The grass may not always be greener … but Greener Groundz Coffee and Cafe is an eating establishment that vows to do its part to make the planet greener.

Formerly Bread and Bagel on Broadway, and under new ownership, Greener Groundz opened at the beginning of March and celebrated with a grand opening on Earth Day. Some things have remained the same, like a plethora of hand-tossed gourmet pizzas (I could write an entire column) and specialty sandwiches like asiago chicken and presto pesto. Changes include a fresh coat of comforting moss green paint, bamboo on every table for good luck and delicious, nutritious lunch and dinner specials updated on its Web site each week are definitely worth a try. For instance, this Saturday’s special is cheese ravioli in a pesto cream sauce.

My dining companion and I entered during a lunch rush to discover a plethora of art on the walls. Artist Megan Chetelat was the first artist to display her art, with local artists scheduled each month – already booked through July! This is only one of the ways that Greener Groundz’ slogan – “Live, Love, Local” – is expressed. Live music is performed onstage every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.

Now let’s get to the green and local all over the menu. Greener Groundz coffee and teas are 100 percent fair-trade/organic. The coffee is locally roasted for freshness; the tea purchased often, to ensure freshness; and the herbs, berries and fruits in the tea blends are grown locally and organically.

The cookies, muffins, scones, breads, cinnamon rolls and pizza dough are baked daily and ingredients in menu items are also locally grown whenever possible.

My dining companion and I ordered a one-of-a kind appetizer, Bo Bo’s hummus bowl. Three scoops of pesto, roasted red pepper and garlic hummus topped with walnuts and served with chips. Hummus is a middle-eastern dip made from mashed chickpeas, ground sesame seeds (called tahini) with spices and other ingredients. Chickpeas are high in protein, sesame seeds are an antioxidant and both are high in other nutrients, making this a “green,” healthy and delicious appetizer!

We really went green ordering a Greek salad to share. It was abundant in mixed greens, three kinds of olives, feta cheese and a delicious blue cheese vinaigrette.

I decided to go Thai, and ordered the Thai chicken pasta. The spinach (green) fettuccini was joined by julliene carrots, sliced green (maybe someone should be counting here) onions, sprouts and sesame seeds, then generously drizzled with a combination of peanut sauce and sesame oil. The peanut sauce has a strong essence at the beginning of a bite, then there’s the kick of the sesame and spices at the end. If you like a lot of flavor, I highly recommend this pasta.

My dining companion ordered a sandwich from the previous menu, the Rachel. This is a vegetarian sandwich with cheddar cheese, hummus, avocado, sprouts and tomato, delicious on a multi-grain bread. This day it was served with alpha sprouts, but it has been known to have the larger variety bean sprouts, which is preferred, as are sliced avocado instead of mashed – but that’s just a personal preference.

One freshly baked chocolate chip and one oatmeal raisin cookie finished a healthy meal with a little fun on the other side of the fence – tasting like grandma’s home made with a pleasant excess of chocolate chips and raisins.

— Our anonymous food reviewer gives new restaurants a six-week grace period before reviewing. To comment, please contact Managing Editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235 or via e-mail to malexieff@bgdailynews.com.

GREENER GROUNDZ

871 Broadway Ave.

• 781-1473

Hours: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday; 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Cuisine: American

Price range: $3.99 to $7.79 for lunch; $5.99 to $18.99 for pizza

Libation situation: Beer, wine by the glass

Smoking: No