Im not going to worry about impact on fine dining. Maybe a few restos will try to focus on low water use products. But if they are not tasty only masochists and ideologues will show up. The fact is that sources for these items (notably fruits and veg) from more water rich areas are readily available tho somewhat more seasonal and less reliable especially year round. There is a long way to go in managing water use and agricultural policy in places like CA and AZ before there is any impact on anybody.
We got oranges in our stockings. I didn’t know why until I read about it much later.
I (briefly) worked for the owners of a golf course (in AZ). If you want to talk about water usage, research how much water is used by the average golf course, then multiply that by the number of golf courses in Arizona.
Granted – some courses use “reclaimed” water, but a lot don’t.
Some use a blend of reclaimed and fresh drinking water, even then that is still a lot of (fresh drinking) water.
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exactly - we have a long way to go limiting outright waste (IMO) by the big users, lawns, alfalfa farms, cotton fields et in the desert areas.
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for “responsible” fine dining - seek out places doing “local” stuff.
no nuts - walnuts? - maybe - (other than political nuts) grow in New England.
people, for hundreds of thousands of years, have survived / thrived on what was locally available / ‘in season’
it’s a great idea - has some limits - el’ modern ‘frozen from season’ actually is a good thing
but buying/consuming “fresh delicacies” from far away climates does generally generate some less-than-ideal consequences.
And I didn’t think of pistachios as “thirsty”. Nor figs
I was curious about this;
“thirsty crops such as almonds, pistachios, artichokes, figs, cherries, apples and tomatoes.”
They thrive in such different climates!
Not that it changes the point of the story.
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Some more reading on groundwater
Infographics are better on the NYT site:
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Christmastime fundraisers were sometimes bags of citrus. I assume it still goes on, but I haven’t paid much attention in years.
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Oranges or mandarines or tangerines and walnuts were an absolute staple in my childhood at xmas and St. Nikolaus (Dec 6th). The citrus makes perfect sense (tis the season), not sure about the walnuts… but I ate them anyway 
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One Christmas when finances weren’t the best, instead of presents purchased, I made fruit pomanders like these, oranges studded with cloves. They smelled wonderful and were surprisingly appreciated by those who received them.
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Not that surprising . . . they look beautiful and I’m sure they smelled wonderful. As I get older I’ve become a fan of things that can be enjoyed but then don’t have to be stored 
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Those are beautiful! Thanks for sharing 
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Thanks for the links. The NYT article is long but the info graphics help a lot.
There are efforts to replace groundwater.
Another idea is let Lake Tulare rehydrate but that would reduce farm land.
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Are the bees that frequent the almond blossoms suffering too? I thought I saw something about the drought, the almond crops and bees all affected, together.
Shoot, I’d pay money for those!
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I am horrified by what I see with irrigating the golf courses in my area and yet, we homeowners are told to conserve and not water between 8am and 5pm. Drive past the golf courses after midnight and watch the sprinklers go off and drain all that runoff into the lifeless lagoons.
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We still do that sorta thing when we can find whole cloves at a reasonable price!
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Golf courses and private front lawns are a waste of space and water.
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They’re often available at Holiday church bazaars.
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