Sunday, February 27, 2011

Unsuitable Alcoholic Beverages

Have you ever been to a fast-food-ish restaurant chain like Chipotle or Noodles, saw the display cooler of alcoholic beverages behind the counter, and wondered to yourself, "Who in the heck gets a glass of Merlot to accompany their five dollar bowl of noodles, ordered at the counter and eaten in a McDonald's-esque atmosphere?"  (Unfortunately, this question was actually answered for me once by my husband, who boldly ordered a beer at Noodles...but that's a story for another time.)
The peeve here is that the beverage is misplaced, it is an alien in a world that should be inhabited by sodas and ice teas.  The parallel peeve of the unsuitable alcoholic beverage is the drink that has landed in a restaurant of the wrong continent.  No one should be allowed to order a strawberry daiquiri at an Italian pizza joint.  Keep it to the swim-up bar at the pool, people.  Or margaritas at a rustic ski lodge.  No!  Pina Coladas and hamburgers; Mulled wine and cucumber tea sandwiches; Sake and croissants...You get the idea.
You can take the drink out of the bar, but you can't (or you shouldn't) put it in a fast food joint or in a world where it has no visa and no passport.

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