Unbelievable

[stevebody]

Bucko,

Most restaurants will waive the corkage fee for one of three reasons: 1) The bottle is old, rare, or impossible for them to obtain. Charlie Trotter weighed in on this in the big brouhaha in WS all last year. If someone walks in with a 1982 Chateau Petrus, he'll usually waive his TWO-FREAKIN'-HUNDRED DOLLAR corkage fee as long as the guests do the traditional courtesy of sending a small glass to the chef or the steward.

2) If the bottle has an obvious sentimental value to the guests, like a bottle of birth-year port or Bordeaux that is being served at a 21st birthday party. Or, 3) If, as in your case, you're simply a good, frequent customer to whom a courtesy rendered serves to cement the business relationship.

My servers are all instructed to waive our corkage fees ($15 in both restaurants that serve wine. My Cajun place only serves a house red and white.) if they've seen the customer several times and they have bought off our list a few times. That's just smart business; no restaurant can survive without its regular customers. They can also waive the fee for a birthday, anniversary, or just as a courtesy, to fix a mistake, or for friends and family. The only time when I insist that they charge the full truck is when some casual walks in with something like a Lockwood Chard that they insist on having when we have six better ones for less money on the list. Those people deserve to get stuck and I do so gleefully.

I've always been a little skeptical of the whole corkage thing anyway. I certainly think it should never exceed MAYBE $20. It is, after all, MONEY FOR NOTHING. Restaurant owners can whine all they want about cost of service and glassware but they are only trying to fool the public. They all know that those costs are Cost of Business and should be covered in the menu prices. I encourage our servers to waive the fee but a lot of them see it as additional baseline on the final bill, affecting their tip percentage, so they charge it anyway. Which is alright, as long as the customer doesn't object. The goal is always to have people leave happy.

In your case, your host was a jarhead. You're a familiar face, bearing a bottle which you CANNOT get off his list. A '97 Chave is NOT an '83 Chave, as any fool knows. They should have waived the fee, brought your glasses, performed the usual amenities, and hoped you offered the chef a taste. At the risk of contradicting Foodie yet again, restaurants institute corkage fees with the full knowledge that people will walk in with their own bottles. It's hardly a surprise or a rudeness. Restauranteurs should be flexible enough in their thinking to respond instantly with the right decision when you walk in with that bottle. If you'd give me the name of the restaurant, I'd like to call and ask why they took that attitude with a regular. I NEVER let that sort of thing slide anymore. It is, in fact, a dissevice to a good restaurant to leave without addressing their screw-ups or letting them know you're not happy. A good restaurant will turn cartwheels to insure your approval. As you know, though, the NW is the world capital of passive/aggressive dining; people smiling and saying everything was fine and then leaving and telling all their friends how awful the food/service/atmosphere was. It's all part of the relentlessly laid-back attitude that everyone here clings to like grim death to a sick cat. That's why Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, et al, isn't a great restaurant region and never will be until people start to speak up like they do in New York, New Orleans, Chicago, Paris, Rome, or any GREAT food town, forcing the servers, chefs, and owners to set a higher standard.

I'd call the owner of that place and let him know, politely but forcefully, that you're a good patron, you're unhappy, and that you expect to be treated thoughtfully and courteously on your next visit..or there won't BE a next visit.

(Sorry, ranting again...)