111210 Tue Aug 13 21:23:18 -0700 2002 4 7 Chicago Area 0 601480 I was under the impression that if a place is not licensed, you are allowed to BYO unless the precinct has been "voted dry". While having a casual bite recently, at the "Clark's" on Belmont, formerly Melrose, a surly staff member grabbed our bottle of Rhone, explaining in broken english "illegal". Our waitress had seen the bottle, and brought us empty glasses as we requested. Interestingly, a pair of cops in line at the register agreed that it was most certainly not "illegal". One of them, however, opined that dark beer would have been a better match for our meal! I don't know if there was a religious objection, if they had trouble with rowdy kids, if it's because the owners are Albanian, or a general objection to outside condiments and beverages. Does anyone have the true inside scoop on the regulations here? Tue Aug 13 21:23:18 -0700 2002 0 Bob Jones 1 601482 I don't know what the law is. I suspect an inexpensive diner type place in a nightlife-oriented (and rough around the edges) area like the Melrose is in probably has a policy against alcohol because there's too much chance of people boozing it up in a booth over $3 worth of food, and getting rowdy. Tue Aug 13 22:37:12 -0700 2002 601480 0 Mike G 1 601506 Bob, As far as the law goes, the officer was correct. It is legal, at least in Illinois, to bring your own liquor into a restaurant for your party to consume. Etiquette can be a little more complicated. If the restaurant does not have a liquor license, one should ask permission to bring in a bottle of wine. Even though it is legal, they are still your hosts. Only once have I been denied this privledge. The other scenario is more complicated, the restaurant which does have a liquor license. This should only be attempted by those with some sort of a "cellar" or collection at home. Many restaurants, including many very good and some great ones, will allow one to bring their own bottle with a corkage fee. To begin, you should have already eaten at this establishment and reviewed their wine list. If the restaurant has almost exclusively new releases and you have older vintages (For example, the current California cabs are 98's and 99's. It should be maybe 94 at the earliest, and should be better than their offerings) at home you have a good shot. Another window of opportunity is if they have mainly very common wines and you have a hard to find or obscure wine. The last example is if they totally miss a region which you love and is appropriate for the food. You should *absolutely* not go pick up a bottle at Osco on your way. The restaurants which allow you this *privledge* do so to accomodate their customers who appreciate fine, older vintages. They realize the shortcomings of their wine programs and figure it is cheaper than buying and cellaring a lot of wine for maybe a small percentage of their clientelle. Never, never bring K-J chardonnay, Woodbridge cab, or anything that you can buy at a supermarket. If you think you can meet the above criteria, when you call to make your reservation, you make politely ask if it is posible to bring a special, older bottle for a corkage fee. When arriving, be subtle about bringing in your bottle. My wife usually puts it in her large Coach shoulder bag. Discreetly place it on the table, and inform the waiter when he greets you. The object is to avoid everyone else in the restaurant asking to bring in wine which the restaurant already sells. It if becomes a problem for the restaurant, they will no longer allow it. You should probably order a cocktail, a glass of champagne, and/or an after dinner drink. This is like the secret menu at a Chinese menu. Most people don't know about it, but then again most people don't have the proper wine to take advantage of it properly. The object is to be able to drink your delicious, older bottles with a great meal, not to avoid paying a restaurant markup. I hesitate to tell people about this, but the people who read this board are smart enough to not abuse a nice perk. Cheers, Al Wed Aug 14 11:39:38 -0700 2002 601480 0 Al 2 601537 Chicago does not have any regulations on BYOB. The only exceptions is whether or not a restaurant agrees. The proprietor does have the option to refuse and they cannot charge a corkage fee if they do not have a liquor liscence. You must also open your own bottle and pour it yourself. This is acording to a Chicago Sanitarian. Paulette Wed Aug 14 21:28:14 -0700 2002 601506 0 Paulette 3 601583 Paulett writes "You must also open your own bottle and pour it yourself." All the places we've been to in Chicago for BYOB they open the wine and serve it to us. Were they breaking the law?? Thu Aug 15 16:57:53 -0700 2002 601537 0 leek