It's All in the Cup

Sometimes when I go to a restaurant and they have really nice cups I feel fabulous.

I'm not sure what it is, but for some reason when I sit down and the server brings me a nice large glass that fits in my hand just right, everything seems right with the world. I know it's going to be a quality experience and I know it because the restaurant clearly cares - they have invested in good glasses.

Let me cut right to the chase - Chili's attempt at glasses are pathetic. If you haven't noticed they are plastic mugs -I can't stand them. They always appear to be dirty and they feel cheap. You look through the side and your water looks "murky" (although it's possible that the water is dirty anyway).

Now let's look at another set of glasses which I tend to have a personal relationship with. The Outback Mugs. They are heavy, thick and freeze perfectly. I know that every server owns something from their restaurant, and let's just say if I had to own a piece of Outback the mug would be my first choice. Unfortunately, sadness struck about 8 months ago when the gorgeous Outback mug was replaced with a more modernized standard glass, still nice just not the same.

The "great glasses, great restaurant" policy also applies to "to go" cups. I don't want to appear to hate the environment, but the best to go cups are Styrofoam. For this reason Chick-Fil-A wins. They give you a nice big Styrofoam cup that doesn't sweat, get soggy or wilt. Its top quality and you can get a refill over and over again with no issues. I can use this cup all day long without leaving an obnoxious water ring wherever I set it. This cup is also great if you have plans to Chick-Fil-A hop. I myself have taken one Chick-Fil-A cup to three different malls on the same day and gotten a refill at each mall.

Panera - wanna be Styrofoam cups. They don't wilt or get soggy but Panera in an attempt to be more classy has fake Styrofoam cups that sweat. They also use the same cup for the fountain drinks as for the coffee. This makes no sense. I don't want to drink an iced tea out of a coffee cup. Can they not afford to invest in different cups for hot and cold beverages? If you order a large drink you get a giant plastic cup that sweats that a prostitute in church.

I have purposely not ordered a drink and a few restaurants because I don't want to deal with the obnoxious cup. First I don't want a cheapo plastic cup if I'm going to sit in the restaurant and enjoy it. Second, if I'm going to get the drink to go I don't need to have water dripping down my hand the entire time I'm drinking it.

Besides amazing food and remarkable service and a nice atmosphere and all that good restaurant stuff please, give me a good cup.