My girlfriend and I had dinner at Blue Hill earlier this month http://www.bluehillnyc.com/. The food was very good and I think the space is nice, atmosphere warm, overall it was a quite a pleasant dining experience. I was left scratching my head regarding a few things that happened during the course of the meal. We ordered a bottle of Riesling from the wine list, a German Riesling. Our server brought the bottle over to the table for us to examine. After my girlfriend gave her approval the waiter than took the bottle back to the bar for uncorking. I found it out of course from my usual experience of having wine opened right in front of you at the table. Am I incorrect? I did observe our waiter do this same thing at another table but could not tell if it was a restaurant-wide practice or just limited to our server. I enjoy having the bottle opened in front of my eyes, particularly where the waiter or sommelier is very adept and smooth, for the aesthetic of the whole experience. It's also reassuring to see the actual bottle you are going to be drinking uncorked for your own eyes to see. Am I being too paranoid on this? Do other restaurants like Blue Hill uncork wine the same way? My second observation concerned dessert. My girlfriend and I were both tempted by the tasting menu for our main course but opted instead for two apps and two main courses. When the dessert menu arrived I was taken by the "Dessert Flight." This is the dessert tasting menu with a selection of four or five different items. We decided that this, with some coffee, would be a perfect combination to share and end our meals. When I advised the waiter that we wanted the Dessert Flight to share he informed me that this item was not designed to be shared. We ended ordering two individual desserts, which, by the way, cost less together than the dessert flight. Should I have insisted on just getting the dessert tasting menu and decide if it could be shared or not for myslef? Curious to hear comments on this issue as well. Thanks
