My friend and architect Tazmine Loomans has a blog where she highlights restaurants that feature sustainable food choices.

Locally-grown, organic even proximity to public transport.

She has a whole new list of restaurants and coffee bars. Some are in Phoenix and some are not. Regardless, it is a pretty good guide and a good place to check in for ideas.

Which makes me think, perhaps we need a U.S. Green Building Council certification for restaurants.

That is a totally geeky idea and very “insider” if you don’t know that the USGBC certifies new and existing buildings as “green” if they do a number of things, including installing better insulation, solar panels and features that support people who use mass transit. They even give credits for reusing waste created when you build the building or tear down an existing structure.

How would your favorite restaurant fare if measured up against a U.S. Green Eating Council?