• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Los Angeles based Ray’s & Stark Bar to unveil new 45-page menu featuring water

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

NoRéN

Member
Bob White said:
Hey, I'm opening a single item restaurant in my back yard. $5 dollars for one minute with the hose.
Click to expand...

Let's join forces. In an adjacent location I'll open a strip club. Outside the VIP room I'll have a sign that reads:

$5 dollars for one minute with the hos
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
mre said:
A water sommelier? The man that talked his way into that job is a sales and marketing genius whose talents are being wasted as a sommelier.
Click to expand...

Not just a sommelier, but an artisan! Look at that masterfully crafted limited edition water he made! He even used diamond-like glass bottles!
 
M

mre

Golden Domers are chickenshit!!
XiaNaphryz said:
Not just a sommelier, but an artisan! Look at that masterfully crafted limited edition water he made! He even used diamond-like glass bottles!
Click to expand...

This man needs to be in charge of our diplomatic corp. Just think of the good his ability to bullshit would do us!
 
A

Aquamarine

Member
Code: 
He moved to Los Angeles (for the weather, he says)
[B]after earning his certification as a water sommelier
from the German Mineral Water Association.[/B]

Is this a thing now? Because I really hope this is not a thing.
 
X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Pic of the water sommelier:

1F9aMuo.jpg


http://www.lamag.com/lafood/digestblog/2013/08/06/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-water-sommelier

* What goes into becoming a water sommelier?

A lot of drinking! I come from the Danish border in Germany, right in front of me was the North Sea, so I was always surrounded by water. As a child, when my family went on vacation the first thing we would do in a new city was try the tap water, because I always felt that every tap water has a different taste. In 2005, I started to work at the one Michelin star restaurant “first floor” at the Hotel Palace Berlin. A customer came up to me one evening and asked me for a different water because they did not liked our house water brand.

That encounter reminded me of my childhood and that water has different taste everywhere you go. I realized that in a restaurant, to really satisfy every customer, you should have a selection of different waters. That's why I created a water menu for Ray's & Stark. We ended up with a list of 40 different brands. I loved having the opportunity to taste so many different waters from all over the world and then pair and recommend them to go with wine and food. In 2008 I wrote the book “Die Welt des Wassers” (The World of Water) which is a 200-page book about the amazing topic of water. In 2010 I became a certified mineral water sommelier from the German Mineral Water Trade Association.

In 2011 I decided to come back to Los Angeles to work for the Patina Restaurant Group. My Visa is a O-1, a VISA that is given for Extraordinary Ability. My Visa is for my expertise on the topic of water.
Click to expand...

* What would you say to the person who doesn't think water is anything special, and usually drinks tap water?

Every water has an unique taste, even tap water. The problem here in Los Angeles is that the tap water has been treated with chlorine. Therefore the chlorine is overpowering the taste of the water. Every person who is skeptical and does not believe that water has taste should come over to Ray’s & Stark Bar and I am more than happy to surprise them.
Click to expand...
 
M

mre

Golden Domers are chickenshit!!
In 2011 I decided to come back to Los Angeles to work for the Patina Restaurant Group. My Visa is a O-1, a VISA that is given for Extraordinary Ability. My Visa is for my expertise on the topic of water.
Click to expand...

Everyone who has ever been denied a VISA to the US is surely pleased by this news.
 
P

Pickles the Firecat

Banned
I've been to four events with water tastings of one kind or another this year. Coachella had an area for it, too, but it was by one specific brand that I don't remember.

tbh I tasted a difference between some of them. Wasn't enough for me to care or get into it though. I just like water man.
 
S

sikkinixx

Member
I'm not usually that guy but all I can think of is how many people would literally kill for ANY clean drinking water, and some "water sommelier" created "lifestyle" water for rich fucks in California? Jesus...
 
P

Pickles the Firecat

Banned
sikkinixx said:
I'm not usually that guy but all I can think of is how many people would literally kill for ANY clean drinking water, and some "water sommelier" created "lifestyle" water for rich fucks in California? Jesus...
Click to expand...

This could be applied to almost anything. I dropped 40 dollars on two slices of pizza. Kids in Africa going hungry.

Water can have different tastes, man. This guy just happens to be more into that than, like, anyone else ever. That's cool. I don't really see a problem with that.
 
T

Tim the Wiz

Banned
In 2011 I decided to come back to Los Angeles to work for the Patina Restaurant Group. My Visa is a O-1, a VISA that is given for Extraordinary Ability. My Visa is for my expertise on the topic of water.
Click to expand...

In a sick, twisted way, that is something worth bragging about.
 
M

mackattk

Member
I remember back in the day when I was watching TNT Monstervision with Joe Bob Briggs (God, I miss that show...)

He had a water test, and set out 3-4 different brands.. "Hm.. tastes like water".
 
T

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Next you'll have people saying that glass from different countries colors the flavor of water in unique and wonderful ways.
And of course glasses have to be washed with the champagne of waters.

Which brings me to another WTF point. They can allegedly see huge differences between waters, but are ok with plastic bottles?
 
K

Keio

For a Finer World
I'm sorry but this is utter bullshit. I'd love to blind test the water expert, I'm not even going to use the word sommelier in this context. Wine pairings, beer pairings, mixology pairings sure, but water, wtf...
 
I

itxaka

Defeatist
Different places have different water with different flavours, depending where the manantial goes it can have more minerals of o e type or the other, but selling g that water for 16 bucks a liter is a stupid thing. Lower the prices and then we'll talk
 
R

robox

Member
i support this. this is interesting. even though i don't drink anything but the cheapest i can get.
if there're whole industries surrounding wine, beer, and coffee, why not water?

i don't support 10$/L the stuff though. can't you get the same fiji and voss at 7-11 for 2 bucks? and even that seems excessive.
 
S

Stet

Banned
robox said:
i support this. this is interesting. even though i don't drink anything but the cheapest i can get.
if there're whole industries surrounding wine, beer, and coffee, why not water?
Click to expand...

Because commoditizing water is immoral.
 
Z

Zaptruder

Banned
Stumpokapow said:
I have no doubt that different waters can pair with different foods (and much like how different wines pair with different foods, it might not quite be so obvious how it works until you teach your palate a little bit). I also agree that many things that seem like "food snob" nonsense actually really do give a great experience if you are open to them.

However, if the aim is to introduce a new cultural norm then I would expect the case to be made for it to be better than "oh yeah, totally buy this" and I would expect more rational decisions--for example, if the $16/litre water is so expensive because of the hand-numbered bottles, why not voluntarily produce it in cheaper bottles or at a higher capacity? If it is true that patrons of the restaurant will grow to understand that the particular water they choose is an essential component of their meal, wouldn't they be better off hooking them at a lower price? Wouldn't you rather everyone at your restaurant buying $3/water and having a better experience than limiting the experience to the most ostentatious diners and having most people have a worse experience? After all, every restaurant has a house red and a house white in recognition that for most people, although it is important to have wine with their meal, they don't typically have the best possible somelier-recommended wine with every meal?

As is it just seems like a not particularly crafty emperor's new clothes situation designed to rob rich socialites of money and taunt the poor.
Click to expand...

The psychology of the mind has more influence on the perception of the experience than the actual subtle nuances in the differences of the waters.

If anything, the dude should be charging more for the 90H20 bottle of water than he currently is, in order to maximally reinforce that psychological understanding that the customer is receiving a premium product.

As in... you're not just paying for this bottle - you're paying for the water in it too!
 
C

CarpeDeezNutz

Member
xelios said:
Fine print: Fort Worth municipal water supply
Click to expand...

I knew a girl who worked in the water dept here in the DFW area and she was telling me how we have one of the best water supplies. We can scoff about this shit and I think it's funny too but when she broke it down to me I can understand how these guys are pulling this off. Man was she into water haha.
 
F

Fenderputty

Banned
Stet said:
Because commoditizing water is immoral.
Click to expand...

Not high end spiffy fancy specially formulated mineral water. That's not preventing anyone from drinking. Even before water was sold in bottles, it was never free. I think my water bill is the largest bill I have other than electricity in the summer.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
I can taste the difference between water brands and local tapwaters, but pairing it with food is a fucking stretch, especially given that the science of professional wine tasting is often clobbered.
 
N

NysGAF

Member
I had a wonderful experience the time I went to Ray's. Got to try foie gras before it was outlawed and it was amazing. I'm very picky about my water, but I don't see ordering a flight to sample them. I'm old and set in my ways.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Locked
L.A. bar sells Colt 45 for 15 dollars, in a paper bag. In other news, L.A. is not SF
2 3 4 5
207
21K
Slayven replied
E3 2016 | General Information and FAQ
2 3
146
89K
Rösti replied
  • Locked
WSJ: Made Better in Japan
2 3
117
12K
GhaleonQ replied
Bioshock Infinite |OT| No Gods, Kings, or Irrational Games
382 383 384 385 386
19K
1M
Voidance replied
  • Locked
Official SXSW blowout thread.
10
3K
StrikerObi replied
Top Bottom