Daily Blog
Wednesday, 07 April 2010 07:04
Written by Justin Fischer

---

The ever prolific David Laris Creates has created a new space downstairs at the URBN hotel named, wait for it, Downstairs. And just as URBN trumpets its carbon neutrality, Downstairs has adopted a similar mantra: Sustainability.

Admittedly, it's a term susceptible to several shifty definitions, but talking with Laris, his heart appears to be in the right place. The goal is to be more pro-active in sourcing food, i.e. going local, building strong relationships with producers, and having a hand in the supply chain from the farm to the table. The obvious benefit, of course, is a smaller carbon footprint. But it also allows Laris and Executive Chef Mark Beckwith (formerly of M1NT) to keep tabs on where their food is coming from and to see who is using more environmentally sound and humane production methods. It's a trend that has long since caught on in many Western countries, but has long been a difficult task in the Mainland. But Downstairs appears to be off to a strong start. They already source free-range chickens from a farm in Anhui, lambs from Inner Mongolia and, whenever possible, produce is organic. In the kitchen, they've installed a unique water purification device that filters waste water before it's dumped into the city sewers (and ultimately the Huangpu). And the apparel company Brown Rice has designed uniforms that are made from recycled textiles.

As to whether the this model will be sustainable itself remains to be seen. But if our initial experience is any indicator, the menu is pretty solid. Ingredients are fresh, presentations simple and rustic - chicken liver pate with toasted country bread or a roasted beets over beet greens come to mind - and flavors are suffused with Southeast Asian elements (think curried snapper). Currently, Downstairs is in soft opening phase, but a grand opening is expected by the middle of the month.

< Prev		Next >