book. A handcrafted toy cat made with sustainable wood I saw didn't seem so green, since it was covered with synthetic glitter that came off in my hands.

Yet other criteria, like promoting "peace and love" or being "enlightening" are just totally nebulous and rather arbitrary, IMHO. Fridge magnets of hands giving the peace sign don't qualify as "sustainable" if they're made of unsustainable materials. I wouldn't want kids putting that in their mouths.

Still, these less eco items stuck out mainly because most of the products at Visionary are sustainable and environmentally-friendly. Magda says that she expects the boutique's collection to evolve as she continues her research and learning about environmental issues.

I expect Visionary will get quite popular with the well-heeled West Hollywood crowd, especially since the store's located right across the street from Urth Caffe, making the boutique a nice post-organic coffee stop.

Visionary. 8568 1/2 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood.(310) 659-1177.

May 23, 2008 11:19:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Biodynamic and organic wine tasting 2/6

[Update: This event has been postponed, and will likely be rescheduled for later in the spring.]

Celebrate Valentine's Day early with a Pre-Valentine's Day Biodynamic and Organic Wine Tasting. Boule and Wine Expo have put together a six-course tasting, pairing biodynamic/organic sparkling wines and dessert wines with Boule's sweet treats, handmade with local sustainable ingredients.

When: Wednesday, February 6, 7 p.m.
Where: Boule, 420 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood
Cost: $50 per person ($45 per person for Slow Food members)

Robert Rogness of Wine Expo and Mark Mendoza, sommelier of Sona, will guide you through your decadent tasting while "providing an education regarding the virtues and the merits of these natural wines as compared to commercially produced 'brand' wines."

Seating's limited to 65, so reserve now by e-mailing Chelsea Wilmeth at Boule at Chelsea.Wilmeth@foodartgroup.com.

Photo of Boule chocolates by tannaz via Flickr

Feb 2, 2008 2:52:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Recycle week: Give your holiday tree an afterlife

This week's eco-topic: Recycle

Sick of seeing plastic bottles in the black bin? Wish recycling was mandatory? Well, when it comes to holiday trees, it kinda is. Leaving those newly naked trees at the curb or in a street or alley is illegal, as per L.A. Municipal Code 57.21.06!

However, it is not illegal in West Hollywood, at least for the next couple of weeks. In fact, every little city in our L.A. area has different rules, dates, times and locations for tree recycling. Can't they coordinate this stuff, at least this one time a year? L.A.'s Department of Public Works tried to -- and made this crazy chart here -- that's totally incomplete and inaccurate.

So, things being as they are, here's the info for L.A. and a few nearby cities:

Los Angeles: If you have the energy and tools to chop that tree up, then cut it into bits and throw it in your green yard trimmings container. The alternative is to take the tree to a drop-off site on Saturday, Jan. 5, and Sunday, Jan. 6, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In fact, L.A. residents who drop off their trees will receive tree seedlings, energy-efficient CFL bulbs, while supplies last, courtesy of the L.A. Department of Water and Power, plus mulch coupons from the Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation.

Beverly Hills: Just put the naked tree next to your trash bin on trash day. No specific dates or deadlines! It's always so simple for the rich folk.

Culver City: Drop off your trees at the northwest corner of Washington Boulevard and Centinela Avenue or the Culver City Fire Drill Yard at 9255 W. Jefferson Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the weekends of Jan. 6-7 and Jan. 13-14. There's a third location, but Culver City's flier about this program is messed up, so I can read only about two of three locations, with a little help from Google.

Santa Monica: Take advantage of the "Park Your Tree" program. During the entire month of January, trees can be brought to four parks: Clover (25th and Ocean), Douglas (Chelsea and Wilshire), Christine Emerson Reed (Lincoln and California) and Los Amigos (5th and Hollister).

Alternatively, take your tree to the Santa Monica Transfer Station at 2401 Delaware Ave., Mon. - Fri., between 6 am and 2 pm. Make sure you do it this month, however; come Feb. 1, the parks will no longer collect trees, and the Transfer Station will start charging for tree drop-offs.

West Hollywood: If the deal is the same as last year, you should be able to put that tree -- sans decorations and base or plastic bag covering -- on the sidewalk on your regular trash day from Dec. 26 to Jan. 13.

Are the cities of L.A. County just bad at getting the word out about these programs? I don't know for certain, but those in other areas leave a lot to be desired too. I got a breathless press release from Zero Waste Communities of San Bernardino County about how it's encouraging people to recycle their trees, but the multi-city org doesn't actually offer any info to help its residents take that idea into action -- beyond a long phone list from which they can pick out their city's number and call for more info....

I'm dreaming of a unified tree recycling program for SoCal.

Images courtesy of the cities of L.A. and Santa Monica

Dec 27, 2007 8:11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Recycled art at West Hollywood Book Fair

I thought the West Hollywood Book Fair last Sunday had an entire section devoted to the environment, but it turns out the Green Room noted on the fair map was a non-eco version -- meaning basically a place for moderators and panelists to hang out pre and post-talk. Oopsie.

But wandering around near the kids' section, I spotted this:

De-car-ing: From the Hollywood Farmers' Market, walked a few blocks down to Santa Monica and Vine to take a v. crowded Metro 704 west to San Vincente, then walked a half block to the fair.

Photo by Siel

Oct 3, 2007 1:54:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Our Blogger

As a teenager, Siel sped past Paramount Studios on the 10 Metro bus to get to Fairfax High School. Now she cuts through the concrete jungle of Los Angeles on her pink Townie bike to shop at local farmers' markets and socialize in pre-loved Prada heels. A contributing editor to BlogHer, Siel also keeps a personal blog, green LA girl. Send your burning green questions to greenlagirl@gmail.com.

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