In an article that is launching an occasional series in the San Francisco Chronicle’s dining section about food consciousness, it was reported yesterday that Alice Waters is jumping on the anti-bottled water bandwagon. Some of our fine dining establishments, it seems, have found alternative ways to offer sparkling water that does not have to be flown here from Italy. Of course we have many local brands, like Calistoga, but the article reports that California brands tend to be more carbonated than their European sisters.

As the article reports, Chez Panisse, long considered at the forefront of the sustainability movement, has installed its own carbonator. While the Berkeley institution isn’t the first to stop serving bottled water (the movement actually began about four years ago), surely when Alice Waters does something like this, others take note.
And this move is especially notable since the restaurant business makes so much profit on beverages. A bottle of sparkling water at a fancy restaurant will sometimes cost $7 or $8.
A business called the Seltzer Sisters has been operating in the Bay Area for years. They deliver bubbly water to your door, and you return the empties when you’re through to be refilled. It would be interesting to see if their business sees a spike as a result of this article.
You can find the article here.