MADISON, Wis. -- The Madison-area food industry caters to green, and many might think that entails going "organic." But to really green up at the dinner table, many think "local" is the way to go.

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Proponents have argued that by buying local and using locally produced food, the energy costs of getting that food to your table drop dramatically.

Buying local is a staple to many Madison-area restaurant menus.

Restaurant owner Tami Lax has been preparing locally produced food for 15 years -- first at Le Toille and now at Harvest. She said that as much as she can, she buys locally and that's becoming easier all the time.

"To me personally, it's important because it just makes sense. The food is healthier; it doesn't travel very far," Lax said. "In the last 12 to 15 years, every year it just gets better. The farmers are producing more and more and more to extend their season also."

Harvest is a destination restaurant, a place to go to celebrate something special. But patrons don't have to go upscale to go local.

Madison's two Ian's Pizza restaurants are going local too as much as they can, according to Cindy Gross, Ian's head chef.

"We don't grow avocadoes. There's no olives in the area to make our own olive oil. There are a lot of products we just can't access locally that are very popular on pizzas," she said.

However, there are a lot of local products that are to that end, and Gross is committed to the concept of eating locally.

"All the specials that we do, the meats are from local products," she said. "We're very dedicated to at least making our specials all be local."

She said that she's committed to eventually having 30 percent of the pizza ingredients locally produced and 100 percent of the salad bar -- from the eggs to the Door County cranberries.

And like Harvest, Ian's is going about this very quietly. When customers do find out, they are shocked but pleased. She said that customers can bring their family out and have some local products and feel good about them.

For More Info:

Ian's Pizza
Harvest
To find a restaurant committed to the concept of eating locally, visit this Web site
There's a farmers' market every day of the week. Find one in your area at this Web site
Dane County Farmers' Market, the largest producer-only farmers' market in the country.
To find and order from a community-supported agriculture farms serving greater Madison, Milwaukee, Dubuque, the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, visit this Web site
Read more about the Slow Food Movement