I figure we've got a month, max, before it starts to get hot. Until then, I resolve to walk home from work whenever possible. But instead of just walking home, I'm gonna to walk a different route everyday, and maybe walk a bit slower, and pay attention to what I see. Today, which was an amazing day, I walked down 11th St to the Hudson River. 11th St between Hudson and Greenwich features both New York's first gastropub, Mario Batali's The Spotted Pig, and the legendary tavern where legendary drunk Dylan Thomas had his last, The White Horse. There's also a nice looking wine bar, Turks and Frogs, and a nice looking coffee shop, The 11th St. Cafe. Magnolia Bakery is on 11th and Bleeker, as is Biography Bookstore, where a friend bought the book, Rats. There's a barbershop, a dry-cleaners, a drugstore; really, a complete little town on one street. There's even a quaint little French bistro, Tartine, which I noticed was BYOB. That got me thinking. WTF with BYOB?

Initially, the idea seems appealing: Bring Your Own Bottle. How could you go wrong? But wait. Is it kosher to bring a six-pack of Bud to Tartine? How about a bottle of Charles Shaw? Regarding Tartine, we can assume that unless one wishes to endure stink-eye from the wait staff throughout the night, a decent bottle of wine is expected. But how many bottles? I mean, the whole effing point is to bring a bunch of booze to dinner, right? Two bottles for a table of two? Three? So at a minimum of $20/bottle, we're talking $60.00, and we haven't even factored in corkage fee!

According to the New York State Liquor Authority, BYOB is only allowable if the bottle being brought is covered under the liquor license in effect; Massachusets, on the other hand, only allows BYOB at establishments without liquor licenses. But if New York restaurants must be licensed for there to be any liquor consumed on the premises - for example - then why even give customers the chance to bring their own? It only makes sense if the corkage fee makes up for income lost. In Manhattan, corkage fees can be as high as $250.00/bottle; the city-wide average is $25.00/bottle. Now I, for one, am incredibly adept at moderating my liquor consumption when drinking at a restaurant; you know how inflated the prices are. I can't imagine a drink tab for two reaching $75.00 (3 corks; yes, I can imagine it). But give me the option to bring my own, hell, not only will I pay for the wine, but will happily pay you to open it.

I called Tartine and inquired into their corkage fee:
Me, feigning indignity: "Yes, how much is your corkage fee?"
Cute hostess, giggling: "We don't have a corkage fee."
Me, truly stupefied: "Ah, yes, well, thank you very much."
Cute hostess, with longing in her voice: "You're welcome."

There's also a Sufi church on 11th St.