We've been wanting to go to The Shed at Glenwood ever since we heard about their Thursday night vegetable plate special, so why not this Thursday night? Lee and Pete joined us - as always, it was awesome to see them. Good food, good wine, good company, good time. 

Good green practices, too. At meal's end, we didn't even have to ask to speak to the person in charge to get the sustainability story; owner Cindy Shera was already making her way through the restaurant to greet the customers and check in with them about their experiences (and pose for this picture with Lee - cute aren't they?). 

The foodies among you already know about The Shed's rep as a farm-to-table eatery featuring the best in organic, local, sustainably-produced food. In addition, The Shed is a GreenPlate partner whose owner takes a mindful and responsible approach to the environmental issues inherent in running a restaurant. 

Composting is one of the most efficient and earth-friendly ways of dealing with all the trash that comes from food prep - just make a pile of garbage and let the worms do all the work. We were happy to learn that The Shed composts their vegetable matter in a space in back of their building, then uses the nutritious soil that is the finished product of the process in their own gardens. There's also enough left over for Shera to share the bounty with a local community garden.  

Nothing from my plate is going there, though, cause I polished every scrap of it off before we left. Lee and Pete are a little better able to restrain themselves than Larry and I are, and needed a take-out box for leftovers. Wouldn't you know, it was paper-based, thank you very much, and in a paper bag to boot. No Styrofoam bits for the bellies of our plankton. No plastic bags around the necks of our seals. And Lee, throw that thing in the compost when you're finished with it, would you?

Even though I ate everything they gave me, I didn't leave feeling heavy and regretful. The Shed isn't a super-sizer; they serve appropriate (I almost said "healthy" but then realized that that word has come to mean "big" in some circles. Weird, isn't it?) portions of nutritious fare and the flavor comes directly from the food, not from adding lots of seasoning, animal fat and the like. I think "small" is the next "slow" of food trends and it's a good move for the planet. Not to mention the benefits for all the folks like me who don't always know when to stop.