For several years, I avoided even considering a BYOB as a choice for a Saturday night dinner. I couldn't understand the appeal of having to take the time to go to a store and purchase my beverage of choice before even knowing what could be on the menu. After all, if you don't know what you could be eating, how on earth are you going to know what you want to drink? Sure, we all know beer pairs great with pizza, but that is simple. What if you buy a nice bottle of Riesling, then get to the restaurant and decide you want steak for dinner? Then you are stuck for the duration of your meal wishing you had purchased a nice bottle of Pino Noir. And, further more, how are you supposed to know how much you want to drink with dinner? What if you only purchase one bottle of wine and your reservation isn't ready on time? You could very well finish your bottle before even sitting down to dinner. So what do you do then? Drink water? That is preposterous. I guess you could be that couple who buys two bottles of wine to bring with them to a BYOB, but then you just look like the wino couple in the corner boozin' it up on a Saturday night instead of enjoying good conversation over dinner.
But with all of my previous reservations aside, the BYOB is beginning to grow on me. Believe it or not, the food has the potential to be amazing and not to mention cheaper than other restaurants that charge more for food to help offset the cost of a liquor license. I've also gotten the hang of simply planning ahead and picking up whatever I want to drink before going to the restaurant. It really was not any more complicated than that and I have no clue now as to why I was not doing this all along. I no longer immediately exclude restaurants based on whether or not they have their own wine cellar instead I just run to the store and buy whatever I want and march up to the Hostess with my black liquor store bag and asked to be seated. In fact, I've found myself working a little harder to actively seek out these culinary gems.
Interestingly, since broadening my dining horizons to include the BYOB, I've started to notice entirely new subsets of diners in the city. Throughout most Chicago restaurants, on any Saturday night when you look around the room the largest demographic you will likely see are obviously couples on dates followed closely by 'Woo Girls' out for a raucous 'Girls Night Out'. And, admittedly, you will find these groups at any restuarant in the city on any night of the week, including a BYOB, but it seems that the casual atmosphere of the BYOB brings out something special.
Case in point, recently, while having dinner at my favorite BYOB sushi spot, I spotted a group of 3 guys a couple of tables over. Sushi, while delicious, is not the manliest of cuisine yet these guys showed up for dinner fresh from a workout at LPAC with a case of Milwaukee's Best (The Beast) in tow and proceeded to order nearly the entire Nori maki menu. I think I was witnessing some sort of strange variation of a 'Bro Date' as they pulled beer after beer from 'The Beast' that was sitting on an empty chair in between two of the strapping young Lincoln Parkateers as they happily gobbled up their spicy tuna rolls and shrimp tempura while chatting about the 'Honeys' that they had met at Durkin's the previous weekend. It's strange that even on a 'Bro Date', Bros just can never bring themselves to sit next to each other regardless of the fact that they are eating from a communal plate with chopsticks. It's a good thing they brought 'The Beast' to act as a buffer. And to think, if this particular sushi spot was not a BYOB, than this 'Bro Date' likely never would have happened since many restaurants with liquor licenses do not have the same appreciation of the manliness that 'The Beast' offers and do not carry it, thus rendering the delicate yet rugged balance of this outing impossible. Viva la BYOB!
