If their policy and list are not on the web, I’ll call to inquire about corkage and ask if they’ll email me a list. I’m not going to run through options on the phone.
Chris: I am not just calling about if it is on the list or not…I am doing three things:
Do they have a corkage policy?
If yes, what is the cost and limit to bottles?
Verify they don’t carry this bottle/vintage, etc is the last item I ask. I do check their online menu but most of the time it’s not current so I ask.
If this is a place I frequent, I don’t do any of these…
It all take less than 5 mins…
Finally, I share the wine with the Somm and server and give a larger tip, unless not warranted, as a small thank you for serving my wine professionally.
This. I am unlikely to run into duplication problems as I do bring much older wines which have been double decanted.
But agree big tips and share a glass with the sommelier.
Yeah, I never call. But I almost always bring older wines that are on the rarer side. I’ve never had it occur that a wine I brought was on the list, but I cannot imagine giving the restaurant any guff in that instance, or feeling in any way put out that they wouldn’t undercut themselves by allowing me to open it.
On one occasion, the waiter did give me a bit of guff and announced imperiously that he’d have to clear my bottle with the head sommelier. She came over and looked at my 30-year-old bottle of Clair-Dau Chambertin, and was very happy to give her approval. I even arranged to make sure she got a taste.
It has been said before that Texas restaurants with a liquor license cannot allow BYOB. The fine is $10,000 and sometimes loss of their liquor license, if they get caught and some do get caught. If a restaurant has a beer and wine license only, then they are allowed to have BYOB but many would prefer to sell from their wine list as bad and often inappropriate as they may be, so they don’t allow BYOB even though they could.
If you are the least bit curious about the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) and their approach, read this article. The retail chain at the end of the TABC’s vindictive attack was not allowed to open a store or remodel a store during the period that they were getting jerked around. This is our enforcer of alcoholic beverages in Texas. Texas liquor agency rebuked after investigation of Spec's | The Texas Tribune
Usually, the rationale is that they are protecting the public, especially the children. It’s just laughable. The reality is that they are protecting the distribution network. The whole legal structure that is set up in Texas is essentially owned by the distributors with the guise that they are somehow doing it all for the benefit of the citizens of the state. I don’t see it changing in my lifetime and I (hopefully) have many years to go.
Pappas Bros is a fascinating place. Great steaks, best and deepest list in town, and they’ll run crazy deals at times. They were selling half bottles of Krug for $75 a pop for a while. No shit. At a steakhouse. Burg and Rhone are the best around, and only place remotely close on Burg availability is Bullion.
Sadly, most of the big closing and win dinners skip Pappas Bros because the location is dog crap relative to the business district. Most end up at Del Friscos, Bob’s, or Nick & Sam’s, where the lists are poorer, the markups massive, and young Napa king.
To echo a few of the other Texans, TABC is awful, and the regs are not consumer friendly. If the restaurant sells liquor, you cannot bring wine. If they do not sell liquor, most will allow corkage or flat no corkage BYO.
Try Billy Jenkins Bock next time you’re in Texas. It’s way better than Shiner, and a Fort Worth special.
Pretty much agree with this statement. The mark-ups are good sized but not criminal and there are plenty of bargains. In France, BYO is an anathema unless you’re willing to spend a long time on it.
I didn’t really need the distraction of perusing this list this AM…
For the rest of the group, this is about the Dallas location. Houston was in the same boat until they opened a second location downtown a few years ago. I still prefer the original Houston location though.
I am old enough to have lived through the old Texas “Blue Laws” era some of which reside with us today.
“The Texas blue law, enacted in 1961 and repealed in 1985, prohibited the sale of 42 specific items on consecutive weekend days. Among the 42 banned items were items like cars and liquor, but also items like knives, pots, pans and even washing machines. … Each separate sale of an item constituted its own fine”
To this day, in Texas you cannot by beer or wine until Noon on Sunday and you can’t buy liquor at all. Here are some of the rules:
Liquor cannot be sold at retail stores during any of the following times:
Any time on Sunday,
Any time on New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas (if any of those days except Thanksgiving falls on a Sunday, then sales are prohibited at any time on the following Monday) and
between 9 p.m. and 10 a.m. local time on any other day of the week.
Wholesalers can deliver liquor to retailers at any time except on Sunday or Christmas; however, local distributors can only deliver liquor to retailers between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on any day except Sunday, Christmas or any day where the retailer is prohibited from selling liquor.
Several other states have similar convoluted laws, most of which were put in place for religious reasons. Oh, and if you want to buy a car to go to church, car dealers new and used can only be open either Saturday or Sunday but not both days.
I remember them actually cordoning off the beer on sundays, or they chain locked the doors to the beer coolers at the convenience stores. When I was a kid it was an hour drive to buy hard liquor.
Oh, I get it. And, this is kind of a unique situation where the offended (wine lovers) are a tiny niche group that won’t garner much gen-pop sympathy for their position while the other side gives lawmakers the appearance of defending children.
Agreed. There’s always wines that are extremely well priced, just need to look. Had a 2010 Spottswood (100 Parker points) the other day for $315. Good luck finding it at retail for less than that.
Alternatively, talk to one of their 3 master somms, one of which has passed the test twice. They’ll help find you something.
And totaly agree that there’s no better wine service in the state.
If it were me, I’d order a mixed drink first (in the bar area or with appetizer) and then get one glass of wine you can drink to go with your steak. Add a beer if necessary.
To the OP’s post, it’s stupid for there to be a state law banning corkage. Good for you for handling it well. But it’s also generally bad form to bring a bottle that is on the restaurant’s list, regardless of the state. But I have also done this because I didn’t look into it in advance, so I’m not calling you out or anything.
I never call. In Seattle I have never been turned down so I assume that all places allow it. We were in an Italian restaurant in Rice Village Houston last month. They balked a bit but still opened our two bottles of wine.
Sometimes, a person will just stop by a place at the last minute, on a whim. (How else would anyone stumble into my greasy shop?)
If the customer asks respectfully, and the restaurant is hospitable, everybody wins. You cannot plan everything in life.
I will preface this with the fact that I almost never buy wine in my local steakhouses, I always BYOB. Mostly because the stuff I enjoy is so far removed from the standard steakhouse wine list. However, I would be all over that wine list. Foilard Fleurie? Joguet Dioterie? des Tours? Tempier Bandol?
That list might have more options that I have purchased or thought about purchasing for my own cellar than any list I have ever seen.
Neighboring Bergen County NJ pretty much shuts down on Sundays. Grocery stores are open but it’s illegal to sell clothing, alcohol, or a host of other items.
Even here in Jersey City it’s illegal for restaurants to serve a mimosa (or any other alcohol) with brunch until noon.