When restaurants give you lemons …

In that column, I shared stories of people making salads on the sly from a hamburger condiments bar and people asking for extra lemons and sugar in a restaurant to make lemonade at the table.

While I’m happy to report that no one has written to defend the behavior of the stealthy salad stealers, I’ve received a deluge of email about the lemon lovers:

“Dear Jill,

I drink water and squeeze a lemon in it. Sometimes I do add an artificial sweetener. Why? I am caffeine-sensitive and will not touch it after 12 p.m. I also won’t order the restaurant’s lemonade because it has tons of sugar. Tell reader Nell to mind her own business.

Mary D.”

“Dear Jill,

I make lemonade in a restaurant because a glass of cold water, a slice of lemon and a packet of sugar-free sweetener is tasty. I can’t drink caffeine. Restaurant lemonade has too much sugar. I buy a box of 1500 sweetener packets from a warehouse store that costs about $0.007 per packet. When I’m paying $15 for a meal? Call me cheap, or a thief, but I think I am better off drinking healthy.

Patti M.”

“Dear Jill,

I’d like to clarify why people may make their own lemonade in restaurants. My husband is diabetic. By squeezing a few lemons in water and adding a bit of non-sugar sweetener, he has nice tasting lemonade without worrying about sugar content. So, next time you see someone in a restaurant making their own lemonade, they just might be diabetic.

Leslie G.”

“Dear Jill,

I am a diabetic. I often order water with lemon with my meals. I do not do it because I am cheap. I do it because it’s rare that a restaurant offers sugar-free lemonade. Sodas have sodium, which I try to avoid adding to my diet. It was in poor taste to state that someone who drinks water with lemon in a restaurant and chooses to add artificial sweeteners is stealing.

Donald J.”

“Dear Jill,

I can’t have sugar, have a bad reaction to aspartame and avoid caffeine. I carry my own Stevia. So basically my choice is water. All I’m asking for extra is lemon. What’s the big deal if I create my own sugar-free, caffeine-free lemonade? You may think that the person making her own lemonade or iced tea is being a cheapskate, but in my case, you don’t know my backstory.

Rani M.”

“Dear Jill,

I am a diabetic. I haven’t found a restaurant yet that carries lemonade with a sugar substitute for diabetics. Caffeinated drinks interfere with the medications I take. Did you know diet sodas are loaded with sodium and can cause edema, a common problem for diabetics? The Nosy Nellie who reported this should try walking in someone else’s shoes for a while!

Ruth D.”

“Dear Jill,

Getting water and requesting extra lemons to make lemonade? Not stealing. If restaurants were not so outlandish on their tea pricing, one would order tea. After all, tea is very inexpensive to make.

Nick B.”

“Dear Jill,

Restaurants are hurting themselves by charging inflated prices for beverages. A $3 soda or tea charge is too high. You can purchase a 12 pack of cola from a grocery store for the same price you are paying for one glass in a restaurant.

Judy B.”

While many readers wrote with valid reasons to defend the practice, others agreed with the original reader’s email:

“Dear Jill,

I have been getting angry for a long time because all I hear lately in restaurants is ‘water with lemon.’ These people can afford a beverage. Take the sweeteners off the table and make them ask for it. Then the server would know what he or she was going to do – make lemonade! I would like to know who the first person was who started this process and strangle them. I think it is plain dishonest and theft!

Ginny D.”