Over the past week, Whole Foods has got its share of press and blogosphere coverage on its discontinued practice of offering plastic bags at checkout. Slated to take effect by Earth Day (April 22), the company’s move has received a fair amount of criticism along with acclaim, since plastic bags take less energy to produce than paper bags (to be offered alongside Whole Foods’ reusable bags) and generate less waste.

The New York Times and Treehugger examine these issues and conclude that the announcement is still positive and noteworthy. The reasons cited are the paper bags Whole Foods uses happen to be made of recycled paper and the influence the grocer chain can yield to encourage mega-marts to reconsider the bag issue. Hopefully, it can also encourage more of us to remember to do the shopping version of BYOB.

Now I’ve done a quick summary of the recent buzz, I want to consider another green move Whole Foods has made which seems to have received less fanfare. Upon my recent visit, I noted the Bowery (NYC) location was also using hot foods and salad containers made from compostable materials.

I’m actually not familiar with “fibers of cattails” (not to be confused with “cat tails” since that might not be so animal-friendly) as an eco-friendly material. I am, however, impressed with the refridgerator- and microwave-safe properties of these to-go containers.

The boxes actually remind me of a similar product I was introduced to at the Columbia Social Enterprise Conference in October (2007). The product, VerTerra, is heat-resistant, disposable (but reusable), biodegradable dinnerware made from fallen, dried, organically-grown palm tree leaves. At the conference, I spoke to the founder, Michael Dwork, who at the time was only targeting the catering and event planning market due to the more favorable margins. I have since looked forward to VerTerra’s mass market debut, not only because the dinnerware is environmentally-friendly and healthy (free of bleach, plastic, wax, and chemicals), but because the company is committed to creating fair labor jobs and conditions for its craftspeople in south Asia. VerTerra is truly a triple bottom line company.

I’m not sure where Whole Foods has sourced its takeout containers, but I would be curious to know. I’d also like to know how the cattails’ fiber stacks up against other touted green materials. I’ll save the answers and accompanying research for another post…

Imagine my surprise when I learned Gusto Grilled Organics, the first green- and organic-certified restaurant, had opened its doors nearly two weeks ago in New York. I was shocked because I hadn’t heard one peep about it from my extensive list of blogs and email newsletters that cover foodie destinations, green innovation, city culture, and trendwatching. In fact, I only found out about the new eco-friendly organic eatery because a Google Alert brought this to my attention.

After surprise, came curiosity. I had to check Gusto out. Unfortunately, satisfying my curiosity only led to unsatisfying disappointment.

I was definitely excited about a restaurant boasting 100 percent organic cuisine, environmentally friendly packaging, green certified cleaning products and processes, and a sustainable space using recycled barn-wood furniture and efficient LED lighting. My enthusiasm remained high as I walked through the door and encountered a waste container with separate compartments for food composting and paper/plastic/glass recycling. I became more elated as I perused the menu made with 100% recycled paper and soy ink. I also devoured the companion piece detailing the reasons to consume “organics” and listing the green virtues of the restaurant. Things were looking good.

It was downhill from there. It must have been an awkward time of day; no server clarified whether we should expect counter or table service and patrons appeared to be enjoying both within the same dining area. The owner chastised me for taking photos (which startled me since my friends take food porn shots all the time) and refused to engage in friendly conversation about the restaurant. And though my intentions did not include reviewing the food, I found the oregano-heavy Fugazzetta & Champignons pizza tasty and the Capresse empanada far less inspiring. While I was happy to see yerba mate on the menu and bottles in the takeout fridge, the Mate Latte should have been called “Mate and Latte” since the tea arrived separately from the foamed milk.

Granted, I was so ecstatic about the eco-eatery’s concept, I was completely willing to forgive and forget my negative impressions of the two most important parts of a restaurant experience: food and service. After all, I expect a new restaurant to have some kinks. What I didn’t expect was to find a $4.99 bottle of Windex sitting beneath the restroom’s trough sink. For a restaurant that claims its “cleaning products and processes are green certified and biorenewable,” it makes me question what other Windex-like dirt is being swept under a questionably organic rug.

My criticisms aside, I do appreciate Gusto’s efforts and look forward to emulators of the concept with more, well, gusto.