Have you been to a full-service restaurant in San Diego lately? If so, you’ve likely been affected by California’s latest regulatory overreach. The petty people who work in California state government seem to have so little actual work to do, so little actual value to offer our society, and so little relevance that they needed to exert control over our drinking habits.
It’s just another step down the slippery slope of government confusing themselves for your mother and doing everything they can to legislate themselves into that position. First it was the plastic bags, then it was the drinks that are offered to kids, now it’s the plastic straws. What’s next? We’re already heavily taxed, over-regulated, and highly limited. Enough with the nanny state.
But I Can Still Get Straws, Right?
Well, maybe. Yes, you can still get a straw with your soda, tea, or cocktail, but by law, you must now explicitly ask for it. Full-service restaurants are no longer allowed to offer you a straw.
Don’t think this is an inconvenience? Here’s what happened to my family last week. We ordered drinks for our young kids (water or milk only because juice is no longer an option), and the server brought them to our table and walked away. The kids’ cups have a nice lid on them to help prevent spills, but they require a straw. Well, our server wasn’t allowed to offer them, and we didn’t think to ask quickly enough. She was busy and didn’t come back to our table for nearly 10 minutes. So, during that time, our kids couldn’t really enjoy their drinks. It’s certainly not the end of the world, it just sucks to pay for something that’s hard to enjoy.
Maybe it’s just less annoying to stay home for dinner. Did the tool bags in California government consider that a reduction in tax revenue might occur if they made things a pain for consumers? Probably not, because to them, a perceived environmental protection is clearly more important than the people living in that environment.
What About the San Diego Restaurants That Want to Avoid the Fray?
Some cities have placed even stricter bans of the use of straws. For example, San Francisco has completely banned the use of single-use straws in restaurants. Is that the direction in which you want San Diego to go? Can you think of even a single instance where using San Francisco as a model is a good idea?
Some San Diego restaurants would rather just stay above the fray and have stopped offering plastic straws altogether. You can still ask for them, but they have eliminated them. Why? Well, big brother, I mean government enforcement officers, can check restaurants and have the authority to inflict fines on restaurant that are not complying with these new laws. But don’t worry, you can still get a straw at your favorite restaurant, it’s just that it might be made of paper. Sure, it falls apart after a while, it feels rough and uncomfortable in your mouth, and I swear it changes the taste of your drink. But otherwise, it’s a great solution.
What Can We Do?
It’s only a matter of time before California completely bans plastic straws. And even if they don’t, many San Diego restaurants will switch to paper or other straws under the threat of financial penalty. So, either way, plastic straws as part of your dining experience will soon be a thing of the past.
You probably already carry your own bags into the grocery store. Why not start carrying your own straw into restaurants? You can purchase a nice stainless-steel unit and tote it around in its carrying case. You get to enjoy the feel of metal in your mouth when you drink from it. Then, you get to wash it each time you get home. What a pleasure. Thanks California. And you wonder why people are fleeing our state at record rates.
Looking for a place to eat? Here are a few great San Diego restaurants to choose from.