GET READY to say goodbye to - or at least pay more for - your San Pellegrino, Fiji, and Evian. Last year, Americans consumed billions of bottles of water; the global water craze adds up to millions of tons of plastic each year. (Next time you're at Starbucks, read the fine print on its Ethos water bottles: Ethos is a company that donates a portion of the sale of each bottle to producing safe drinking water for Third World countries.) In response to the issue, Bambara has discontinued its use of bottled water. The restaurant recently installed on-site water-filtration system AquaHealth to eliminate its use of imported bottled water. The new system can produce sparkling or still water. It's just one of the restaurant's eco-friendly initiatives. And as far as I know, Bambara is the only restaurant in town that requires its staff to drink from reusable cups. >> Speaking of eco-friendly initiatives, I'd love to keep a log or a blog of the changes that local restaurants are making to lighten their footprint on the environment. If you're taking steps and want readers to know about it, e-mail me at pommefrite@aol.com. >> Don't let the sands of summer slip through your fingers too fast. Take advantage of the Sand Dollar Menu at Great Bay, where every weekday (except Red Sox home-game days) from 5 to 6 p.m., spicy fish tacos, Duxbury oysters, and a "cone" of calamari are only a buck apiece. >> Cooking demos are hot this fall. One to count on is the Fall Harvest pasta dinner series at Park Square's Rustic Kitchen, held on Fridays at 7 p.m. in October and November. In the restaurant's on-site TV studio/demo kitchen, host Alissa Bigelow will prepare some of chef Tom Holloway's fall recipes, including whole-wheat ravioli stuffed with duck confit, Granny Smith apples, fontina cheese, and spinach. For tickets, which are $65, visit www.rustickitchen.biz or call 781.575.1533. >> A sweet deal for Sundays: Tasca now offers a weekly three-course prix-fixe menu for $21.95. And more kudos to Tasca: the restaurant regularly allows frequent diners to host cause-related and charity fundraisers in their space. On October 16, there's the Pan African Acupuncture Project Benefit, organized by Richard Mandell. Mention the event when calling for a reservation.
