B Good

This fairly new Brookline restaurant joins locations in the South End, Harvard Square, and Newbury Street. B good is Boston's answer to fast food--you can eat the "all-American meal" without feeling guilty in the morning: no trans fats, frozen patties, questionable ingredients, or trucked in foods with weird stabilizers and preservatives. Instead this local chain (with national aspirations, I would imagine) makes "real food" that tastes good and appeals to both healthy and junk food eaters alike. Things like whole wheat buns, natural bacon, and posted nutritional information help you make healthy and informed choices, but the food is all very recognizable: you can get a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake. (And so can your children, from the special kids' menu.)

One of the greenest things about b good is that all of their food is made on-site: hamburgers hand-ground from natural Black Angus steaks, french fries hand-cut from potatoes, and so on. In addition to making the food taste better, this also means they buy in bulk, a practice that cuts down on shipping, packaging, and factory processing. Sneaking a look in the back of the store, I saw a barrel of whole red onions, destined to become the caramelized onions that top the delicious "Adopted Luke" burger, I would guess.

B good recycles, and encourages their customers to do the same. Food is served on metal plates rather than disposables, and to-go containers are made of paper, not styrofoam. Sandwich wraps are made from recycled paper. Disposable cups for water are made of Greenware, a plant-based resin not derived from petroleum like most plastic cups. Greenware is also compostable, but unfortunately b good does not compost. B good's meat and dairy products are also not organic; this is something the owners would like to provide but it is cost-prohibitive. (B good's prices are already steeper than their fast food competitors, but since the quality is much higher, this is no surprise.)

The outdoor seating area at this location is especially nice, although on a recent seasonable night the indoors was way too cool (a/c on too high), and the windows don't open, so customers inside weren't able to enjoy the beautiful evening. There are several good vegetarian items on the menu, including a Southwestern black bean burger, and several good dinner salads. You can also sub a bean burger or turkey burger in for any of the beef burgers on request.