Last night on Parks and Recreation, city councilwoman Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) proposes a dreaded soda tax because the local chain Paunch Burger introduced new and excessive soda sizes. The "small" is 64 oz, the "regular" is 128 oz, and the "child size" is 512 oz. A Pawnee Restaurant Association representative explains, "It's roughly the size of a two-year old child. If the child were liquified. It's a real bargain at $1.59." There's also the 3 oz "little swallow."
Knope, threatened with layoffs by all the local restaurants if her soda tax goes through, charges on. "I believe with my help, all local restaurants can get healthier," Knope explains. "Paunch Burger, Big and Wide, Fat Sack, Colonel Plump's Slop Trough, which was formerly Sue's Salads. Until we ran that out of town."
And then there's Water Zero. "The name implies there are zero calories, like most water," says Knope. "but in fact it has 300 calories per serving. Isn't that misleading?" To which the restaurant rep says, "The zero on the label refers to the amount of water in it, which is zero. If you want zero calorie water, try Diet Water Zero Light, it has only 60 calories."
Paunch Burger also offers the #2 special: a Double Bacon Grenade Deluxe, hashbrowns, chili cheese fries, and one poached egg.
Video: Parks & Recreation Soda Tax 1
Video: Parks & Recreation Soda Tax 2
Video: Parks & Recreation Soda Tax 3