"dining out" news and stories

Recorking is a term applied when a partially full bottle of wine is re-sealed so that the patron can take it to-go if they haven't finished it by the time their meal is over. Some restaurants even stock specially sized bags - clear in states that require it and discrete brown in most other locations - for packing up the unfinished bottles. Packing up bottles of wine is less common than packing a regular doggie-bag, so not all restaurants will have appropriate bags, but even without them, restaurants are starting to use recorking as a means of increasing their margins, boosting liquor sales by encouraging patrons to buy bottles, rather than just a glass at a time.

Getting the bottles to-go can be trickier than it sounds, however. Thirty-four states may currently allow it, but forty states have open-container laws that prohibit open bottles of alcohol, even corked ones, from being in a moving vehicle (the specifics depend on the state).

Difficulties of getting the bottle home aside, does recorking make you more likely to go for the full bottle? Would it if a favorite restaurant began to offer the service?

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Pizza?!?! He's taking you out to grab a slice of pizza?!?! Forget it. What kind of cheapskate/Peter Pan/unimaginative guy is he!??! Drop him!

Don't pretend like you haven't done it before -- judged a guy (or girl) before you've even met, based on where they want to go on the first date. Fancy expensive reservations-30-days-in-advance-only and you're impressed, right? KFC drive-thru and...well, you get the picture.

Though they don't have an opinion about pizza, AOL has put together a short feature about what his restaurant/cuisine choice could say about him. If you don't have the time to read through it, here's the lowdown:

• Tapas - "don't expect a commitment from this professional dabbler anytime soon"
• Seafood - "it's nice to spend time with somebody who believes money is no object, but if he never lets you forget it..."
• Pancake house - "a guy who knows what he wants, and exactly where to go to get it"
• Sushi - "an eclectic lifestyle, so he wants to try everything"
• Mexican - "hot and spicy guy is the kind that will dance the night away"
• Chinese - "he needs a little motivation"
• Steakhouse - "since he won't stray too far from the norm, he could be a huge bore"
• Italian - "you've got a serious romantic on your hands"
• Burgers and fries - "likes it straight, so he can save himself for the BMX race he's in"

And you thought a two-month advance reservation for French Laundry in California's Napa Valley was a big deal? Try going out in New York City. If you were lucky enough to have a hotel room at the Marriott Marquis, you made that reservation in 1983. Dinner too? The Rainbow Room was completely booked for New Year's Eve 1999 four years in advance.

It's not quite so difficult to land reservations in premier spots these days. Sure it takes some careful planning, a lot of patience, and some quick reflexes on the redial button. An article in the New York Times lists some of the slightly more difficult tables in the city -- Per Se, Mario Batali's Babbo, Le Bernardin -- and a good strategy for "getting in."

The Chicago Tribune brought up an interesting question this week: when should a server clear your plate from the table? Should a server remove plates as a diner finishes them, regardless of whether dining companions are finished? Or should the server wait until the end, when everyone has finished, and clear the entire table at once?

Some people belong to the "Clear at the End" camp, thinking it rude. It disrupts the conversation at the table, and may make fellow diners who have not finished eating, feel rushed.

Other people belong to the "Clear as You Go" camp, and according to Emily Post, this is a newer practice. The argument is that clearing plates keeps the dining table less cluttered, and in fact, many diners see this as attentive service on the part of the waitstaff. Additionally, I know that some people like to have plates of unfinished food removed because they don't want to continue to pick at it.

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It is not surprising to note that a meal eaten at a restaurant is more expensive than one eaten at home. You are paying for the cooking and service, as well as for the food itself. What is surprising is that people are actually spending more money eating out than eating at home overall.

Official figures released in Britain show that people are spending £2 billion more on restaurant food than on food that they might cook themselves. On top of that, spending on food and drink has more than doubled in the same time period, which indicates that people are eating more food, more often.

With the rise in popularity of cooking programs and the ever-growing trend for gourmet home cooking, it is possible that the numbers will hold as they are, though few people want to give up "exotic" foods that they think they can't cook at home, like curries and sushi.

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