Throw Away Those Arrowhead Bottles Already:

One of my favorite food writers, Jeffrey Steingarten, once did an elaborate and methodical taste test of several different varieties of tap and bottled water. After much research and even more adjectives, he came to the shocking conclusion that New York tap water was most pleasing to the palate.

And now Los Angeles tap water has every right to brag as well: it won the award for best municipal water at the 18th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting held this weekend in Virginia, going up against waters from around the WORLD. That's right, we have the greatest tasting city water in the WORLD!

The title of best municipal water was shared by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves Los Angeles, and the town of Clearbrook, British Columbia.

Los Angeles won a gold medal in 1998 and has been in the top five in four other competitions since then, according to the competition organizers.

This is only going to make me madder every time I go to Costco and see families piling crate upon crate of bottled water into their carts -- not only do those bottles NEVER biodegrade, but the water you're drinking is probably tap water itself. And hey, you know what else they sell at Costco? Brita filters and gallon-sized water dispensers! I made the switch over to filtered tap last year and now I enjoy crisp, cold, taste L.A. water every day.