Los Angeles Restaurant Serves Water So Fancy it Demands a Sommelier

By: Lawrence Bonk

Water, AKA that liquid you ask for when you first sit down at a restaurant, is certainly due for its chance in the spotlight. After all, as the refrigerator case at the gas station has proven, it is not all created equal. Water can be smart, derived from a small mountain somewhere in Holland or even caffeinated. In short, it needs an expensive menu at a fancy eater complete with well-paid sommelier. Wait, what?

Los Angeles' Ray's & Stark Bar sure thinks so. The restaurant features a new water menu that features "varietals of water from around the world." You can even stage your own water tasting for a mere $12. Why, that's only $12 more than if you filled up a bunch of cups from your sink. It's a bargain! To prove the naysayers wrong, they've hired a bona fide water sommelier, in the form of manager Martin Riese . He has the certification and everything.

Different kinds of water are also suggested as meal pairings. I hear the wet, plain tasting one goes great with the octopus.

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