Something was strange about the scene at Baruch College. All the college kids were holding party cups drinking water. Someone yelled, “The cups you’re holding are eco-friendly, they’re corn cups.”
It wasn’t a house party, but an environmental awareness event in celebration of Earth Day that featured Alberto Gonzalez, owner the GustOrganics restaurant, the only certified organic restaurant in New York City.
The event was headlined by several student organizations who couldn’t wait to showboat their knowledge of eco-friendly facts. Plastic bottles and aluminum cans were taped to the walls with index cards with a fact about Earth Day or eco-friendly methods of disposing the items.
A speaker from one of the student organizations gave startling facts about the environment. “Never underestimate the importance of recycling,” said Kevin Mak, one of the creators of the event. “If every newspaper we used was recycled, we could save up to 250 million trees each year, but only 27% of American newspapers are actually recycled.”
Gonzalez stepped up to speak, welcomed by applause. Throughout the night, there was whispery gossip of how innovative his restaurant is. With all the praise and respect surrounding his restaurant, he seemed to be made out to be the Pablo Escobar of the organic restaurant scene.
Gonzalez is a self-proclaimed foodie and environment fanatic. He combines both these ideals into his restaurant, GustOrganics, a Latin cuisine organic restaurant on Sixth Avenue at 14th Street. “We try to reduce human consumption by serving only organic food,” said Gonzalez. “0ur food is socially and environmentally friendly.” Being the first and only certified organic restaurant in New York and the nation’s first restaurant to use 100% USDA certified organic ingredients, it’s no doubt that GustOrganics is a restaurant that raises environmental awareness and also helping it.