A Toast to Eco-Friendly Bottled Water

It began as a normal dinner at the new BLT Steakhouse in Los Angeles when a fidgety waiter with spiky hair and smart spectacles addressed the table with that signature question, "Still or sparkling?" For almost a generation, bottled water has been the nouveau-champagne of the high-end dining circuit. At the most fashionable dinner parties and restaurants, a well-placed bottle of Fiji or San Pellegrino wasn't just a drinking choice but the embodiment of a healthy and sophisticated lifestyle. And then the end came.

A crowd dotted with Prius-driving movie people and hemp-wearing writers began specifying "tap water" with an air of pride that had evolved from embarrassed whimpers at the beginning of the antibottled water movement. Requests for tap water usually were greeted with a blank stare from staff well aware that frequently poured bottled water can add almost 15% to the average dinner check and tip. But this particular time there was no roll of the eyes. A few seconds later on the table arrived a selection of stylish, chunky water bottles -- the sort of fancy Italian kind that usually costs $10 and requires two hands to pass around.

Those at the table stared in silence. Guests were left speechless as they pondered the enormous carbon footprint of transporting such heavy bottles across the ocean atop double-tailored diesel trucks with heavy-footed drivers and into the basement of this L.A. restaurant. When the waiter was asked about the mistake, he informed the table that it was Natura Water, an in-house water filtration system that provides bottled water from an on-site tap. Essentially, it was filtered, carbonated water from the tap, but really delicious and served in trendy re-usable water bottles. The table drank, and then drank some more, quietly loving its bottled water all over again while marveling at what could be the greenest innovation ever to hit the water world.

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