One thing I have noticed that's significantly changed over the years was brought to my attention last night. I was at the D & R Depot restaurant in LeRoy, the food wasn't that great, but they had high-quality straws, something you just don't see nowadays. The bending straws are absolutely crucial to any dining experience. You see, you're trying to hold a conversation with the person across from you, and your mouth runs dry, from all the speaking correct? Naturally, you take a sip of your drink (obviously while the other party is speaking) BUT instead of the easy sip at the perfect angle (varies from person to person, usually between 60-90 degrees), it is all to often the case that you are forced to tip your head down in order to completely enclose the straw around your lips in a comfortable position, breaking that eye-contact and causing an awkward situation between you and the other (or others) involved in the conversation, one that you have invested a lot of time engaging with in order to find the 'comfort zone' of dialogue, which you have just destroyed.
Of course, people try to 'cheat the straw' if you will, by (for example) the 'ol 'bend it yourself' routine, but is ultimately futile, as anyone who has tried this can tell you, as you can't quite get enough fluid through the straw because of the cheap plastic material, which is not designed for bending and allowing the maximum amount of liquid flow simultaneously. Another method, would be the one who gets the straw between the upper lip and gums above your teeth, but this as well has its flaws, because your sucking power doesn't have quite enough leverage to get a good sip, reiterating the results in the first example.
There is one simple way to both satisfy your thirst as well as maintain a proper dialogue, albeit it is one that is often overlooked in many restaurants nation-wide (I can't speak for international, as I have not had the experience, although I do suspect similar problems). That is the use of the 'bendy staw', not only the perfect solution to the above problem, but also, one of the key factors in making a good restaurant altogether. Something so simple, but is virtually ignored uniformly, for what reason I know not of. Why don't people get it? Is it too costly? I'll tell you what's costly. The fact that you'll never see me at a non-bendy-straw restaurant twice, I'll have you know.
In conclusion there is no component more necessary than of a quality staw you receive with your drink. Being served first, before even appetizers I stress, it is after-all a first impression, is it not? And good first-impressions are always crucial to a good relationship, whether it is with a person, a place of employment, or a restaurant. It is with this thought, I will leave you with, it is an important topic that leads to many morals, so consider it well, and may the straw guide you to a better life.
Of course, people try to 'cheat the straw' if you will, by (for example) the 'ol 'bend it yourself' routine, but is ultimately futile, as anyone who has tried this can tell you, as you can't quite get enough fluid through the straw because of the cheap plastic material, which is not designed for bending and allowing the maximum amount of liquid flow simultaneously. Another method, would be the one who gets the straw between the upper lip and gums above your teeth, but this as well has its flaws, because your sucking power doesn't have quite enough leverage to get a good sip, reiterating the results in the first example.
There is one simple way to both satisfy your thirst as well as maintain a proper dialogue, albeit it is one that is often overlooked in many restaurants nation-wide (I can't speak for international, as I have not had the experience, although I do suspect similar problems). That is the use of the 'bendy staw', not only the perfect solution to the above problem, but also, one of the key factors in making a good restaurant altogether. Something so simple, but is virtually ignored uniformly, for what reason I know not of. Why don't people get it? Is it too costly? I'll tell you what's costly. The fact that you'll never see me at a non-bendy-straw restaurant twice, I'll have you know.
In conclusion there is no component more necessary than of a quality staw you receive with your drink. Being served first, before even appetizers I stress, it is after-all a first impression, is it not? And good first-impressions are always crucial to a good relationship, whether it is with a person, a place of employment, or a restaurant. It is with this thought, I will leave you with, it is an important topic that leads to many morals, so consider it well, and may the straw guide you to a better life.
