Tap Water

[maher]

from the NY Times today:

" Fighting the Tide, a Few Restaurants Tilt to Tap Water "

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/dining/3...?pagewanted=all

A welcome move by restaurants and one we should all participate in encouraging. I have been dismayed over the last several years as more restaurants have climbed on board the chichi designer water train in an effort to gouge consumers out of an extra $5 or so. I have also been very disturbed at the environmental impact of packaging water and shipping it a million miles in the name of fashion. It is great to see a countertrend emerging.

When i was in London last i was happy to see one of the food critics from the Times newspaper on a one man crusade for tap water. Giles Coren actually docks restaurants a point (basically out of 30, but still...) if he is not offered tap water when he visits to review. The tap water trend is beginning to take off there as well, i hope it takes off everywhere else.

[mrsadm]

In my backwoods neighborhood the tap water tastes horrid. I'd take a point off if the restaurant doesn't offer bottled water as an option.

[annecros]

Our tap water is very good. In fact, a short drive north of me is Zephyrhills, the home of that stuff.

I like the fizz and the bit of trace mineral flavor I get from top of the line bottled, but I don't like it offered as the only alternative.

[gfron1]

On my recent visit to Alinea, the Sommelier proudly offered us filtered tap water. As a secondary option, he offered us bottled as well. We thought the water tasted like the filter was a bit old, but it didn't matter after the 10th or 15th course

[Marky Marc]

With all the horrendously unhealthy additive that are put into tap water I absolutely refuse to drink it at almost any cost. Filtered tap water is a different story, though. Your water shouldn't have to come from around the world but you shouldn't have to settle for chorine laced water as the only alternative.

[annecros]

With all the horrendously unhealthy additive that are put into tap water I absolutely refuse to drink it at almost any cost. Filtered tap water is a different story, though. Your water shouldn't have to come from around the world but you shouldn't have to settle for chorine laced water as the only alternative.

←

Actually, considering runoff and stuff, well water has many additives that treated tap water does not.

Pick your poison.

[Marky Marc]

With all the horrendously unhealthy additive that are put into tap water I absolutely refuse to drink it at almost any cost. Filtered tap water is a different story, though. Your water shouldn't have to come from around the world but you shouldn't have to settle for chorine laced water as the only alternative.

←

Actually, considering runoff and stuff, well water has many additives that treated tap water does not.

Pick your poison.

←

Nice. I guess you're damned if you and you're damned if you don't.

[andrewB]

With all the horrendously unhealthy additive that are put into tap water I absolutely refuse to drink it at almost any cost. Filtered tap water is a different story, though. Your water shouldn't have to come from around the world but you shouldn't have to settle for chorine laced water as the only alternative.

←

i agree with this statement. my stomach can't take tap water and ends badly with consumption.

[toweringpine]

Any good restaurant should be able to offer water in whatever format that their customer wants it. A patron should never be forced to pay for a glass of water but should have the option of buying bottled water if they so desire. I pay plenty to the government to ensure we have a supply of clean drinking water and vigorously object to being obliged to pay for it in a restuarant.

It seems to me that if someone doesn't like the tap water in their area they would be better off trying to get the purification system improved rather than spending more on bottled water. Most bottled water just came out of someone else's tap anyways. There are additives in tap water that people may object to but many of them are in bottled water as well. If the water has been in the bottle for any length of time it has picked up various nasty compounds from the plastic and is not really any better. Ask a dentist what they see in children whose parent's provide only bottled water for drinking. I am not saying that the water cleaning system is perfect but paying more to go around it seems self defeating.

[Alchemist]

At the bar I am opening here in Chicago we are putting two filters on all the water lines for the ice machines, and we will be doing only twice filtered tap water. We will be chilling the bottles and water. Which I find is a nice touch on tap water. Since we are having eight kinds of ice behind the bar we had to filter the water for that so months ago we decided to only use the tap water.

[oneidaone]

When we dined at Spago the server approached the table and asked if we wanted

(names of bottled water) or "our own Beverly Hills finest" which was amusing to us

we went with the "finest."

[phaelon56]

At the bar I am opening here in Chicago we are putting two filters on all the water lines for the ice machines, and we will be doing only twice filtered tap water.  We will be chilling the bottles and water.  Which I find is a nice touch on tap water.  Since we are having eight kinds of ice behind the bar we had to filter the water for that so months ago we decided to only use the tap water.

←

I agree that chilling the bottles and water is a great touch. In any culinary environment where the quality of tap water is a crucial ingredient I strongly recommend the solution that many higher end independent coffee and espresso bars rely on - Cirqua.

You submit water samples to them and indicate your desired usage. They'll provide a customized solution that removes the nasty bits and other components that produce undesirable taste artifacts and then adds back in the appropriate trace amounts of minerals for the desired taste profile and usage.

In my neighborhood there's a modestly priced Mexican influenced bistro I visit periodically. By chance I was called up to install their new coffee brewer and espresso machine. When we discussed the need for filtration I was pleased to discover that they filter ALL the water used in the kitchen - even the water used to wash vegetables, boil pasta etc. And this is in a city whose municipal water supply is pure enough that it doesn't require filtering at the source - they just add some fluoride and a bit of chlorination and pipe it on into the city. The overall water quality is as good or better than that of New York City but the fact that they take that extra step is impressive (and this in a place where no single menu items exceeds $13 to $15 in price).

[theisenm85]

I think it depends on the area strongly. In northern California (east bay to be specific), I absolutely love the tap water. I'm not sure of the additives, and I know it's slightly hard, but I've been hard pressed to find any water from the the tap that I've enjoyed more. Heck, I've been hard pressed to find bottled water I enjoy more in most cases. I do like the thrust of the movement of people not having to pay for water, but it is only regionally feasible in my opinion.

[ghostrider]

I've been informed that our tap water has terroir. There are times - like now - after particularly heavy rains when it has the aroma & flavor of moldy dirt. All of the teas I brew taste like they've been blended with pu-erh.

I know it's time to change the water filter. That aside, a restaurateur in this area would have to be nuts not to offer bottled water.

[jsmeeker]

just yesterday, I was listening to an eipsode of KCRW's Good Food (on my iPod) and the host was intervewing a chef/owner of a Los Angeles restaurant (Grace) about this very subject in conjunction with him discussing the whole "eat local" thing. So, water is really part of it.

He said bottled water is great. There is a lot of markup on it, and it makes them money. However, the "carbon footprint" of it is high. The water may come from some srping in Europe. The bottle is made in China. It needs to be shipped to Europe. The box the water goes into is made some place else. It gets shipped to Europe. The water is bottled and box and put in a containter and shipped to the USA. But it goes to some east coast port. Now, the water gets put on a truck and drives across the country.

All that for water. So, what to do? Install the filtering system others have talked about and use local municpal water and run it through there. You can serve it in a nice, chilled decanter, or even put it in a glass bottle with one of those Grolsh beer bottle type lids. It's simple, really, and plays into the "eat local" movement. Sure, you are losing a nice little profit center, but I guess that can be made up somplace else.