To water or not to water? That is the question...

Is anyone old enough to remember the good old days of going to a restaurant and not having to ask for water with your meal? Think real hard…a server approaches your table for the first time, greets you, hands out menus, and finishes with “I’ll be right back with some waters.” Most restaurants even had the water glasses right on the tables ready to be filled without as much as a mention on your part. Call me nostalgic, but I miss my water.

Today this is not the prevalent practice. In fact at most restaurants if you don’t ask for water, you will not be served a glass, period. This practice scares me about what the future has in store for us. Maybe no menus unless you ask. How about no silverware? Maybe you eat with your hands. Napkins? Why bother? The diner might use their shirtsleeve.

I know there are several reasons why water is not a sure thing anymore:

*People like their bottled water and would never be caught drinking that scary tap water.
*Restaurants can make money by selling bottled or sparkling water.
*Some people don’t drink water and restaurants don’t want to dirty the glasses and wash them if they don’t need to.
*It helps save the environment. (no wasted water, dish soap, energy for the dishwasher, etc.)

OK, there are a lot of reasons why water is not served automatically. This still is not going to stop me from asking for it each time I go out to dine. Ahhhh, I can hear it pouring out of the pitcher right now…clink, clink, splash, splash… This post is making me thirsty…gotta go…