The advantages of no-waste to-go boxes

While in Zurich, Switzerland last year, we stopped into a little eatery on the trendy West Side called Hin & Weg. Born from a catering partnership between Marc Muggli and Katja Jeisli, the postcard-pretty little restaurant has become known for fresh, locally-sourced and beautifully presented food. Our lunch of soup, salad and delicious savories was wonderful. We ate in the small white-on-white room just off the Scandinavian-blue main room where baguettes and take-away orders can be placed and picked up. Everything, from the food, to the decor to the napkins tied in scraps of gingham and jewel-toned Gerber Daisy centerpieces, was stylish and satisfying. But there was one more thing that impressed me. Rather than packaging take-away food in paper, plastic and Styrofoam, for a small deposit, Muggli and Jeisli send food out in reusable glass containers. And each order is packaged in a clever, recyclable, specially-made cardboard carrier - designed by an engineer. That lets you take home fresh, locally-sourced gourmet food without being left with disposable trash to toss or recycle. When you’re ready for more you simply return the containers and do it all again. Watching Jeisli demonstrate the way the Hin & Weg system worked, it made me wish more local delis and restaurants did the same thing. Years ago, when my children were small, a local bakery baked all pies in glass dishes. If you returned the glass pie dish you received a discount on your next order. They were the source for our favorite Key Lime pies and I picked one up at least once a month. Some dishes didn’t make it back, but most of the time the sight of that empty glass pie plate prompted me to return it and order another family favorite. I imagine having a Hin & Weg container in sight would have the same effect. That made me wonder if there is any such option in Spokane. Do you know of any local eateries that use recyclable takeaway containers? If so, let me know.