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BYOB Austin Restaurants


smwhorn

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46 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Thank you my brother for that info.  I was humbly asking for recommendations.  Perhaps my initial post was not clear enough.

Anyone have any recommendations for Austin restaurants where I won't get arrested if I bring my own bottle of wine?

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1 minute ago, smwhorn said:

Thank you my brother for that info.  I was humbly asking for recommendations.  Perhaps my initial post was not clear enough.

Anyone have any recommendations for Austin restaurants where I won't get arrested if I bring my own bottle of wine?

Salt Lick ;)

 

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23 minutes ago, immamac said:

What are you looking for - legit BYOB or a cork fee place? pretty large distinction there, and almost any fine dining restaurant will let you bring your own wine.

Uh, no, not in Texas.  If they serve spirits, BYOB (even wine) is prohibited.  Thanks TABC.  If they are a beer/wine only place, or they don’t serve anything, it is up to the establishment

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34 minutes ago, AustinMT said:

Uh, no, not in Texas.  If they serve spirits, BYOB (even wine) is prohibited.  Thanks TABC.  If they are a beer/wine only place, or they don’t serve anything, it is up to the establishment

Yep, Texas suck, but most of the rest of the U.S. isn’t much better. 

The “freedom” that you hear small dicks talking about only applies to a small number of things and usually not for the entire population. 

At least in California there are different types of licenses and liquor/wine stores can even get “Taster (or sample) Licenses” that allows a bar to be set up in a wine store and a menu to be made of a variety of bottles that you can pay to get a 1 oz pour, (though usually you get a little more. 

Frrom $1 pour night to being able to sample $100+ bottles (retail, not restaurant prices), at least some states have relatively same booze laws. (Still prefer other countries.)

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1 minute ago, smwhorn said:

I have no problem paying a corkage fee.  I'm just looking for places where the food is worth the expense and I can bring my $40 - $80 bottle of cab and not have to pay $100 - $195 for it in the restaurant.  

My personal opinion. Buy off the wine list and support the restaurant that provides the food worth the expense. That is part of their business model.

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43 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

My personal opinion. Buy off the wine list and support the restaurant that provides the food worth the expense. That is part of their business model.

I have zero problem paying a reasonably priced mark up for wine.I absolutely refuse to pay 3 or 4 times the price I could get it if I bought it myself.

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8 hours ago, Anastasis said:

My personal opinion. Buy off the wine list and support the restaurant that provides the food worth the expense. That is part of their business model.

I do buy wine, and not inexpensive wine, off the list often because I don’t have a choice in Texas.  I don’t have an issue with a restaurant making money by making up the bottles.  As the poster above notes, if the business model is to gouge by doing a 3 to 3.5x markup, which is the steakhouse standard, that’s a business model I won’t support.   I’m nit interested in paying $450 for a $150 bottle of wine.

The wine culture is so different in other states, especially California.  You make sure the wine isn’t on their list, make sure it is a nice wine, and they open it without acting like you are doing anything wrong.  I’ve also done this recently in a few other states.  Pro tip:  assuming you’ve brought something really nice,  give a taste to the somm or waiter and talk about the wine.

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13 hours ago, smwhorn said:

I have zero problem paying a reasonably priced mark up for wine.I absolutely refuse to pay 3 or 4 times the price I could get it if I bought it myself.

The mark up probably isn't any better on beer and spirits. I could bring a 12-pack of Lone Star to my local hole in the wall for $10. How dare those bastards charge me $3 a can. 

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3 hours ago, po elvis said:

it sucks. they buy a $10 ribeye and mark it up to $40. I would rather bring in my own steak and they charge a $5 cooking fee.

This is pretty common near the coast. Catch fish, they cook. Not sure about the $5 charge but the rest of the concept exists.

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I'd recommend Cafe Josie on West Sixth Street.  Food is phenomenal, great service, and the opened up a magnum for us for a half glass to the waiter.  

Something a little different is Ronnie's Real Food Bistro.  I forgot his story, but he has this little place in what is kind of an office park designed by Ron Swanson.  It's buried off Cuernavaca near the water.  Anyway, Ronnie retired from something lucrative and just absolutely loved to cook.  So 2 or 3 weeks a month, he'll open up his place for dinner, Wed-Sat.  And he makes what is fresh and in season.  One week it's paella, another week it's ribeye chimichurri, then something vegan, and on and on throughout the year.  You basically make one entree choice, then everybody gets the same soup, then your entree, then salad (continental style), then a dessert choice.  Each seating holds maybe 15 people, you can take a 4-top or book the whole thing.  Prices are incredibly reason, usually $30/person all-in with gratuity.  And he only provides water, and then coffee with dessert.  I've never seen anybody bring liquor in, but I'm sure he'd be fine with it---particularly something to have with dessert.  He offers a handful of wines that he knows pair well with his meals (this guy knows his stuff), but he allows you to bring in any bottles you want for a nominal $10 corkage fee.  And if your larger group brings more than one bottle, he rarely charges the fee more than once.  Anyway, he's a great chef and his place is a wonderful little secret of Austin.  

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