Let's get one thing straight: I don't have too many pet peeves when it comes to dining out. A big lesson I've learned is that pleasure trumps all inklings of snobbery. True, someone might look nothing short of retarded dropping some ice cubes into their Chilean Cabernet, but if that means that they are going to enjoy their drink more so than sans ice, then so be it. I have the knowledge and know-how to encourage someone to be the kind of diner that would impress even the most discerning of critics, but most of the time it's my job to simply facilitate pleasure and comfort, not to scrutinize the faux pauxs I see taking place before my eyes.
HOWEVER...a pet peeve that is the bane of my existence is lemon wedges in water, especially when ordered before even tasting how good the local tap is. It especially chaps my hide as a server in Colorado Springs, where the tap water tastes better than most bottled versions (which are a crock entirely in their own respect). Such an order means an extra trip or two to the table, and it shows the ignorance of the table. If you fall into the aforementioned category, allow me to cure such ignorance. Long story short, not only do lemon wedges in ice waters cause thousands of servers across the United States extra time and effort, but they are also the fruit equivalent of petri dishes when it comes to germs. In clinical studies, over 77% of the lemons tested positive for some sort of disease causing bacteria. In some cases the lemons even tested positive for fecal matter...yes, FECAL MATTER. You gotta realize that the lemons are picked by field workers in an environment not exactly comparable to a surgical ward, then packed by human hands, then unpacked by human hands, and eventually sliced by some kitchen employee that has probably not washed their hands in awhile. Those things are like agricultural paper towels. Yuck. Sorry, I just gagged a bit. Below I've provided a couple links for your researching enjoyment. The nature of my pet peeve is two-fold: I hate wasting time on needless trips to tables, and I don't particularly enjoy watching people drink poop. So, save your poor server a trip and your immune system an unnecessary bout with botulism and stick to the local tap without ice, k? K.
Video (in case you're sick of reading at this point)
Today Show Bit
Glamour Magazine (the most academic of all resources)
KOAA (a local news station)
4 comments:
Is tap without ice better than tap with ice, or is that just for the sake of the server?
go with tap without ice. tap water without ice is easier on your body for temperature reasons, and then when you consume ice at restaurants you always run the risk of getting ice that contains bacteria from poorly maintained ice machines (i've seen some gnarliness in this area). good question!
Very informative :)
I'm never ordering water with lemons again...
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