Exploring Festivore.com

Seattle's Green Dining Guide

The nonprofit The Fourth Element was founded in 2006 as one man's response to a growing global crisis: "the alarming growth in the incidence of food allergies, early onset of puberty, diabetes, cancers, and other chronic diseases."  Because many of these public health issues are a direct result of changing lifestyles - specifically, of our dining habits -Dean DeCrease decided to create a tool would allow customers to make more informed dining choices.  Earlier this year, Festivore was born.

Festivore's goal is simple: it's a local, restaurant-specific search engine that aims to match diners to the dining establishments that best meet their demanding criteria.  Restaurants can earn eight possible stars, with each representing a category like "mostly local", "deep green", "cheap eats", and "special deals".  If that's not specific enough, the Advanced Search feature lets users look for restaurants by location, food nationality, or features like artisan foods, vegan cuisine, ocean views, Wi-Fi, gluten-free, and more. 

How does a restaurant earn Festivore's recommendation?  According to DeCrease, anonymous diners are sent to review the food, service, ambiance, and overall experience.  And don't think the rating is only about what's on the plate - to earn the highest marks, the meal has to satisfy criteria in areas like ambiance, affordability, and local sourcing of ingredients.

This week's inside tip?  Brasa, which serves locally-sourced Mediterranean food, was rated with three stars: "mostly local", "organic/real food", and "special deals".  To get the full scoop, be sure to read closely - because one of Festivore's secrets is that Brasa boasts one of Seattle's best happy hour menus, with the full bar menu reduced to half price.

Do you like Festivore?  Get involved.  As Festivore gains momentum, they welcome comments, criticisms, and volunteers.  While the website currently covers restaurants in Portland and Seattle, they're looking to expand to other cities, too - and they'll need manpower.

Who knows?  There may be no such thing as a free lunch - but with Festivore, you might just find the best locally-sourced, artisan-made meal you've ever had.  And if you're lucky, they'll have a happy hour.