I don't think it is possible to succeed in the restaurant business without really trying!

I don't agree with your comment in the article that Tarks grill will be around another 5 years. Eaten their twice. Both times service terrible food boring and marginal. Talk to many people who have tried it and won't go back. Time will tell

I've posted extensively about this on Chowhound, but it bears repeating -- a BYOB restaurant that charges a corkage fee has two strikes against it from the word go. There's no excuse for that, and I'm very reluctant to patronize a place that does it. Sadly, it seems to be a trend.

And don't give me the excuse that they're providing labor to wash the glassware and blah blah blah. If I'm not drinking alcohol I drink ice water, and there's no charge for that, yet it comes in a glass.

Not having a liquor license is an inconvenience. Charging me for being inconvenienced is unacceptable. I won't say I'll never go to a place that does it, but it would have to serve innovative and outstanding food. Doesn't sound like this place does that, so thanks but no thanks.

Dahlink wrote: "I don't think it is possible to succeed in the restaurant business without really trying!"

Yes, but the better ones do it without appearing to be trying.

Well, BYOB + corkage does not bother me since my DW and I do not drink those types of beverages very much any more.

What does concern me is that they do not take reservations. If I am told there will be a wait of 20 minutes or so, we can amuse ourselves in the lobby that long. Much longer than that and we will go elsewhere. I have found very few restaurants that do not take reservations and are worth an hour's wait to be seated. Do they take 'phone-in' listings, so you can at least get in line before you arrive?

Grrrrr ...... somebody put on their grumpy pants on this morning. Jon, you need to taste your porridge first, so that you know which of the three is just right. I agree about BYOB. How about a place that's BYOB and charges you a dollar per beer as a "corkage fee"? Even if you don't want a glass. That's just a little rapey and indicative of some bad mojo. Some people just don't get it.

Jon Parker, you are a man after my own heart! Point to Jon!

Well Jon Parker said before I could. I certainly understand a restaurant with a wine list charging a corkage fee but I will never pay to take my own to a BYOB place. And since I don't dine out without beer or wine I will never visit the Catonsville Gourmet. However, it doesn't sound like they need me.

I've been to the place and had a good experience. It helps that we had an excellent server (Tara). Each of the four of us had a different fish and they were all good. I like BYOB with a reasonable corkage fee (charged per table, not per bottle). It's a good deal for wine drinkers no matter how you slice it.

If Tio Pepe makes a wait for a table pleasant these days, attitudes there really have changed.

I understand BYOB as a necessity when a place doesn't have a liquor license (although I agree with Jon that charging the customer 'cause the establishment doesn't have a liquor license is just wrong).

What I don't understand is why so many people seem to view BYOB as a feature rather than an inconvenience. Do these people always drink the same kind of wine no matter what they're eating? Or do they decide what they're going to eat at a restaurant before they even get there?

I just don't get it.

BYOB is a feature rather than an inconvenience because it's usually significantly cheaper even with a corkage fee than paying the huge markup on alcohol when dining out.

Plus you can choose what you want to drink. Some places have great food but a terrible beer/wine selection, and I would prefer to bring my own.

The way I see the corkage fee is that they can't sell alcohol at a huge markup because they don't have a license, so they allow BYOB, which saves the customer a lot of money off the tab, and then they charge a corkage fee to get a little of that back. It's just business. I still think the customer comes out ahead on overall price in a BYOB situation.

Good luck though if you want to eat out on Sunday at a BYOB place and have to drive to Jerry's Belvedere and stand in the long line to make an alcohol purchase because it is the only (?) place in town open on Sundays. That IS an inconvenience. Perhaps Rev. Ed. can explain the blue laws holdover.

I think most people would prefer to spend $40 -$45 for two bottles of wine that they bring (including any applicable corkage fee) to $100-$120 for the same wine sold at the restaurant. The food and wine match is flexible enough that it is not a real issue for me to bring my own as opposed to picking them from the restaurant wine list.

It's nice to hear of such a place in Catonsville. I lived there for several years in my 20's (which was a loooooooong time ago) and was struck by the lack of restaurants there. There was always that one "good restaurant" on Frederick and Rolling Roads and one pretty good Indian Restaurant but everything else was chains and pub grub. I may go there just because of your praise of the service, which in my opinion is a rare commodity these days.

I like BYOB restaurants because they seem to have fewer tables of loud, rowdy drunks.

Catonsville Gourmet can't get liquor license because of its location (can't be within a certain distance from a church or, I think, school to get a license). I think the law states a restaurant most be at least 300 feet away from a church. As was mentioned above, a bottle of wine from home + $5 corkage fee is still cheaper than a bottle from a wine list.

Guys, the Crack Pot liquor store next door to the restaurant is open 10-10 seven days a week. Surely there are other restaurants with a connected liquor store elsewhere in the greater metropolitan area?

The liquor license problem is apparently politics at work. From what I heard, the church sent a letter that they would not have a problem with Catonsville Gourmet getting a liquor license.
On a completely different topic (which we are so good at), for all you long time Baltimoreans: what were some of the exotic foods that Haussner's, in it's heyday, served? My sister, brother-in-law and I were reminiscing. I remember whale steak, but what else did they serve?
Thanks!

I know the context of the conversation is a restaurant review, but a couple of weeks ago I went to the market in the back to see what they have. In particular, I'm always looking for a place with good fish. I was happiest with the side-sized portions of vegetables in the refrigerator case. The fish we had was only as good as my local supermarket (and there are some markets which do much better) and a lot of it was wrapped up in plastic. With a packed lunch crowd I was afraid that service would be a problem, but when I was ready there was a smiling person behind the counter waiting for me. I'll go back again in a couple of months to see if its picked up -- or, as was suggested, the market is moved out to make room for more tables.

Yes, it is BYOB...BUT! there is actually a bottle shop directly across the street with a great selection of beer and wine at normal to below average prices. I think it is only fair to point this "feature" out.

I'm way late to these comments - but LJ, if you're looking for someplace to buy a decent bottle of wine on Sunday, you can always go to Grand Cru.

Of course, then you won't have any good Jerry's stories to tell when you get home. Last time I was there (maybe a month ago), the college kids in line in front of me threw a bunch of money on the counter and said to the cashier "what can we buy for this much money?". The next guy in line exchanged a six-pack for a 12-pack and had to run back out to his car to get the money. When I finally got to buy my dusty and overpriced bottle of wine, I was more than relieved. But laughing.

Susan from Louisiana the things that stand out for me remember Haussners are the strawberry pie and the sauerbrauten and dumplings. I guess neither one is exotic but I sure remember them!

the college kids in line in front of me threw a bunch of money on the counter and said to the cashier "what can we buy for this much money?". Not academic scholarships from Hopkins, I hope. More likely basketball scholarships from UMCP.