The Best Place To Get Water In Chicago?

I love water. It's the best! So where does everyone get their water in Chicago? Here's my top five list, including some secret finds I haven't heretofore revealed, even to my closest friends:

5. The water fountain at City Hall. Art deco luxury.

4. Alinea. I can't believe the faucet technology spearheaded by Achatz for their water service.

3. The soda fountain at Hot Doug's. Doug always advises me to order the "small," because I can always get free refills.

2. The gratis water served at "Crib" restaurant. It's freshly bucketed just outside the restaurant.

1. Little Three Happiness. If you ask, they'll spike it with Gary's chili oil.

Anyone else out there have any secret water finds? Remember, I'm only looking for the best.

aschie30 wrote:3. The soda fountain at Hot Doug's. Doug always advises me to order the "small," because I can always get free refills.

Yeah, the hotdog water and duckfat ice cubes
are worth the wait!

Hi,

Pretty much everywhere I get a double-take when I order, "Lake Michigan on ice, please." I have even been lectured on the folly of my choice. Fortunately it is served just about anywhere in the Chicago area.

Regards,

The best free water, unfortunately requires time travel.
The finest water fountain in the Chicago area, no foolin, was the four-spout circular fountain in front of the now-cafe, then-reptile house at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Sorely missed. Best part was blocking two spouts while ones brother is drinking from a third, inevitably resulting a nostril-filling spurt.

JoelF wrote:The best free water, unfortunately requires time travel.
The finest water fountain in the Chicago area, no foolin, was the four-spout circular fountain in front of the now-cafe, then-reptile house at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Sorely missed. Best part was blocking two spouts while ones brother is drinking from a third, inevitably resulting a nostril-filling spurt.

like this one?



by the theatre by the lake

I was over at my friend Bill's house last summer and I had some water from his neighbor's hose (not the one right next door, but the one a few houses down who was watering his lawn). I don't know what it was about that particular drink of water. Maybe I was extra thirsty or maybe it was the special imported European hose he was using, but man...that was some good water!

mhill95149 wrote:like this one?



by the theatre by the lake

Very much so, but there was always something special about that one in the Lincoln Park Zoo.

In Sarah Silverman's "Jesus Is Magic," the Sarah Silverman "character" makes a big deal of insisting that only Fiji Water be allowed in her dressing room.

Ha ha, I chortled, look how she's making fun of demanding divas.

The next time I went to the store, I bought Fiji Water.

I went to Sol de Mexico a couple of weeks ago and all of it was delightful except the water, which was disgusting. It smelled bad and tasted worse. Has anyone else noticed this? It was my first time there.

One of the building services guys in our building swears by the 3rd floor water fountain. Seriously. UIC College of Medicine West, NE corner of Polk and Wolcott, 3rd floor.

If you're interested in water complete with lots of iron and other healthful minerals, as well as a nice sulfuric nose, I can supply it from our private well.

The best water I ever had was a cup I got from Beefee "worlds greatest beef" there was just something about this water that was so refreshing...like being able to get the god awful taste of the beef out of my mouth.

Theres also some really good water at the fountain that sits on the corner of Lill st and Sheffield...good ol' Chicago tap water was voted best in US. Chicago never gets credit in the food/drink scene for its tap water...I think it deserves the same fame and attention that the hot dogs, beef and pizza get.

"NRDC found that, although drinking water purity has improved slightly during the past 15 years in most cities, overall tap water quality varies widely from city to city. Some cities like Chicago have excellent tap water; most cities have good or mediocre tap water. Yet several cities -- such as Albuquerque, Fresno, and San Francisco -- have water that is sufficiently contaminated so as to pose potential health risks to some consumers, particularly to pregnant women, infants, children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems, according to Dr. David Ozonoff, chair of the Environmental Health Program at Boston University School of Public Health and a nationally known expert on drinking water and health issues."

Full grades can be seen at...
http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/uscities/execsum.asp

For those of us who prefer to think we do things better in our own homes, with our own culinary talents, we pooh pooh those of you who prefer snobby city water fountains.

Yet, there is still a serious household debate. Is the tap water better out of the bathroom facet or the kitchen sink? Fortunately, my household is split so we do not run into each other in the middle of the night.

Bathroom faucet. 100%

No idea why.

riddlemay wrote:In Sarah Silverman's "Jesus Is Magic," the Sarah Silverman "character" makes a big deal of insisting that only Fiji Water be allowed in her dressing room.

Ha ha, I chortled, look how she's making fun of demanding divas.

The next time I went to the store, I bought Fiji Water.

I sometimes like Sarah Silverman and I always like Fiji water(it's my fave bottled).

The water served at Lou Mitchell's is definitely a favorite of mine.

....So we're all in on the joke right?
This was an APRIL FOOLS post

pamiela wrote:The water served at Lou Mitchell's is definitely a favorite of mine.

Although it's not in use any more, they used to have a bubbling water/coffee bean display at the front of the store where you got in line. I always wanted a glass of their wonderful water as soon as I got seated!