In a recent BusinessWeek article, Steve Ells, the founder of Chipotle describes what he means by “food with integrity”. “Ells would like Chipotle, and every restaurant for that matter, to be using only natural ingredients. Ideally, each kitchen would prepare sauces from scratch with pesticide-free vegetables and spices, for instance, rather than buy ready-made sauces that come with preservatives and artificial flavors and colors.”

While Ells has his ideals, he is open about Chipotle’s current situation and plans for future improvement. They have a foundation of natural ingredients, but have yet to really incorporate organic produce. 100% of Chipotle’s pork is all-natural, compared with 60% of its chicken and 40% of its beef. 30% of the beans are organic, but not much else is organic. They don’t have organic sour cream right now, but it is 100% rBGH hormone free.

Chipotle’s menu can be very high calorie (see our past post about this). And Ells admits “You certainly could argue that Chipotle doesn’t have as much leafy greens in it as it probably needs to.”

I admire how Ells is forthcoming about what Chipotle is doing, doesn’t overly promote or advertise the “greenness” or goodness of its menu, and has a vision for the future of how the menu will continue to be better for people and the world.

Terrapass has started an interesting discussion on Organic vs. Local. The clear answer is that Organic AND Local is best, but they advocate Organic over Local if those are the two choices.

Check out the past post about the Economist article on a related topic.

Hilary Brown has started what she calls “the next generation of burger joints” in Local Burger, located in Lawrence, Kansas.

Launched in September of 2005, Local Burger offers healthy fast food, including grass-fed beef, buffalo and elk burgers. They also taut the World’s Best Veggie Burger, soups, salads, smothies, organic russet potatoes, and interesting sides.

Local Burger has received a lot of great press, so read about it here and stop by when you are next in Kansas!

Another better-for-you quick serve restaurant is available to us, V.G. Burger in Boulder, CO. Everything they serve is vegan (or plant-based) with several options for veggie burgers, along with baked fries, smoothies, and interesting ice creams made from soy, rice, or hemp.

While I haven’t been able to taste their offerings, the pictures from the V.G. Burger website look pretty delicious.

Along with using organic ingredients, V.G. Burger uses compostable service products and 100% wind-powered energy.

For those of us who still need a sweet treat, check out Fraiche that just opened in Palo Alto, CA. Housemade, organic, greek fresh and frozen yogurt with delicious topings. There’s even soy yogurt for those of us who can’t handle dairy!

For reviews from those who have already become addicted, check out yelp.