Terre à Terre, Carlstadt’s farm-to-table eatery and artisan market, is the first Meadowlands area restaurant to have received certification as a 2 Star Certified Green Restaurant from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national nonprofit organization that helps restaurants become more environmentally sustainable. It is also the first restaurant to receive the Green Restaurant Association’s certification under a US EPA grant awarded to the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) to assist the region’s food and beverage industry in implementing green initiatives. The restaurant has undergone a rigorous certification process with GRA that covers the seven environmental categories of energy, water, waste, chemicals, food, disposables, and building.

“As a farm-to-table restaurant, our commitment to sustainability includes serving locally sourced foods, but we knew we wanted to extend that focus beyond the kitchen (and the plate) to the rest of our operation – the physical restaurant environment,” said Chef Owner Todd Villani. “The restaurant’s commitment to sustainability includes an eco-friendly environment through a dedicated effort to reduce waste, to recycle, conserve water and generally pay more attention to our impact on the environment.”

Among the contributors to the restaurant’s certification:

• The restaurant has its own water-filtration system, serving water in reusable glass carafes instead of plastic water bottles and only upon request.
• A company collects and recycles used cooking oil to convert into renewable fuel instead of getting thrown out.
• Many of the furniture pieces and accessories all over the restaurant are painted with Chalk Paint – an eco-friendly paint that contains extremely low volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• The restaurant is decorated with down-to-earth materials that include terracotta, woven linen and burlap, wood, twigs, birch bark, and other natural fibers. Most of the decor was handcrafted by artisans, and some, like the mason jar track lighting made from wood salvaged after Hurricane Sandy, the pallet table in our chef’s room, and the seating in the entry area were made using upcycled wood.
• The restaurant has a durable yet sustainable menu holder made from birch wood planks bordered by natural bark that is kiln dried and not chemically treated; the seasonally rotating menus are attached using natural jute string.
• Specials of the day and featured farms are posted daily on chalkboards, saving paper.

Terre à Terre 312 Hackensack Street, Carlstadt, NJ Website