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SPORTS & SIGHTS
High Spirits At Michigan’s First
CERTIFIED ORGANIC RESTAURANT FEEDING YOUR MIND AND NOURISHING YOUR BODY THE RIGHT WAY. Story and Photography By Michael Dwyer
Mind, Body & Spirits is Rochester, Michigan’s first certified organic restaurant.
Food should taste good, as well as be good for you. I have been eating mostly organic for years now and I can tell the difference. There are many restaurants serving organic meals, but very few that are certified organic. Only one in five states offers a certified organic restaurant. And the Midwest is fortunate to have one in Michigan. Mind, Body & Spirits restaurant is different; it is nourishment done the right way. Michigan’s first certified organic restaurant is in downtown Rochester. Yes, Michigan has a Rochester too. Mind, Body & Spirits (MBS) opened its doors on Halloween 2008 and became certified USDA Organic a year later by Oregon Tilth, a third-party nonprofit organization. “An eco-conscious restaurant serving local and organic meals in a casual inspired atmosphere,” is printed at the top of the MBS menu. MBS is nearly 100 percent organic and uses over 90 percent local ingredients. For instance, the pepperoni
TRAVELWORLD MAGAZINE / 10.2 MAR.APR
and portabella wood oven flatbread uses pepperoni from Graham’s Organic Meats and provolone is from Oliver Farms—two local Michigan businesses. Not only does Mind, Body & Spirits provide a sustainable restaurant with local and organic food, they make it very easy for anyone with food allergies or other dietary needs (or concerns) to eat the way they want. While meat is on the menu, MBS has a variety of options for every taste. A dietary guide is listed on the menu to help guests choose meals that are vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free. A giant list of organic and local beverages gives you a wonderful selection of coffees, teas, and sodas, as well as hand-crafted beer and wine. MBS also has a full-service bar with liquors, such as Juniper Green Organic London Dry Gin and Papagayo Organic White Rum. Factoid cards about the restaurant are on every table, plus the staff really knows their stuff. If you ask as I did, they will tell you all about the ecofriendly environment you are sitting in. A completely renovated 100-year-old structure (one of the finest brick buildings in the county) now uses the latest green-energy innovations. Geothermal heat pumps are used to heat and cool the building and Trombe Walls are used to help store and displace the radiant heat from sun-facing parts of the building. Solar panels on the roof supply electricity and hot water to the restaurant. And Energy Recovery Ventilators are used to recycle and recover a large portion of the air while still providing clean, fresh air to the patrons. Looking closely at the restaurant, you learn the floor is made from bamboo and recycled cork, the table tops are made from compressed sunflower