EAT FIRST. ASK QUESTIONS LATER.

I have this way of reviewing beauty products where I do a quick evaluation on the product's ingredients and the company's history and then I find someone to test the product on. I don't care about what the company claims. I look for my own results. Believing claims generally leads to a lot of disappointment.

Today I approached the restaurant Gustorganics the same way. On a fly by chance Maureen Choi (a very talented beauty editor and friend of mine whom I met through Bridal Guide Magazine) had asked if I had time to take a break and meet with her for some tea. I thought this would be a great opportunity to find out what Gustorganics is all about. She seemed game as well. I only revealed to her I was doing a blog and hoped that she didn't mind being victim of the organic experiment. The only thing I briefed her on was that the restaurant is the first USDA FULLY certified organic restaurant in the United States.

Once we sat down to our table and looked through our stylishly textured bamboo(?) menus, I explained "it's a shame to walk all the way to the restaurant for just a drink without sampling any food from the menu". Maureen agreed.

We asked the server what the best dishes were and both settled to share the eggs benedict. Maureen also ordered a mango smoothie. I went for the cappuccino.

Maureen's drink came out first. She took a sip and her eyes grew big. All she could say is "WOW!"....which translates into I've never had this experience before. Then Maureen offered me a sip of her Mango smoothie after which I felt like standing on top of my chair and announcing "people have you tried this???!!!!". My cappuccino came out and I took a sip. It wasn't as strong as I'm used to, but VERY smooth. I really enjoyed it.

Then our eggs benedict came out. They were a picture perfect sight. The taste? Amazing....so full of flavor. We were both in a bit of shock and bliss all at the same time. She then asked me if Organique gave me the same feeling? I explained that it wasn't quite as amazing, but I could definitely tell the difference between the quality and love in their food versus that of other regular restaurants. The whole meal knocked my socks off and Maureen said it blew her hair back!

Now it was time to ask questions. I went up to someone who worked for the restaurant and explained I wanted to interview the owner for my blog. I revealed a little about what I was doing there and how impressed we were. He agreed that the owner would be the best person to answer my questions because it was really the owner's vision to have americans eventually eat like this all over the country. He also added that even their electricity was solar and wind-powered. Their menus are printed on 100% recycled paper with soy ink. All very exciting.

We graciously thanked them for the experience and as we walked back into the NYC streets, Maureen and I commented on how amazing we felt.
She thought it would be a really great experiment to eat every meal there for the entire year, but unfortunately the budget will only allow me about once a week in this economy....(not that it was super expensive for the quality that we got). The bill came to $27.44 for both of us. That's $13.72 per person... AND a lot less expensive and more satisfying than some of the hyped up raw food restaurants around town. BUT my budget is $5-$7 per meal and I have to stick to it for the project's sake. Most Americans can't afford to eat out at those prices for every meal and I want to show that Organic can be affordable.

On a side note: even though I had the bread and it did cause a little swelling in my stomach, by the time I got back to my office I could feel the food moving through my system instead of just sitting in my stomach and collecting gas and giving me nausea. The allergic reaction to the gluten seems to be short-lasting.

I will let you know how the interview goes!