Works for teething

Ever wonder how to get a fussy child to finish his apple juice? Consider yourself lucky, as two families in the last couple of years have had to figure out how to get their children to finish the alcoholic beverages they were served at Applebee's restaurants.

Now, it must be noted that the parents didn't order the alcohol for their kiddies. They obviously save that for when sitting at home, and the baby is fussing because their teeth are just starting to come in. And even then, it's a little bit rubbed on the gums, not a sippy cup full of the potent potable. And yet, for the second time in two years, apple juice has been replaced at Applebee's with something a bit harder.

The first instance, the child was given a Long Island Iced Tea (which means, either the bartender was REALLY confused and mixed up a high ball glass with a sippy cup, or the chain uses a pre-fab, and therefore bland, LI Tea mix). The most recent occurrence? A margarita, which happened to be stored in a similar jug to the apple juice (and again, pre-fab and bland).

The most recent incident has led Applebee's to change their practices with regards to apple juice, and they are now going to start leaving the juice in the original jugs. This, of course, is much cheaper than trying to stake out advertising to the much sought-after 4-year-old refined drinker demographic.

Of course, this also explains why it takes us at least five Long Island Iced Teas to get a bit tipsy at Applebee's, but only two apple juices. And hey, we can ignore the sippy cup, if it also helps us ignore the rest of the customers around us.