Serious Eats
Slow Food Snail of Approval
This week the New York City chapter of Slow Food USA announced the start of its new Snail of Approval Program, which recognizes local "chefs, restaurateurs, producers, culinary artisans, and food purveyors for their devotion to Slow Food principles."
Similar to a kosher certification or green certification, the Snail of Approval will help people find producers, purveyors, and artisans who are dedicated to high quality, authenticity, and sustainability. Some of the places listed so far include Dan Barber's Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Saxelby Cheesemongers, and Brooklyn Brewery.
While Slow Food USA already published a print guide to New York City's food scene back in 2003, the Snail of Approval and corresponding website should provide an easier and more up-to-date access point to this information. It also puts in place a system for accepting nominations from Slow Food members. It'll be interesting to see what the ramifications of this program might be. Will the snail symbol carry enough weight from customers to encourage restaurants to change their practices? Will the program spread across the country to other cities? Time will tell.