165231 Wed Feb 13 01:02:41 -0800 2002 5 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 882552 $900.00 for '97 Solaia. This was voted wine of the year by the Wine Spectator and, if you can find it, sells for about $200 to 250 now in a store. On winecommune.com it can be purchased for $225.00 at auction. In Italy when it was first released it sold for 120,000 to 150,000 lira then, after the Spectator feature it all but disappeared from stores but still showed up in restaurants where it ranged from 160,000 to 230,000 lira. I have seen it on other restaurant menus over the past two months with the prices ranging from $350 to $500, which I thought was extraordinary. But $900.00? In this restaurant's defense I thought the prix fixe of $110 for Saturday night and less for other nights to be more than reasonable for the eight course meal. My wife and I thought that the meal, overall, was excellent with several (but not all) courses outstanding. A version of tuna carpaccio was absolutely sublime. Truly a great dish. Duck breast and venison treatments were actually disappointing. Overall we may prefer Obelisk. Maestro we'll visit in the next month or so. I should add that when a meal for two is over $300 the standard I use is different than a meal for $150. I continue to believe that in this league Citronelle is still the best D. C. has to offer. Wed Feb 13 01:02:41 -0800 2002 0 Joe 1 882558 Not to be a wise guy, but the day I drink a $900 bottle of wine, one of two things will have happened-- 1. I win the lottery, or 2. You are picking up the tab. Please email me if 2. is a possibility! Wed Feb 13 09:13:27 -0800 2002 882552 0 Johnlw 1 882589 That is pretty ridiculous. But then again, that is where most restaurants make most of their money -- in marking up wine & spirits.... I have found that some restaurants are pretty reasonable, and there are those restaurants out there that will let you bring your own wine if you pay a 'corkage' fee. Cashion's has a pretty reasonable markup, so does Mendocino Grill & Wine Bar. So, Citronelle is it, eh? Still haven't made that journey yet... Have any tales to tell there? Thu Feb 14 09:23:41 -0800 2002 882552 0 Thomas Jaehnigen 2 882590 Citronelle has its own 200 to 300% markups on wine plus few bottles in the under $60 or so range for reds. In fact most are well over $100. I've found that most better restaurants have markups like this and, as you note, depend on this for profit. It is becoming increasingly more difficult in restaurants like The Inn at Little Washington, the French Laundry, etc. to find bottles of red wine under $100 on the wine list. But Laboratorio's '97 Solaia was a new high (or low as it were) for gauging. I feel that Citronelle is the closest to a European style experience in D. C. He has now gone to exclusive tasting menus which range over $100 prix fixe and, conversely, Laboratorio may actually be a better "value" for the tasting menu itself. (Obelisk is still a real bargain for what they serve.) Both Roberto Donna and Michel Richard are wonderful ambassadors for their restaurants and both provide, again, the European type experience of the chef/host who does everything in his power to make ALL of his guests feel special. This is especially evident at Citronelle. If you are able to have the Chef's Table there when he is cooking it will be a truly memorable experience. Roberto Donna actually started Chef's Tables in D. C. in 1989 but I do not believe he does this anymore preferring to concentrate on the 30 seat communal ambience of his Laboratorio. For all of my comments about wine, still, the national champion for price gauging is The Inn at Little Washington where the chef's table adds $350 on the Saturday night $149 prix fixe dinner and markups that, across the board, rival any restaurant in America. For all of the notoriety that Alain Ducasse has received in New York four people sitting at The Inn's Chef's Table will spend a bit more. ($149 X 4 + $350 = a prix fixe of $236.50 per person plus wine, tax and tip.) Alain Ducasse in Paris' dinner prix fixe is 1500 FF or about US $198. For further comparison the three Michelin starred El Raco de can Fabes outside of Barcelona charges 100 EUR or US $88.00 for its 17 course (that's right, 17 course) prix fixe tasting menu. The Spanish wine has about a 75% markup which is still less than what it would retail for in D. C. (This is the best meal that I have ever had in my life.) The three Michelin starred Im Schiffchen near Dusseldorf is 110 EUR (US $96.00) for a twelve course prix fixe tasting menu but the wine there has 250% plus markups. In Italy Dal Pescatore, three Michelin stars and the subject of John Mariani's "Best Restaurant in the World" Esquire article several years ago charges 190,000 lira for its tasting menu which is about US $90.00. Wine there, like El Raco, is a bargain with the '97 Solaia going for 240,000 lira or about US $110.00. Remember that Laboratorio was $900.00 for this. You can experience the Inn for less than what I've noted above but it's owners have priced its best tables higher than the best restaurants in Europe with a wine list to match. I personally believe that while the Inn is as luxurious as any restaurant anywhere it's food does not nearly match the best of elsewhere. Both Laboratorio and Citronelle have elements of taste and style similar to the best of Europe. In my opinion Laboratorio would have one Michelin star and Citronelle two. Thu Feb 14 10:01:41 -0800 2002 882589 0 Joe 2 883269 Would anyone happen to have a list of Washington, DC restaurants that offer a corking fee if someone wants to bring his own bottle of wine? Thanks! Wed Apr 17 11:09:41 -0700 2002 882589 0 Patrice 1 882592 I recall Morton's having some pretty ridiculous markups. And it's even worse, on a percentage basis, on the lower priced bottles. They routinely markup a $20 retail bottle to $60, but may only mark up a $100 retail bottle to $150. As if the markup on that $38 filet isn't bad enough? Thu Feb 14 10:13:17 -0800 2002 882552 0 Bill