Free Republic

If you've ever ordered a shot of espresso from an Italian-style café and were surprised to be served a small glass of sparkling water alongside it, there's actually a few good reasons as to why. First, the sparkling water is a palate cleanser that can prepare your taste buds to detect all the nuanced espresso flavors... Second, espresso can be dehydrating, so having something like a glass of ice cold sparkling or still mineral water with it can help counteract that effect... The true history of the custom is difficult to pinpoint precisely, but sparkling espresso or coffee drinks are...

PARIS - From next week, one of France's most iconic institutions — the smoky cafe — will be but a hazy memory. The extension of France's smoking ban to bars, discotheques, restaurants, hotels, casinos and cafes on Jan. 1 marks a momentous cultural shift in a country where thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir once held court while clutching cigarettes in Left Bank cafes. For smokers, this is the most distressing part of a phased smoking ban that began last February in workplaces, schools, airports, hospitals and other "closed and covered" public places like train stations. But many...