Today I ate out with some friends at Buffalo Wild Wings, BW3's. After ordering our meals, the server came back with our drinks. I had ordered a water. I took a sip of water from the straw only to discover that the water tasted brackish and hard, not sweet and refreshing like water should be. I stated this discovery to those around me and one tells me I should get a soda or iced tea. Water is what I drink mostly and I avoid soda / pop because it tends to makes you thirstier and it is not good for you. And the last time I had iced tea, I added more than five packs of sugar to it, before it was sweet enough to my liking and then it did not taste all that great after all.
This a paraphrased version of the conversation that went on after telling him my preferences:
Friend, "So you only drink water, and nothing else?"
Me, "I drink mostly water, but I also like - "
Friend, "Don't tell me it's Crystal Light... " (pause for response)
I opened my mouth to give a positive indication, and did not even get a word out before...
Friend,"... it is, isn't?! You are like my grandma, drinking crystal light."
And with sarcasm, "It only has 5 Calories per serving."
He proceeded to tease me of drinking it for a minute or two longer.
All this while, I am sitting there thinking "What's wrong with drinking Crystal Light???" I tried asking that question, but either I was not heard over the loud atmosphere or my friend chose not to answer. I did not need his answer though, because I knew that there is nothing wrong with drinking it, even if his grandma drank it.
Has food become trendy? Are certain foods limited to a specific generation, like Crystal Light? I did not think so until today. But it seems from my friend's comment, certain foods and drinks may have association with a certain age group and it is a social
faux pas to consume it if not in that age group. Frankly, I think that is ridiculous. If a grocery store sells it, any age group should be able to consume it, whether prune juice or baby food. You may get odd looks if you crack open a jar of mashed pears, but you should not with something like Crystal Light.
My friend needs to get beyond such silly notions of avoiding food stuffs based on age groups.
Note: I'll probably avoid Crystal Light now, because it contains aspartame which is a somewhat controversial sweetener.
