Mixed Drinks

Food manufacturers and processors have thus far done a good job in making food products portable and easy to consume. Following World War II, instant coffee was introduced. Fifty years ago TV dinners were quite the rage (as was TV, for that matter). In the 1960s, thanks to a huge endorsement from astronauts, Tang entered the lexicon of food. In the 1970s, potato chips in tennis ball cans (Pringles) meant we never had to let the chips fall where they may.

More recently, we've witnessed a plethora of microwave dinners and foods, some aimed at single adults, with others aimed at latchkey children. We've also got peanut butter in a squeeze tube (thankfully, we'll never have to get our knuckles dirty again trying to scrape clean the inside of a jar).

And today, we have individual serving size powdered drink mixes, like Crystal Light's On The Go. These skinny little packets of drink mix come in peach tea flavor, as well as raspberry, orange, lemonade, and others.

A box of ten costs about $2.50 at grocers (the store brand version at Wal-Mart is about $1.75), and gives consumers the convenience of toting a packet or two in a purse, backpack, or even pocket, to be used later by adding to a bottled water, whenever and wherever.

Which brings me to my point (and like Ellen Degeneres once said, I do have one). These packets are going to hurt restaurant drink sales.

I came to this realization one night not too long ago. Sure, I had recently witnessed my brother use these when we drove around Florida this last summer, but all he was doing was adding this to bottles of Dasani while we drove. But our friend pulled one of these packets out in a restaurant and held it over her glass of "water-with-lemon." I've seen lots of others do it, too.

I can see restaurant managers experiencing shivers down their spine. It's bad enough when customers order only water (opting out of those high-profit soft drinks, or better yet, alcoholic beverages). It's worse yet when they bring their own ingredients.

I can see a trend happening here. It's kind of like BYOP (bring your own packet). What's a restaurant to do? Start charging for the water?

Not that I have a real problem with skipping the sodas. It's just that I can sense a problem brewing for the food service industry. They make their highest margins on the beverages we drink. And, there's no better way to inform your server that the tip isn't going to be big than to start ordering a round of water for everyone. I've done it, and you should see the glare in their eyes.

I'm also guilty of the far worse situation of bringing my own meal to another restaurant. About a year ago I met some guys over at Blue Sky. Not being a greasy burger kind of guy, I brought my own grub from Subway, walked in, and proceeded to eat my meal with my friends. I even brought my own drink. Over the top perhaps, but I've got to keep my boyish figure, you know.

It reminds me of a humorous incident I had back in 1985 while bicycling the perimeter of Lake Michigan with a young man and a young woman. We were a little over half-way through our 1320-mile, 11-day odyssey, and had stopped in a Frisch's restaurant somewhere in northern Wisconsin for breakfast. Students all of us, we were certainly not rich, but my friend Kevin was flat broke. Lou Ann and I scraped together enough for the breakfast buffet, while Kevin meekly asked for a "bowl of hot water."

We were puzzled, but then burst into hysterics when he pulled out a couple of packets of instant oat meal, and proceeded to make his breakfast.

I'm not sure how to react today. It's not like any of us are on the verge of poverty. On the other hand, though, those $1.69 glasses of soft drinks and tea really pad the bill for the restaurant. And those little packets are so easy to tote around. I'm just a little worried, though, that one of my students might see me doing it and take up a collection for their underpaid professor.

Then again, if that's what it takes to get a raise, I'll see you over in Aisle 7. By the drink mixes.

Dr "Make Mine Lemonade" Gerlich