A no corkage rant

So yesterday was my fiancé birthday, and our anniversary of being engaged. She had never been to Mortons Steakhouse and wanted to go. I certainly like a Mortons steak dinner so… I set up the reservation, then called and asked about the corkage policy. Of course, no BYO allowed. Well, we were still going to go. The lineup of wines that I was willing to pay double to triple for was relatively small. I settled for the 2013 Stags Leap Wine Kellers hands of time. Now, it wasn’t a bad wine but I paid $90 for the bottle which is about triple the shelf price. The meal was really great but I kept thinking it could have been a much better meal If I had brought my own wine. I wanted to bring a Realm Dr Crane 2012 or 2013

Anybody else have this sort of let-down? Or just go with it?

Not that many do BYO round here, but I will avoid places with 4 times retail pricing and 3 times retail need to have very good food to tempt me. Those that do BYO are appreciated.

From your post, it strikes me having the wine you want, and at a fair price, was more important than you realised. So the remedy for this might be to agree for the next anniversary to go to a place that does BYO and have some really nice wine(s) with your food.

By all means go back to Morton’s on another occasion, but stick to water or beer or a single glass of wine, enjoying the food, but sticking two fingers up at their drinks policy.

There are a few local restaurants I really like that do not allow corkage and combine that with a list priced in the stratosphere. We don’t go often. Their choice to run their businesses as they choose; my choice to patronize businesses that value my business. Fortunately I live in a community where the list of good restaurants is virtually endless, and most of them allow corkage. It isn’t really much of a sacrifice to avoid the others.

Whew!
We needed a corkage thread, Joe

I forget; is this Parker’s fault or Rolland’s?

No corkage + rough pricing = my exit from the joint.

Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris - there has to be a better steak somewhere close.

Well, in this area Mortons is it for steak. Imho. Plus again she had never been there and had heard about the steaks so… one more feature of Mortons is that the high prices drives out the people with load obnoxious children.

The only bad point for me is the price for their wines and no corkage.

But it is a good suggestion to either stay away from the wines or search for another restaurant. But I do not want to travel into the city which further limits me to northwest Chicago burbs.

At home. I almost never order steak in restaurants because I can buy beef as good as theirs and grill it at home. When I eat out, I like the value added of a chef, and I don’t really get that with a grilled cowboy ribeye.

Sure sucks living here in CA. No corkage? I would never eat out.

I’m with you Neal. Steak out is a rarity. When it does happen it’s about the sides & apps.

Likewise for me as well…and sadly it means I don’t visit Bern’s enough

Yeah, that’s why you don’t go.

I agree. Still occasionally I like to order a steak out. Like once a year. Maybe twice.

I don’t go to restaurants that don’t allow BYO. Living in the NYC area, I have plenty of choices that are BYO friendly so not a hardship to avoid those that aren’t.

BTW, Morton’s in NYC allows BYO with corkage and even waives it for some of us although we rarely go as there as there are better steakhouses around.

I also very rarely order a steak in a restaurant, maybe about every three years. Have lived in several States where BYOB is banned State wide. Well greased palms of State Legislators! Therefore, if drinking good wine is a requirement, the number of acceptable restaurants becomes very tiny. Most serve plonk or that WS 88 pointer at 3-4X.

You guys ever heard of beer? Cocktails? Heaven forbid, a glass of wine by the glass?

Do you doggy bag the leftovers as well? How many days (weeks?) do they last afterward?

The steakhouse is probably my least favorite type of restaurant and my least visited. I never go unless it it is someone else’s choice. I can cook my own steak, don’t need to be bent over on wine prices because it BSD time when you enter.

Last time I went to Morton’s on Long Island (which was approx 3 years ago) there were personal wine lockers (not refrigerated-room temp) for those to keep wine there. Definitely had BYOB .

Agree 100%. I’ll get some sort of steak dish with a group if it can be shared along with a number of other dishes. I don’t think I’ve ordered a steak for myself in five years.
Morton’s around here allows corkage.