When there's only ONE wine by the glass . . .

[Bill Miller]

We were on I-35 near San Marcos--and hungry. We stopped at a Bennigans for a quick lunch--no that was not the mistake. We ordered and noticed they only had one red wine by the glass--I really wanted a little vino to wash down my meal--I should have known better . Never, under any circumstances drink a Yellow Tail Shiraz. It felt like it was made with a roux and someone poured half a bottle of vanilla extract in it. The water was so good. Be warned!!!!

[Florida Jim]

We were on I-35 near San Marcos--and hungry.  We  stopped at a Bennigans for a quick lunch--no that was not the mistake.  We ordered and noticed they only had one red wine by the glass--I really wanted a little vino to wash down my meal--I should have known better .  Never, under any circumstances drink a Yellow Tail Shiraz.  It felt like it was made with a roux and someone poured half a bottle of vanilla extract in it.  The water was so good. Be warned!!!!

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Ah, you have learned grasshopper.

Best, Jim

[Don Giovanni]

We were on I-35 near San Marcos--and hungry.  We  stopped at a Bennigans for a quick lunch--no that was not the mistake.  We ordered and noticed they only had one red wine by the glass--I really wanted a little vino to wash down my meal--I should have known better .  Never, under any circumstances drink a Yellow Tail Shiraz.  It felt like it was made with a roux and someone poured half a bottle of vanilla extract in it.  The water was so good. Be warned!!!!

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Nothing like a wake up call...Yellow Tail = Yellow snow...I won't touch either of them...

[KatieLoeb]

In situations where the bar is iffy (whether it's no wine choice or whatever) I always order something that can't be screwed up - like a bourbon and Coke.

[wattacetti]

In these scenarios I pass on (even on the hard alcohol options) and stick with mineral water since it's pretty hard for someone to screw up opening a twist cap.

The alcoholics that I've had meals with however, live a bit more on the wild side and generally regret doing so afterwards. Unfortunately, they also have no short-term memory and a whole lot of perseverative behaviour.

[dinwiddie]

Why would anyone in their right mind even consider ordering wine in a Bennigans? Even if there were 10 wines by the glass, I doubt any of them would be anything except plonk.

[Rebel Rose]

In defense of plonk, there have been times in my life when I've had a long day on my feet, a visit to the gym after work, nothing to drink in 3-4 days, and I'm taking a bunch of kids out to dinner at a chain or, even worse, Chuckie Cheese. I will gladly order a glass of red plonk in a klutzy little wine glass, and nurse it with my super-cheesy pizza while watching TV in a corner and hoping the kids don't lose their pants or shoes (or little brother) in the ball fort.

But Yellowtail Shiraz? ::shudder::

[Rebecca263]

Mixers to the rescue, if you must, I suppose. I would skip the 'wine' though, in this case. If I was really in the mood, I might even skip most of the menu, just get enough to sate my needs, and move on... I mean, french fries are usually edible in those kinds of places... and I hope to eat again someday... I shudder to think what their idea of iced tea is... I might even order hot tea, a cup of ice, some juice, some rum... make my own drink if I was plonked down with a group and couldn't leave...

[Porthos]

We were on I-35 near San Marcos--and hungry.  We  stopped at a Bennigans for a quick lunch--no that was not the mistake.  We ordered and noticed they only had one red wine by the glass--I really wanted a little vino to wash down my meal--I should have known better .  Never, under any circumstances drink a Yellow Tail Shiraz.  It felt like it was made with a roux and someone poured half a bottle of vanilla extract in it.  The water was so good. Be warned!!!!

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Wine by the glass is something I rarely order. I've been spoiled over the last 3 decades by a father-in-law who serves good wines. He brought late 80s and early 90s Cabs and Zins to the lake on our vacation. Who can quible with that when spending a week in a housekeeping cabin in the eastern Sierras. By the way, I finally figured out I might be more of a food snob than I realized. I bring my own knives, pots and pans with me. The kitchen is stocked with Wal-Mart clearance-level junk.

I actually don't order wine by the bottle too often at the mid-level local places I enjoy since they generally seem to think that around 500 whites and 5 reds make a good selection. I am more than partial to Zinfandel and find that less than 50% of the places I do eat even have real Zinfandel. It's surprizing how many servers don't know that back in the day Zinfandel only meant red wine. I'd rather pay corkage and drink something I know I will like.

[tim]

Hi,

I was in asmall town restaurant with friends and we asked about their wines. The waitress said they had one kind of wine but she couldn't pronounce the name. She went off to get some menus.

My wife went off to decipher the name of the foreign wine while we imagined what treasure would be offered. We secretly hoped for some nice unpronounceable echezeaux.

Alas, it was Paul Masson! We ordered Budweiser.

Tim