Restaurants, Corkage, Trust & Cheating

The French Laundry corkage rip-off has generated a lot of conversation this week including this one today: Cork this, Mr. Keller.

While  both sides can roll out various economic arguments for and against. I do believe that a restaurant as an economic interest to cover its costs and a little for the margin with reasonable corkage fees.

However, douche baggery like the French Laundry’s $150 corkage fees are just a way to cheat naive tourists and the unwary.

Outrageous corkage charges boil down to trust: If I KNOW that I am being cheated on one thing, what else is the restauranteur cheating me on? Short cuts in the kitchen? Maybe that premium cut of meat came from Costco? Is this really Applebee’s cuisine dressed up in snobbery and glitz?

Sorry, Corkage Felons, it’s about trust along with the venality and greed behind the cheating. Even if your food might be worth it, your attitude and ethics stink like a TCA-corked bottle.