Chicago Green Dining: 'Guaranteed Green' Restaurants Across The City

There's a new gold standard in environmentally conscious dining in Chicago.

The Green Restaurant Association announced today that it has awarded twenty restaurants around the city the "Guaranteed Green" label.

Restaurateurs had to meet rigorous, quantified scoring guidelines in order to win the label, writes Time Out Chicago. Restaurants earned points in a wide variety of categories including "energy use, waste reduction, sustainable food and water efficiency."

Each of the 20 restaurants awarded broke the 100-point threshold for a two-star certification; only four -- Rick Bayless' Frontera and Topolobampo and Helen Cameron's two Uncommon Ground locations -- beat 175 points to earn three stars. None scored the 300 points required for a four-star designation.

The list contains some names you might expect (Bayless and Uncommon Ground among them), and some surprises, including a college dining hall, a downtown steakhouse and an Irish pub whose name means "kiss my ass" in Irish.

See a few highlights from the list below, or get the the complete list here Vote on your favorite green cuisine in the city below.