OJ on the Rocks: An Editorial

One thing I can't stand is when a waiter brings out orange juice with ice in it. Who the heck would want ice in their orange juice, anyhow? That just makes for watery orange juice. And once the glass with ice comes out, it’s just uncomfortable to deal with asking for a new one. One would hope that a restaurant can simply refrigerate the juice before bringing it out, for the outrageous price they charge per glass.

Because of the handful of experiences I've had with my orange juice being served with ice in it, I’ve decided to take action and preempt the situation. So, when I order orange juice, I immediately say, "no ice, please."

A month or so ago I went to brunch with the hubby and with my friend, NotanAnthony. The hubby and I both ordered orange juice, and I immediately specified to the waiter, “no ice, please,” without the waiter asking about the option of ice and before he had the chance to bring out anything with ice in it. NotanAnthony gave me a funny look and told me he’d never had anyone put ice in his orange juice, so why the clarification to the waiter? I explained. NotanAnthony scoffed (as usual), never having had the experience of getting orange juice with ice in it. As a result, I lost my boldness with my ice preemption plan.

Fast forward to last weekend. The hubby and I go for brunch to a decent place on the Upper West Side. We order orange juice. We mention nothing to the waiter about ice. Two glasses of orange juice with ice come out. We look at each other, thinking we should not have listened to NotanAnthony. We are forced to ask for two new glasses. Moral of the story: 1) Always preempt the ice when asking for OJ, and 2) Never listen to a NotanAnthony.