"Water Sommelier"...?! Article in today's Toronto Star
any comments...?!
tap best for me...
been dining around the world, but never came across one!
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JK Grence the Cosmic Jester
Jul 2, 2007 02:03 AM
All I can say is I'm reminded of the Penn & Teller show Bull****! where they did bottled water. They did a hidden camera bit where they had a guy pose as a water sommelier. He showed off various waters from around the world, such as the French water "Pipi du Chien", the Mexican "Agua del Culo", and one from Brazil that had a (fake) Amazon river spider in the bottle! People were comparing the different kinds of water and the contrasts between each... and all of them were filled from the hose in the back of the restaurant.
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Charles Yu
Jul 1, 2007 01:29 PM
Recalled a restaurant in Rome, Italy that has one. Also, came across a store there that specializes in water. All 250+ different brand, type etc., Salesman there looked very knowledgeable. Guess one could call him a water sommelier/salesman of sought.
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I, too, thought it was silly and pretentious. Because of medication I cannot drink alcohol. I also generally avoid bottled water if I can, for environmental reasons. The overuse of our natural resources, the bottling (and the plastic bottles) and the trucking or shipping makes a great case for good old Toronto water. Most restaurants are okay with this but on occasion I have been treated with some disrespect because I don't order wine or bottled water.
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re: pirade
I'm with you, pirade. Let's hope this is just a passing fad and that people will begin to realize that there is nothing wrong or shameful in requesting tap water in restaurants.
And wouldn't it be nice if restaurants in Toronto follow the lead of Alice Waters, of Chez Panisse fame, who no longer serves bottled water in her restaurants. Filtered tap water, both still and carbonated, is all that's available. She has actually installed a machine on the premises that carbonates water, which she serves in pitchers to her guests -- for free!. Tres chic, in my opinion.
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There was an article about this in (I think) Toronto Life last year. 'Fraid I just have to roll my eyes at this one.
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re: bluedog
Non Doctor
Jul 1, 2007 09:21 AM
Being a "Wine Sommelier" myself I'll have to agree with you on this one!!!
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re: Non Doctor
Oh puleeze!!
Can this city get any more crazy/pretensious....sorry, I think there are a couple of reasonable choices.......Tap, Spring/Natural and Carbonated...bottled water from the Bosphorus, the south coast of France, the mountains of Italy...How about the shores of Lake Ontario? How about Eau de Port Hope!!! Just bring me a glass of water when I am seated and check back from time to time to see if it needs to be refilled!!!!!!!-
re: pearlD
Miss Needle
Jul 2, 2007 06:38 AM
While I do think that there is a difference between tastes of water, I don't think it's that big of a deal. People are buying more into the idea of drinking high-end water.
Example -- my husband is a big fan of Fiji water -- it's the one all the high-end chefs tout in the advertisements. I personally think it's ridiculous as it is costly and is not very environmentally sound, especially when we have a $3300 water filter/ionizer (it was a gift). I did a blind taste test between the filtered water and Fiji water. My husband preferred the filtered water, yet still drinks Fiji, chalking that experience up to the fact that he was having an off-day. He prefers Fij because of how it makes him feel. It's all in the mind.
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re: torontodragonfly
ddavis
Jul 1, 2007 09:31 AM
I'm not referring to any of the posters on this topic (so far), but you know, some people are just stupid and gullible. "But if I can say a few words about five different waters, and can convince them to sample them, enjoy them, then hey, that's an additional tool (read tip) in my hands." What a crock!
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re: ddavis
"But if I can say a few words about five different waters, and can convince them to sample them, enjoy them, then hey, that's an additional tool (read tip) in my hands."
Could he be refering to a "tool" to create a more memorable of a dining experience?
I like his comment "if you cool with ice water, so am I"
The dude sounds cool...what do you think?
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