Dr. Bronner's (yes, that's the hippie soap), is located in Escondido a few blocks from the beer temple Stonetopia. So I went up for a visit and was impressed by their values. Here's what Michael Bronner had to tell me...

I tested their Magic Soap, but it didn't cut grease for the volume of dishes we have at the restaurant. So I've now got a lifetime supply of Magic Soap to use at home. What we did find at Dr. Bronner's that worked was their Sal Suds detergent. Although not quite as environmentally friendly as their Magic Soap, it's as good as it gets for restaurant dish washing and general cleaning.

Sal Suds detergent is $22.04 per gallon wholesale from the Dr. Bronner's website. That's over double the price of regular soap, so it's definitely an investment in a local, more environmentally friendly company. But we think Dr. Bronner's is really cool.