Sometimes a wine list can take the fun out of eating out.
This past weekend my wife and I met a few friends at Proof, a place that is prides itself on its wines. I took a bottle to be uncorked there, and the hostess sniffed that we were defeating the purpose of visiting their restaurant. A look at their wine list quickly revealed where their profits come from. With prices seemingly averaging around $300 or $400 a bottle, I had to consciously pick up my jaw from the table. One of our friends, a wine collector, took out his Blackberry, which listed his collection, and found a couple wines common to both his cellar and the wine list. He shook his head and just couldn't get himself to pay the restaurant's prices. My dinner was very good, but if I can't enjoy it because I'm worried about emptying my wallet on the wine the total experience goes down the drain.
My dinner, by the way, began with a charcuterie board, followed up with an entree of striped bass on pearl pasta sitting in a coconut-lemongrass soupy-sauce. The food was very, very good, but if I go back the Proof, I will likely bring my own wine again.
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