Restaurant Wine Pricing (Rant)

For people who think restaurants charge too much, I offer the following advice: stay home.

WOW, I don't like paying 3X retail and your suggestion is for me to stay home? As mentioned earlier in this thread, I think it is a more constructive solution to spend my $$ at places that I feel offer better value.

He couldn't understand that it costs me money for cups. (he wasn't very smart) But same concept here.{emphasis added}

I was following you until the last clause. Care to explain?

Oh, and also, I would add that the Irish Rover appears to have the smallest markup I've ever seen.

I can't attest to the overall quality of their list, but we were in recently and I noticed many wines that retail in the $10-$15 range on the Rovers' list in the $16.95 range. You're talking sub 60% markup there.

Little known, but entirely true statement about the Rover - I'd totally forgotten. Weird that it hasn't been mentioned before, maybe because they're not at all a wine place, but seriously low mark-up - the list is small but satisfactory for inexpensive choices from what I recall. I used to suppose it was an effort to get the little ladies out so the boys could imbibe on some pricey Irish whiskey.

[Robin Garr]

Little known, but entirely true statement about the Rover - I'd totally forgotten. Weird that it hasn't been mentioned before, maybe because they're not at all a wine place

I have been growing more and more fond of the Rover in recent years, and this is probably one reason. It's hard for me to imagine getting wine there, though. They pour real Guinness the Irish way, and in this rare case, for the sake of tradition, this even trumps their admirable collection of local microbrews on tap. Beer pricing is very decent, too.

They pour real Guinness the Irish way, and in this rare case, for the sake of tradition, this even trumps their admirable collection of local microbrews on tap. Beer pricing is very decent, too.

I have to ask, what is "the Irish way" to pour Guinness?

Over the underside of a spoon that rests on the rim of the glass, pour a little, let it mellow, about four times. Some places draw a clover in the head with the last pull, but that's not an Irish thing. I may be missing something, I'm not a expert, and I never have preferred nitris carbonated beers.

Over the underside of a spoon that rests on the rim of the glass, pour a little, let it mellow, about four times. Some places draw a clover in the head with the last pull, but that's not an Irish thing. I may be missing something, I'm not a expert, and I never have preferred nitris carbonated beers.

Having been trained by the Guinness brewmaster himself, Fergal Murray, I can assure you there is no spoon involved. The spoon is only used for layering Guinness with other beers, i.e. a black and tan. The perfect pint is achieved only by utilizing the two-part pour. There has been a lot of effort involved in teaching bar tenders and owners here how to do it properly but, for whatever reason, it is still not too common. While some people may think it unnecessarily time consuming, it really does present the pint in a much more appetizing way.

For an example of the process by the man himself, check this out.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d15lJn1r0Mk

Instructions in text, for the non youtubers.


Step One: The Glass
"The bartender takes a dry, clean glass, which should be a 20-ounce tulip pint glass," Murray says. "The internal aerodynamics of a tulip glass allows the nitrogen bubbles to flow down the sides of the glass, and the contour 'bump' in the middle pushes the bubbles back to the center on their way up."

Step Two: The Angle
"The glass should be held at a 45-degree angle under the tap. The tap faucet should not touch the tulip glass or beer. If you just hold it straight under the faucet, you'll get a big block of bubbles and a fish eye."

Step Three: The Pour
"Let the beer flow nice and smoothly into the angled glass and fill it up three-quarters of the way."

Step Four: The Head
"Let it settle. On the way through the faucet, the beer passes through a five-hole disk restrictor plate at a high speed, creating friction and bringing out nitrogen bubbles. The bubbles are agitated now -- they can't go back into the solution, so they flow down the interior sides and back up the middle -- but they can't escape. So they build this wonderful, creamy head on top. It's like an architect building a strong foundation."

Step Five: The Top-Off
"Once it settles, you want to fill up the glass and top it off. You allowed it to settle, you created a domed effect across the top of the pint, and now your head is looking proud over the glass. That's the perfect vision of the perfect pint."

Step Six: The First Sip
"You drink with your eyes first. The cosmetic look of the pint is critical to the Guinness experience. We don't want anybody just putting liquid in a glass. And finally, drink responsibly."



Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/opinion ... z0c2bUIJHp