Fashions in hydration

Siphoning it old style in B.A.

 Have you noticed the latest trend in water? First we switched from all that designer water to plain old tap.  Now restaurants are happily serving tap water, but dressing it up for the table in pretty, re-purposed old glass bottles. I saw it first in Buenos Aires, where even old-school siphons con gaz at the table are the thing. 

 But this latest wrinkle in hydration is now clearly water’s latest fashion incarnation. 

 I don’t think it was a recessionary thing, more that it just started to seem a little over precious to be asked if you want still or sparkling– and like all that black pepper being ground over our plates with much flourish, sort of silly to be drinking fresh water here in Canada that’s been flown in from Fiji. 

 At home, I’ve been good and switched from all those tiny plastic bottles I was lugging in and out (and dumping into recycling) to a simple Brita filter in the fridge, which is dead simple, cheaper, more enviro-correct–and totally refreshing.   

But in restaurants, they are taking up the habit and kicking it up a notch by using tap water as a decorative element. 

At Pizzeria Libretto, for instance, they are serving simple, free, city of Toronto tap water but in their own labelled bottles, as a style statement. 

Branded Toronto tap water

 While at the Drake, you can get the style, with cool retro refreshments like Arnold Palmers (half tea, half lemonade) or Paul Jacksons (same, but with mint) instead of plain old water. 

Who needs tap?