Introducing Recycle Woman to the World!

After a year of promoting my platform as Miss Alameda and the launch of my M.A.S.C (Miss Alameda Says Compost!) program, I came to realize how many people were really confused about basic recycling and composting programs here in the Bay Area. People would tell me that they don’t recycle because they are confused, or that they recycle the bare minimum, soda cans and/or plastic bottles for the CRV. Once I would mention composting, as in separating food waste from the landfill, I would notice people’s eyes glaze over as if shutting down further information. Most people I talked to assumed when I spoke of composting at home meant having a worm farm in their back yard. Don’t get me wrong, worm farms are great, but most people are not at that level and simple recycling is a challenge. I realized that getting food waste out of the landfill and increasing resource recovery was more of a challenge than I initially thought. As a result I decided to incorporate my talents and passion as an actress into promoting and bringing awareness to the basics of recycling and composting curb side programs, a mini spin-off of the M.A.S.C program. With support from StopWaste.org, the Altamont Education Advisory Board in Livermore, Northern California Recycling Association, Alameda County Industries, the City of Alameda and Mayor Marie Gilmore, my former acting mentor Donald Lacy and my amazing cast and crew, I was able to star and produce my first movie, “Recycle Woman.” With a $10,000 budget from grants and only three days to film, “Recycle Woman,” to me is a miracle in itself. For the first time since its “green carpet” release in November 25th, 2011 and open screenings in 2012, I am excited to release my short film, “Recycle Woman.” For more information about the “green carpet” events, press coverage on “Recycle Woman” and more go to: http://www.recyclewomanthemovie.com/

Recycle Woman from Jessica Jane Robinson on Vimeo.

Burma Superstar - 1345 Park Street, Alameda, CA 94501 - (510) 522-6200

January 5, 2013 – You already know if you have been to Burma Superstar or have seen the line that forms down Park Street, that their food is amazing. But did you also know that they are superstar recyclers and composters? Yay!

We visited at 11 a.m. on a Saturday in order to get a long table for our party of…nine. This week, we brought along guest bloggers Edday and Pepe (the grandparents). Pepe was born during the great depression and is not big on going out to eat. He will only go to Juanita’s (where he knows everyone by name) and India Palace (for takeout only). But he is really into recycling and composting, so we knew he would like Burma Superstar.

Pepe and Edday

We had:

• Tea leaf salad and mango salad – Both were wonderful, but the tea leaf salad is a show-stopper. The server mixed it at the table and everyone loved it. Pepe said, “The salads are really interesting, so delicious!”  Greta says, “It was incredible, so, so good! Probably one of the best salads I have ever had.” Kevin said, “You could have a nice, light vegetarian meal with just the salads.” But we didn’t b/c we ordered more! 




Platha and Dip





Tea leaf salad

 

• Platha and Dip (described as a multi layered bread served with a coconut chicken curry sauce) – We got three orders for the nine of us and ate every bit. Linnea says, “This is the best thing ever.” Fred loved the curry. We order this every time we come.
• Sesame beef – This is Linnea’s favorite dish. Linnea says, “It was very crispy with a good, tangy sauce.” Vera particularly liked the orange garnishes.

 

Sesame beef



Peashoots



• Sesame tofu – For the vegetarians in our party. Greta says, “The tofu was incredible. I had 12 pieces of it, because it tasted so good.”
• Eggplant with shrimp – Edday ordered the eggplant (which she typically does when she joins us for the restaurant blog). She also had eggplant when she came with us to Angelfish and Asena. Edday says, “They were all good in their own way. This one was very tender, well-cooked with a yummy sauce.” Fred says, “It is the best eggplant I ever had!”
• Peashoots - Fresh greens stir fried with wine and garlic. Very good texture. Greta says, “I liked the sauce. It was very delicious.”
• Rice – We tried each of the rice dishes - coconut rice, brown rice, jasmine rice and Tan Poi  which is basmati rice cooked with cardamom, cinnamon, raisins, and topped with fried onions. Vera says, “It was very good and I only tried the jasmine rice.” Greta says, “I loved the coconut rice, it was tropical and sweet, and I loved it very much.”

Compost Report – Kevin invited our server, Louie to come over and tell us all about the recycling and compost program. He said that the owner was really supportive of sustainability initiatives and they take recycling and composting very seriously. Their goal is to reduce landfilling to the minimum, so they have recycling and compost collection twice per week! We thanked them for all of their efforts and gave them a MASC brochure in case they needed any additional training or containers.



Greta, Louie and Vera



We didn't have many left-overs, but we did remember to bring out Tupperware



So, please go to Burma Superstar! You will love the food! You will love all that they are doing to support the environment! But plan to go early to avoid the lines, as they are super-popular. 

Bluefin Sushi Thai – 3211 Encinal Ave, Suite. A - Alameda CA 94501 – (510) 522-1269

December 28, 2012 -- Bluefin Sushi Thai is a relatively new east end restaurant (opened in 2012). It is located in the former Burger Orchard space next to the Encinal Market. The service was very attentive. The atmosphere was very pleasant (the girls liked the way they folded the napkins). The food was a little unusual combining both Japanese and Thai cuisines, but it was prepared artfully and tasted delicious. This is a good place to go with a group that includes folks that don’t like Thai food, since they can get traditional chicken teriyaki or something else less spicy.

Our party of six had:

• Fried tofu (appetizer) - The girls loved it; very crispy and delicious. It was served with a tangy sauce.

• Bento Box #1 with chicken teriyaki - This was Linnea’s dish. “It was…interesting,” she said. “I liked the sashimi and teriyaki, but the sushi was unusual in that it had edamame beans in it!”
• Bento Box #5 vegetarian - Greta’s box had tofu pockets (rice balls wrapped in sweet tofu), broccoli and carrots over rice, and vegetable rolls. Greta enjoyed the “flavorful and juicy” bento box very much (giving it four stars out of five), although she didn’t eat the vegetable roll because she doesn’t like avocado.

• Alameda roll - Vera ordered this roll, which was spicy crab wrapped with cucumber. Not knowing how spicy this roll would be, Vera was caught off-guard. But, she enjoyed the orange served alongside with a paper umbrella.
• Garlic noodles - This unique Thai dish was described as “very good but not normal,” by Vera (who is used to Chinese garlic noodles).

• Chicken teriyaki - Elizabeth ordered this dish which had generous portions and included many fresh vegetables.
• Panang curry and Mango curry – Both of the Thai dishes were excellent. We really enjoyed them (and suspect that the owner/chef is a Thai food specialist).

We ordered extra rice and finished off most of the dishes, except for the garlic noodles and spicy sushi and needed a to-go container. Since Bluefin Sushi Thai is a new restaurant, they are probably not aware that  Alameda has a Styrofoam ban.

http://www.cityofalamedaca.gov/Go-Green/Styrofoam-Ban

Ruth gave Greta and Vera special collapsible Tupperware for Christmas to bring along for leftovers when doing our restaurant blogging. But we forgot them on this outing (doh!) and had to get the take-out packaging (which came in Styrofoam). We will let Maria in Public Works know that Bluefin needs to be notified of the Styrofoam ban.

We accidentally got Styrofoam!

We forgot to bring our Tupperware for leftovers!

 Compost report – We spoke with a server and asked her if the restaurant had organics collection. She did not think they had that service, but was interested because she was familiar with some of the restaurants in Oakland that have organics collection. We gave her a MASC brochure and she said that she would give it to the owner. We checked around back at the Encinal Market and saw that they have an organics dumpster (so it should be easy for Bluefin to start composting!).

So, we recommend that you take a trip to the east end of Alameda and check out Bluefin Sushi Thai. Have some wonderful Thai food and ask them if they are composting.

Café Q - 2302 Encinal Avenue Alameda, CA 94501 - (510) 521-8848

December 16, 2012 - Café Q is a MASC superstar and does a wonderful job at recycling and composting. Thu-Huong Nguyen and her brother Minh Nguyen have lived in Alameda for 37 years and opened Café Q, which emphasizes quality ingredients (“the Q stands for quality”).

Thu with Vera and Greta

The restaurant started out as a coffee shop and soon expanded its offerings to include breakfast, lunch and dinner. Café Q is light and homey with local artwork on the walls and board games to play with.

After we ordered brunch and before the food came, we played “Apples to Apples.” Elizabeth and Kevin tied with two matches each.



Elizabeth & Greta playing "Apples to Apples"



Our party of eight had:

• Corned beef hash – Jen says, “If you like chunky, home made corned beef and potatoes, you will love the corned beef hash at Café Q.”
• Yam & cheese sandwich – Kevin says, “This was a solid meatless alternative without trying to taste like meat.” It was a grilled cheese sandwich with yams, goat cheese and aioli. Yum!



Yam & cheese was yummy!

• Eggs Benedict – Linnea says, “Very tasty. Good poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.”

• French toast with apples – Vera says, “I don’t really like French toast, I only really like apples and my tummy is already pretty full.” Everyone else tried Vera’s French toast and it was really good (so were the caramelized apples on top).
• Crunchy chicken club – Fred says, “It was excellent. 5 out of 5.”
• Q Burger – Elizabeth says, “Both the burger and French fries were very good. The French fries were nice and crispy.”
• House-made salmon gravlox with red onions, cream cheese and capers – Very delicious and filling.
• Omelet, toast & potatoes - Greta ordered hers with just mushrooms (no cheese or onions). Greta says, “The omelet was very good it was full of spices which I like. The mushrooms were buttery with just the right amount of salt.”

Compost report – Café Q has recycling and composting in the kitchen and also in the “front of the house” where folks order coffee and takeout. We loved Café Q and appreciated their dedication to quality, sustainable ingredients and environmental stewardship.



Miss Alameda Says "Compost!"



Café Jolie - 1500 Webster Street, Alameda, CA 94501 - (510) 523-4500

December 9, 2012 – We had been looking forward to visiting Café Jolie since it opened in the former Tillie’s space on Webster Street. The owners of Café Jolie also own the popular Bowzer’s Pizza across town. We arrived early at 8 a.m. because we had heard that there could be a long wait for a table. We were very pleased to get a booth near the window.

Our party of four had:

• Hot chocolate – Vera says, “Awesome – even better than Peet’s. They have whipped cream and cocoa powder on top – it’s just like my dad’s.”
• Orange juice – Fresh squeezed!
• Water – Tasted like cucumber and was very cold and delicious
• Fresh beignets with chocolate dipping sauce – We loved them, they were just like in “The Princess and the Frog.”

• Eggs Benedict – Greta ordered them with spinach only (no ham). Greta says, “They were awesome! Such exquisite taste!”
• Crab Cake Benedict – It was spicy, but in a good way.
• Pancakes, egg and chicken sausage – They were all “regular and good.”

Compost report – We asked the server if they were composting and he said, “yes!” We were psyched because we knew that Bowzer’s was also on the MASC program. We told him about the free training and recycling and composting containers available through the MASC program and gave him a brochure.

We also liked the little reusable cups that they use for condiments!

We think Café Jolie has the best breakfast in town! So, please go there and thank them for composting.

M.A.S.C. Stats for December 2012

MASC stats for December 2012: 52 restaurants on the MASC program 706.26 tons of resources captured to be recycled 815.34 total annual metric tons of CO2 avoided entering our atmosphere. That is the results of one little program, which is still growing. Imagine if all cities around the world started to make simple easy changes like this... the threat of greenhouse gases would begin to be of the past.

BurgerMeister - 2319 Central Avenue, Alameda - (510) 865-3032

December 1, 2012 – This is our third month of blogging about the restaurants and composting in Alameda. Greta says, “It has been incredible going to all these restaurants and still be in the B-section (the restaurants that start with the letter "B").”

Today we visited BurgerMeister which is a chain that started in San Francisco and now has seven locations in the Bay Area. It has been voted the “best burger” in both San Francisco and Alameda. They are known for their humanely and sustainably sourced meat, poultry and fish. Their website says:

“BurgerMeister supports a greener earth by engaging in environmentally conscious business practices, utilizing 100% natural products, biodegradable packaging and 100% recyclable materials.”

They were early adopters of the MASC program, so we were psyched to go there. We had:

• Kid’s hot dog and French fries – Vera says, “It was very good, but it was very fat.” She took her leftovers in the car and ate them later (even after they got cold). “I liked the hard square fries.”

• Portabella mushroom burger – Because Greta is a pescatarian, she went for the veggie option. Greta says, “This in an incredible dish and I suggest it because it tastes just like real meat, but it’s not. It has lots of flavors, such as juicy, fresh, and warm. I would give it five out of five stars.” Greta didn’t eat the aioli sauce that came with the mushroom burger, but it was excellent on the French fries.

• The 1/3 pound “MeisterBurger – which has avocado, bacon, sautéed mushrooms, grilled red onions. and cheese. Jen says, “It was very delicious and had so many things packed into it that the lower bun was crushed under the weight of all of the delicious accouterments. I asked for barbeque sauce and it came in a plastic cup with a lid (which seemed a little wasteful). I actually would have preferred that they gave me a reusable cup (like at Viva Mexico) or a compostable paper cup or just a squeeze bottle.”

• Fish and chips – which was wild Alaskan pollock battered and deep fried. Greta says, “The fish was amazing. It tasted flubbery (which is good) and was very crispy and warm.”

• California chicken sandwich – which had bacon avocado and jack cheese. Fred says, “I thought it was good. I give it four out of five stars. It was flavorful and had lots of vegetables. It was just a little squishy. The coleslaw was excellent; not too sharp, not too sweet. It was perfect coleslaw.”

• California burger – which had avocado and jack cheese. Linnea says, “It was good, but I actually preferred the chicken sandwich. I give it 3.7 out of five stars.”

Compost Report – We knew that BurgerMeister was on the MASC program and was recycling and composting. We asked our server how it was going and she said everything was fine. They are now recycling 50 percent and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 metric tons of carbon per year. Woo-hoo!

After lunch, we headed over to City Hall with some single-use plastic bags to trade them in for reusable bags at the Public Works booth. Beginning January 1, 2012, single-use plastic bags are banned in Alameda County. Yay!

At the Public Works Reusable Bag Booth with Maria