PSA-002 ________________

BYOB SURVIVAL

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PSA WINES HOUSTON TX SUMMER 2013 FM002

This is a list of restaurants that allow you to bring your own wine and beer. It catalogs how much it costs to do so at each establishment, what kind of glassware (if any) they provide, and if they have any wine or beer in house already. Also, we take it a step further and provide wine and beer suggestions with 3-5 classic dishes from certain establishments. Some of them weve tested, others are admittedly just suggestions we cooked up in theory. Theyre something to get you thinking critically about what to bring. Dont feel obligated to follow them exactly. Be a rebel and break some goddamn rules. Just get out there and booze it up- on your own terms. Thats the joy of BYOB. Here are a few expectations to manage when BYOBing that will help with your sanity. 1. Dont count on fancy stemware. Most of the restaurants that allow BYOB do not have hand-blown, featherweight crystal stems. You will be ok if you have to drink a fancy wine out of humble glass stemware or even a tumbler. If you must, you can usually bring your own stemware. We suggest hanging onto the box your wine glasses are packed in, if you need a transport. Also: stemless glasses are a happy compromise for the BYOB warrior. If youre thorough, bring a corkscrew too. 2. Dont count on the restaurant being able to chill your booze quickly. If youre bringing something that should be served cold, its a good idea to show up with the stuff already at the proper temperature. If the bottle warms up a little bit from your fridge on the way to the restaurant, its no big deal. But its going to take too long to chill a room-temp bottle of champagne or a bomber of beer. If you insist on your selection being ice cold, transport it in a cooler in the car. That being said, when wine and beer are ice cold, you dont taste much. 3. Dont freak out about corkage fees. If you dont like the fee, vote with you wallet and patronize a different restaurant. Being snarky about a corkage fee isnt going to impress anyone or convince the restaurant to change. And its not unreasonable to charge something. Glasses break, and require dishwasher cycles, polishing, labor and other fun stuff. Simply facilitating something basic like a clean, utilitarian glass costs restaurants money. And even a 20-dollar corkage fee is still getting the booze on the table for a lower markup than many restaurants provide (especially when its a pricey bottle). The good news is most of the restaurants on this list have corkage fees well under 20 dollars a bottle. Ideally a single corkage fee should apply to a 6 pack. If you are unsure: ASK. Dont make an assumption and then freak out when you get the bill. Bomber bottles of beer typically get treated to the same price regime as wine. AGAIN: if you arent sure about the pricing, always ask.

BYOB FOOD PAIRING: AN INTRODUCTION If you care about pairing your wine with the food, the scope of the cuisine should determine which comes first: food or wine. For example, if youre going to a pizza restaurant, you dont have to think too hard about what wine to bring. You can order the right pizza to accommodate just about any bottle of wine or beer. Conversely, restaurants with focused menus require more planning on the beverage front. A bottle of Napa cab will clash in a bad way with a restaurant that serves only Pho. An imperial IPA will smash the delicate flavors of Japanese fare. We spend a lot of time overanalyzing these questions restaurant by restaurant for you. However, if you dont care about matching your food and booze, there are no rules. FIRE AT WILL. When in doubt, bring sparkling wine or saison beer. Sparkling wine works well with all but one restaurant on this list. Saison works with all of them. ALL OF THEM. General pairing guidelines: With spicy international cuisine, avoid red wines. Capsaicin mutes the fruit of red wine and draws out alcohol, and most of it clashes. Light reds succeed, but the overwhelming choice here is high acid whites. Get over your sweet wine hate, because German Riesling is amazing with spice. Sparkling wine is always a winner. Hoppy and highly carbonated beers work well. Avoid super high impact beers like double IPAs or Russian imperial stouts (for the same reasons you should avoid intense reds). With Americanized Italian places or pizza joints, every kind of alcohol is pretty much fair game. You should be able to find a dish that suits it. If you want to eat light food, bring a light beverage, and if you want something rich bring a rich beverage (see? Not complicated). We could drone on for pages, but this is everything you need to go BYOB like a pro. Please Enjoy. If you see any errors or glaring omissions in this list, please feel free to notify us in all caps as if you were shouting at INFO@PSAWINES.COM. Did we miss a classic dish or obvious pairing? Did we miss an amazing BYOB restaurtant? Probably, considering that this is the first edition. Email us at INFO@PSAWINES.COM If you want us to fix it.