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Dining Out

Q	what do you do with an empty bottle of wine in a restaurant? Don't throw it, just leave it on the table for the wait staff to handle. Just bear in mind that the wait staff will not be getting a tip based on the wine since you brought even though they supplied the wine glasses and most likely poured several glasses as well as opened the wine. So keep this extra service in mind when calculating a tip. did not Back to Topic Index
Q	Outside dining and the weather, what to do when it rains? Any restaurant of substance should offer you a table inside when it rains. It is best to check the sky before you risk the chance of rain and dine outside. Back to Topic Index
Q	Do you know how many BYOB restaurants are in the United States? If you count pizzia shops and fast food, the number is in excess of a hundred thousand. If you mean quality dining the numder is in the 50 k range and constantly changing. Back to Topic Index
Q	when should a server in a restaurant clear the empty wine bottle off the table - only when the next bottle comes? The standard for removing a bottle from the table is to only do so after the bottle is empty. By not leaving empty bottles on the table diners can enjoy a roomer and less cluttered table and the way restaurants have been shrinking tables over the years any more space is welcome. The server does not have to wait for a new bottle to be opened. Back to Topic Index
Q	I live in New Jersey, can I legally bring a bottle of wine to a restaurant that has a liquor license? Great question and one that not many know the true answer to, especially restaurants with liquor licenses. The way the law is in "New Jersey" Unless there is a local ordinance prohibiting it, (i.e. Ocean City, New Jersey, where the only place you can legally get a drink is the yacht club) customers of an unlicensed restaurant may be permitted by the ownership of the restaurant to bring and consume only wine and beer. The restaurant can supply glasses, ice, etc., but may not impose a cover, corkage or service charge. Also, under no circumstances may spirituous liquor be permitted. Additionally, the owner may not permit wine or beer to be consumed during hours in which the sale of these products is prohibited by licensees in that municipality, nor allow consumption of beer or wine by persons under the age of 21 years or by persons who are actually or apparently drunk or intoxicated as per (N.J.S.A. 2C:33-27). What this really means, if you can read between the lines, is that when an owner of a restaurant with a liquor license tells you that it is against the law to bring your own beer or wine to their restaurant, they are not enforcing any New Jersey law just their own policy. So if the restaurant says it is their policy to not allow outside alcohol, that is the way it is, if they say it is against the law, assuming there is no local law, they are just saying they would rather make money on the food and the alcohol they serve you. Back to Topic Index
Q	What do you think of BYOBs for luch? I love them. You can get a great meal and the menu usually has the same selection as dinner menu, but at a lower cost. Besides the price advantage, cracking a bottle of wine at lunch makes the afternoon go so much better. If you do it during the work week, don't be surprised if you get looks from other diners woundering what you do for a living where you can have wine at lunch. Hey in France, they take a two hour lunch and its a bigger meal than dinner. That is one of the secrets of the French diet. They eat alot more earlier in the day and have a longer time before bed to burn it off. Back to Topic Index
Q	For our group of 4 we like to bring a few bottles of wine, but sometimes we get looks from other customers. What is the discrete way to bring the wine in and not have all eyes on me. First foremost, I like your style. I have several bags that I like to use. My favorite is a soft,leather fishing bag with a shoulder strap. Up to five bottles can be carried in it at once and there are two smaller pockets for a corkscrew and cups. Although the bag is no longer being made, I would suggest a small flexable briefcase and dedicate it to wine only. If you are dining in a city and will not be going back to a car to unload the bag, I suggest a triple layer of plastic bags. This way you can toss the bags when your done. Finally do not buy one of those single bottle wine cases. They are pretty useless and when you are done your meal, you have a little bag to carry. A brown paperbag is a better alternative. Back to Topic Index
Q	How do you handle going to a BYOB restaurant and having a 30+ minute wait and you want a drink? What you don't like waiting outside the restaurant in the rain and the cold? Me neither, but it is the price you pay sometimes. To make the wait bearable, always bring some small plastic cups and a cork screw with you when you go to a BYOB. Then if you have to wait, crack the bottle and pour some drinks, your wait will be vastly more enjoyable. You can also wait inside the restaurant by the front door and stare down people that are lingering over coffee and dessert to put the pressure on. Back to Topic Index
Q	We love BYOB restaurants, the problem is we like to bring SEVERAL bottles of wine and we want fresh glasses with the different bottles. Am I being rude asking for new glasses or is there some code of conduct I should be following? Besides not inviting me along when you bring multiple bottles of wine, I have a few bits of advice.BYOB Etiquette These general guideline are universal and what I mean by that is that they can be used by both the customer as well as the restaurant. 1. You brought the wine, you know more about it then the server (i.e. it�s why you went to a BYOB and not a restaurant with a liquor restaurant), help the server out by telling him/her what bottle (s) you want opened first. 2. If you are going to have multiple wines and you want different glasses for each different bottle, please tell the server ahead of time so they can be prepared and you don�t get perturbed that it�s taking forever to get a �fresh� glass. Remember the clean glass request when you�re calculating the tip. 3. If you get upset if wine is not served in the proper glass, bring your own �clean� glassware. They actually make nice travel cases for wine glasses. If you need one and can�t find one email us and we will point you in the right direction. 4. A crazy little thing about wine, it rarely is served at the right temperature. This is more common with white then red and more easily rectified with white. If you bring a chilled white to a restaurant and you are opening it right away, do you really need that drippy wine chiller? I am going to tell you probable not. Don�t make the server work any harder then they have to. I take all this back if you happen to bring beer to the restaurant, I like mine chilled, so take what ever chiller they give you. 5. Remember, you have chosen a BYOB establishment because of the food they serve, not because of their expertise with wine. It is surprising how many servers don�t know how to open a bottle of wine properly, and I mean both BYOB and liquor licensed establishments. The little wrapper covering the cork, some contain lead. Our bodies do not digest heavy metal for the most part and we should always avoid digesting them. This said, please have the wrapper removed entirely, and the neck of the bottle wiped with a clean napkin or towel to remove any traces of the lead foil. Just so it is known, the wrapper only contains a small amount of lead, but I believe in a zero threshold for lead consumption. Now that we have the wrapper off lets tackle the cork. You can use a lot of different types of openers, just be sure that as a general rule the older the bottle the more likely the cork is going to be more fragile and removing it from the bottle without it turning into cork shrapnel will take more effort. Some servers are probably a lot better at opening wine than you or I, but if the server appears to be not very proficient in opening a bottle of wine offer your assistance. Please do this when you are bringing a treasured bottle and the cork may actually be older than the server. A tip for the uninitiated, bring your own waiter�s corkscrew and use it when needed. I.e. when you want that second bottle and the server is busy elsewhere and you�re not concerned about getting a new glass do everyone a favor and open the bottle yourself. Be aware that some restaurants may consider this a cardinal sin, so use you�re best judgment. 6. If you are bringing a prized bottle and want to save the cork or bottle let the server know. You can�t blame someone for clearing the table and throwing away an empty bottle. 7. Last but not least, if you�re done your meal including dessert and you have wine left in an opened bottle leave it at the restaurant. The open container law for automobiles pertains to wine bottles, not just beer. Hey the server and staff may appreciate you generosity and remember it on your next visit. Back to Topic Index
Q	This isn't a wine question, but any advice on dining out. Besides picking a BYOB restaurant to go to and to go with good comapny, I have two bits of inDon�t be a dining amateur and try to avoid holiday dining. Restaurant owners know that the hard part of getting people to dine at their restaurant is the day of the week. Weekday diners are harder to get than weekend diners and the easiest diners to get are holiday diners. New Years Eve and Valentine�s Day are the easiest days for restaurants to get customers. It is also almost the worst deal for diners. Since restaurants know you are coming, your selection of food can be more limited than a normal dining night, the prices can be significantly higher and the restaurant is sure to want a high turnover on those nights so leisurely dining can almost certainly be out of the question. Try going out Tuesday and Thursday nights which are typically off nights for restaurants and the days when food shipment arrive at restaurants so you food is sure to be fresh and tasty. Decode a menu so you know what you are getting. Marketing in the restaurant business can be as slick as any other business, but don�t be fooled by all the hype. Here is a small list of big names in food that are not what they appear. Chilean sea bass is actually Patagonian tooth fish, not bass. It comes from near Antarctica and is shipped frozen, out of Chile. Argentina Beef is not something you will find on your plate in the United States, but the name will pop up on many a menu. The green wasabi you get served with your sushi the majority of the time isn�t actually washiba. Real washiba comes from a root that is expensive and has only limited availability. The green spicy horseradish you get with your sushi is actually a dried horseradish with green coloring. formation that maybe useful. Back to Topic Index
Q	I read your advice on BYOB ettiquete, what do you really think about corkage fees? Of course I would rather not pay a corkage fee, but I understand there is an expense for a restaurant to provide the glasses and the labor. With that in mind, a corkage fee of less than $10.00 a bottle is fine. But keep in mind the $10.00 fee is for a restaurant that has atmosphere and nice glasses (read both red and white wine glasses). I find that most restaurants charge less than $5.00 or nothing at all. Back to Topic Index

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