We have water on tap

I love American food.

Regardless of the many wonders we have witnessed during each visit there, we will always have at least one travel anecdote regarding food. These include such tales as ‘The bottomless glass of Pepsi’ ‘The full rack of barbequed Everest’ ‘The tomato jar counter’ ‘The Canadian-hating burger’ ‘The generous gambling chicken’ ‘The fire alarm breakfast sandwich’ ‘The mountain top fries’ ‘The coma-inducing lemonade’ ‘The 42^nd Street pizza’ and ‘The desert pasta’, to name a few.

However, possibly my favourite beverage related story took place in a small deli in New York. My cousin was the last person at our table to order her drink, and when the waiter got round to her, she asked what they had. Big mistake. The waiter reeled off a list of drinks so long that it would have been quicker to go out, milk a cow, pick some strawberries, drive to Vermont and buy some freshly made Ben and Jerry’s, and make her a nice strawberry milkshake. She then proceeded to ask for water. He responded by asking which type of water she would prefer. Not a milkshake-worthy list, but still rather impressive. She asked for tap water. Yes, that’s right folks, tap water. Here we were, the land of the free refill, and she asks for tap water. I almost choked on my double colossal super-size cow sandwich. That very morning I had seen cheese in a spray can, but only now, as I stared at this sudden stranger sat opposite me, was I truly disgusted.