When I was young(er), I used to think that bigger was better.
A 10-ounce martini? Bring it on! A giant, bulbous glass of wine? Gulp, gulp, gone. A trash can full of jungle juice? Sluuuuuurp.
As I've grown, and ever so slightly matured, I've started to frown on such humongous drink portions. Is an eight-ounce pour of red wine really necessary? Or a 10-ounce martini?
Glasses have grown in size, gang. So has the amount of alcohol needed to fill them. The 10-ounce martini, which I've seen (and occaisionally drank) is popping up more and more around town.
The average shot glass holds about an ounce and a half. That's about six shots of vodka in one martini. Whoa ...
In and of itself, gluttony isn't all that dangerous. But it can get deadly if you hop in your car after having two of those suckers. I can see someone justifying it in their mind -- "I only had two martinis in two hours." But if those two martinis were 10-ouncers, you've got a problem.
Let's get back to less serious affairs. Should martinis really be that big? Whatever happened to the six-ounce martini?
Maybe the answer is giving customers an option. Sam's Kid in Fells Point serves six- and 10-ounce martinis, though, annoyingly, neither their drink or food menus are online. Still, choices are good.
What do you think?
(LA Times photo by Con Keyes)