Totally agree with this. Sometimes the wine price is the small price you pay for making someone happy. This would be a time to give up control, find something Fun that you may have never tried, and let your partner be the star, not the wine.
Mel, where do you live? Wish we could boycott NM but we live here for now. We do a lot of take out, but mostly cook at home. Recently went to the local Ruth’s Chris because DH wanted to go. It was good but not that good.
Moving to Portland eventually. Just had a short visit. One place the waiter was snarky because we brought a bottle, and another charged us corkage even though we bought a bottle from their list. So guess it’s best to call first even there.
Diana,
I live in California. My geezer group (five of us started college in the fall of '64)decided to spend a long weekend in Santa Fe. The first night out we were shocked about the no corkage policy, so the next night we bought meat at some place Tom Hill suggested and cooked it at our air b n b…worked out fine.
I can beat that. The MGM Grand in Vegas owed me a favor and was giving me a free dinner at Joel Robuchon. I talked the VP of hotel operations and convinced him to let me bring wine to that dinner(the free dinner did not include wine). At that point in time the policy was STRICTLY no corkage(Later the now allow it at $100 a bottle, 2 bottle limit). I ended up bringing 2 &1/2 bottles which, of course, I shared a taste with the sommelier. During one of his sips he said, “You are the 1st person ever allowed to bring a bottle into this restaurant.”
Dinner free, corkage free, tip paid for by the hotel. Can’t beat that.
Thanks to Stan for his calm reply to my rant, now my own notes:
OK, I know of a very few steak houses that do not match the platitudinous assumptions listed below, but in my experience, most suffer severely from the following intolerable negatives:
The 1950’s WASP men’s club atmosphere. Nope. Not the ones I’ve been in. You know better steak houses than I do. IMO the chains are all 1950’s WASP men’s clubs, as in The Palm, Ruth’s Chris, Capitol Grill, Del Frisco, etc. If you don’t agree, OK, you’re entitled. What is your opinion of those chains?
The tired inevitable wood and leather surroundings. And what is wrong with that? Tired is what is wrong with it, along with the sameness in NY, LA, London, Singapore. Haven’t checked out any steakhouses in Delhi (pardon bad joke).
The arrogance. Nope. sorry, yep, please note your exceptions.
The pomposity. Nope. ditto
The wine lists that offer virtually nothing but multinational drinks companies most soulless, luxurious industrial bottlings and/or rare trophies. Agree.
The hideously inflated prices, for both wine and food. OK.
The assumption that you are so incredibly privileged to be permitted to drop a workingman’s week’s salary for a mediocre dinner,
a lot more if you are in one of those with the trophy lists and you buy yourself a trophy. Eh, No. “Eh, no” what? Not making you feel privileged? Not buying a trophy?
“The MGM Grand in Vegas owed me a favor”… I guess we move in different circles. Cook’s Lobster and Ale House in Harpswell owes me a favor, but I don’t expect to call it in. Lameloise in Chagny did me a favor and I’ve returned it.
It actually passed through the legislature but was part of the blanket vetoes by the governor.[/quote]
This Governor needs to go. Not sure how we got her in a blue state.
Very much looking forward to discovering our favorite places to BYO in Portland. Loved the food at Cabezon, and our bottle was much much better than the one off their list anyway.