Kicking the Bottled Water Habit at Chez Panisse and Blue Plate

Since I never visited the Bay Area, I cannot pretend having first hand impressions on either restaurants.

I did find out thanks to Kicking the bottle by Tracey Taylor (FT, November 1st) that a number of restaurants including these 2 are now serving filtered tap water.

Tracey Taylor notes that while "at The Blue Plate, a popular bistro in the Mission district of San Francisco, chilled water is offered in old-fashioned, heavy glass milk bottles. Across the Bay at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Alice Waters thought carefully before choosing decanters etched with the restaurant’s name in which to serve filtered water, still or lightly carbonated in-house, according to customer preference".

I agree with her that bottled water is an easy money maker for most eateries and that trend might change only over time.

She mentions a shift at Aqua in San Francisco where some 50% of the clientele kicked their Voss designer water addiction in favor of tap and that the mineral water now served at Aqua comes from a local brand.

Food wise I noticed a couple of interesting appetizers on Blue Plate's menu:

-Charred local sardines italian butter beans two ways, early girl tomatoes and basil

-Crispy halibut rillette shaved fennel, preserved meyer lemon, breakfast radish and grain mustard creme fraiche

At Aqua for a late evening bite (after 9:30pm) they offer artisanal cheeses from their cart with  cocktails, wines and liqueurs to match.

Related: Ask for Tap (Water not Beer): Act Green