Marshall,
Finally a review from an important restaurant critic.(As long as we can keep he and his ilk happy RAIN will do find):
LET'S TAKE A TRIP / It's a Jungle in Here
By Charles Belmonte. KIDSDAY STAFF REPORTER, Age 10, Valley Stream
I was invited to the recent grand opening of a new theme restaurant called the Rainforest Cafe located in The Source in Westbury (516)-227-6000). The restaurant's theme is a tropical rain forest, and everything in it, such as the sounds, the live and animated animals on display, and the names of food items, has todo with the rain forests. I think this is a great place for kids, and adults, to enjoy themselves while they learn about our endangered rain forests and the animals that live there.
I spoke with the very enthusiastic and funny creator of the Rainforest Cafe, Steve Schussler. He told me he got the idea for this restaurant more than 17 years ago when he started to decorate his home like a rain forest by filling it with live plants, aquariums and parrots. He said, "I've had parrots as pets for many, many years. I thought it would be good to share this creation of God with the rest of the world. Parrots are beautiful, and they are endangered." (Live parrots are on view in the restaurant in a special habitat designed just for them. All of these parrots are domestically bred and hand-rainsed; none come directly from the rainforests.)
Schlussler hopes his restaurant will educate people about how important it is to save our rain forests. He donates all the money in the restaurant's wishing well to charities that help the rain forests. He also started a program where a curator (someone who takes care of the animals) from the restaurant visits local schools to talk about the rain forests and their endangered species.
Did You Know...
1. Rain forests help control the earth's climate. They absorb carbon dioxide which is a gas in the atmosphere. When the rain forests are burned, the carbon dioxide is released. This makes the weather much hotter and it is called the greenhouse effect.
2. There are more kinds of plants and animals in the rain forest than anywhere else on earth. Many of the plants are used for medicines, including those to treat heart disease and cancer. One-fourth of the drugs that you can find in a drug store, including aspirin, have ingredients that came from rain forests.
3. Rain forests took between 70 million to 100 million years to evolve. They used to cover 14 percent of the earth, today they cover less than 6 percent. Most of the rain forests have been destroyed in the last 50 years. They are disappearing at a frightening rate - about 150 acres per minute. If this contines, they will be gone by 2030.
(end repost)
I imagine your beginning to feel pretty 'Board' about now, eh mon, frere.
Regards (and another hump bites the dust),
Dennis |
