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Grub Street

Edited by Josh Ozersky with Daniel Maurer

 

Openings 

1/15/08

2:15 AM

Home of the Whopper Becomes City's First Certified Organic Restaurant

Photo taken with 100% recycled camera.Photo: Melissa Hom

What used to be a Burger King is now Gusto Organics, which claims to be the first NOFA-NY-and-USDA-certified organic restaurant in the city. The restaurant’s business model is different from the Home of the Whopper’s in obvious ways— it recycles all of its trash, composts its food, the furniture is handmade, and the cleaning methods are environmentally friendly—but similar in the sense that by the end of the year, owner Alberto Gonzalez hopes to have shareholders and a network of six to ten franchisees. Things are looking good so far— the place was hopping on Saturday night.

The menu (printed on 100% recycled paper with soy ink, natch) nods to Gonzalez’s native Argentina: steak sandwiches in the $13-$15 range, $3.95 empanadas, and a dozen Argentine-style thin-crust pizzas. Organic pastries include those treats anyone who’s been to Buenos Aires knows and loves— madgalenas, madeleines which come plain or with dulce de leche. Delivery is from Houston to 23rd Street, and from Third Ave. to the Hudson River. Just one question remains: How does this place stack up against Birdbath, heretofore the city’s greenest food business?

Gusto Organics, 519 Sixth Ave., nr. 14th St.; 212-242-5800

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