Tourist Traps
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Re: Tourist Traps
This is what I was told too,
Re: Tourist Traps
Metro.
I went in there last week to meet someone for a chat. One Gin and Tonic and 3 beers came to $17.79!!
(That would be $6.50 in Larry's, and the food is better there).
Tiger draught is $3.20 for a small fluted glass with a lot of froth (that old trick). Plus the 10% Vat and 5% service. No wonder it is empty most of the time.
The menu doesn't seem to have changed in many years and the standard of cooking is not particularly high. Their eggs benedict at $8 ($4 on a Sunday) and is very poor.
For comparison, I was in Bouchon last night and the food was superb; Beef Bourguignon ($13) and a foie gras linguine ($17). It's a whole class above Metro. The downside is the wines are all French and expensive. My advice is to get tanked up first, just drink the free water when eating, and then back to wherever for a few G&Ts.
I went in there last week to meet someone for a chat. One Gin and Tonic and 3 beers came to $17.79!!
(That would be $6.50 in Larry's, and the food is better there).
Tiger draught is $3.20 for a small fluted glass with a lot of froth (that old trick). Plus the 10% Vat and 5% service. No wonder it is empty most of the time.
The menu doesn't seem to have changed in many years and the standard of cooking is not particularly high. Their eggs benedict at $8 ($4 on a Sunday) and is very poor.
For comparison, I was in Bouchon last night and the food was superb; Beef Bourguignon ($13) and a foie gras linguine ($17). It's a whole class above Metro. The downside is the wines are all French and expensive. My advice is to get tanked up first, just drink the free water when eating, and then back to wherever for a few G&Ts.
Re: Tourist Traps
Great advice.
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Re: Tourist Traps
Eating Beef Bourguignon with a glass of water is like having sex with a condom.Doc67 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 11:43 am For comparison, I was in Bouchon last night and the food was superb; Beef Bourguignon ($13) and a foie gras linguine ($17). It's a whole class above Metro. The downside is the wines are all French and expensive. My advice is to get tanked up first, just drink the free water when eating, and then back to wherever for a few G&Ts.
I often complain about wine prices in restos here but to be fair their Cotes de Castillon (November 2022) looks reasonable
It would cost you $15 in France, off-sales.
What are they offering now ?
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Re: Tourist Traps
I think I last ate at La Croisette in 2003 and it was still the French owner. Similar style to La Marmite.
I remember he let me bring my own wine and didn't charge me corkage.
I remember he let me bring my own wine and didn't charge me corkage.
Re: Tourist Traps
7/11-Smile, are mostly family owned. Consider them a private business.
Re: Tourist Traps
I was drinking white (not a great pairing with a BB). The viognier was truly vile, it was rejected at the tasting, and then it just jumped to $6 for a run- of-the-mill Sauv Blanc, and I know I can buy wine like that for ~$8. They wanted $30 a bottle. All the reds started at about $6 iirc, and I have no clue about French wine, Chateau Blah Blah means nothing to me. What I do know is at $6 a glass, it will be very ordinary in there, judging by the white I had. And the servings are tiny. I have seen this a lot at different places, there is no set measure for wine and many are free-poured to a point on the glass, and no more. I reckon the measure was about 100-125ml. That's fucking stingy. I saw them pour a glass of sparkling wine ($6) in a flute glass and it barely went above the halfway point. It looked half drunk.Stravaiger wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 1:50 pmEating Beef Bourguignon with a glass of water is like having sex with a condom.Doc67 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 11:43 am For comparison, I was in Bouchon last night and the food was superb; Beef Bourguignon ($13) and a foie gras linguine ($17). It's a whole class above Metro. The downside is the wines are all French and expensive. My advice is to get tanked up first, just drink the free water when eating, and then back to wherever for a few G&Ts.
I often complain about wine prices in restos here but to be fair their Cotes de Castillon (November 2022) looks reasonable
It would cost you $15 in France, off-sales.
What are they offering now ?
There is a lot of cheap wine floating about in PP chasing a buyer, Big C have had some good deals on some at the cheaper end, and trade discounts at Wine Warehouse starts at 30%, so a very decent bottle of Argentinian Malbec from the Mendoza valley comes in at around $10 a bottle. Oskar, for example, want $36 for it, and this type of mark up is commonplace. Metro are the same in this regard, and then it gets the ++ treatment.
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Re: Tourist Traps
I was in metro riverside a couple of weeks ago and was very disappointed. Their other locations are very different, staff friendlier, service better, food better prepared and presented, location smarter. I found metro riverside to be tired and a bit grubby. So I’d probably agree with you for this location - but maybe not for other locations.Doc67 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 11:43 am Metro.
I went in there last week to meet someone for a chat. One Gin and Tonic and 3 beers came to $17.79!!
(That would be $6.50 in Larry's, and the food is better there).
Tiger draught is $3.20 for a small fluted glass with a lot of froth (that old trick). Plus the 10% Vat and 5% service. No wonder it is empty most of the time.
The menu doesn't seem to have changed in many years and the standard of cooking is not particularly high. Their eggs benedict at $8 ($4 on a Sunday) and is very poor.
For comparison, I was in Bouchon last night and the food was superb; Beef Bourguignon ($13) and a foie gras linguine ($17). It's a whole class above Metro. The downside is the wines are all French and expensive. My advice is to get tanked up first, just drink the free water when eating, and then back to wherever for a few G&Ts.
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Re: Tourist Traps
I sympathise. See my comment about taking wine to restos with no corkage - this used to be fairly common.Doc67 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 8:36 am
I was drinking white (not a great pairing with a BB). The viognier was truly vile, it was rejected at the tasting, and then it just jumped to $6 for a run- of-the-mill Sauv Blanc, and I know I can buy wine like that for ~$8. They wanted $30 a bottle. All the reds started at about $6 iirc, and I have no clue about French wine, Chateau Blah Blah means nothing to me. What I do know is at $6 a glass, it will be very ordinary in there, judging by the white I had. And the servings are tiny. I have seen this a lot at different places, there is no set measure for wine and many are free-poured to a point on the glass, and no more. I reckon the measure was about 100-125ml. That's fucking stingy. I saw them pour a glass of sparkling wine ($6) in a flute glass and it barely went above the halfway point. It looked half drunk.
There is a lot of cheap wine floating about in PP chasing a buyer, Big C have had some good deals on some at the cheaper end, and trade discounts at Wine Warehouse starts at 30%, so a very decent bottle of Argentinian Malbec from the Mendoza valley comes in at around $10 a bottle. Oskar, for example, want $36 for it, and this type of mark up is commonplace. Metro are the same in this regard, and then it gets the ++ treatment.
At one time Bouchon had quite a good reputation for its wine selection and pricing - Kuroneko ?
I don't think 125ml is stingy provided the price is right, but from your description it sounds like very poor value. I had a glass of white Macon Lugny there that was partially spoiled (storage/heat) so that may have been the problem with the viognier.
I agree about Kiwi / Mini Big C - it has been the place for the best deals for a while. And significantly better than The Warehouse in the $10-20 range even with a 30% discount.
This is a good resource for world price comparisons
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/de+p ... rt_order=p
Things went south about ten years ago when I started hearing diners saying But it's cheaper than Thailand ! The restaurateurs must have heard them too. I think Oskars is part of a Thai chain, and they helped to introduce Thai prices. Pepe Bistro were selling $5 glasses that retailed at $8 /bottle.
I like Bouchon's Bourguignon but mine is just as good, with ingredients no more than $4 or 5 pp. So compare two plates and a shared bottle, $56 there or $20 with much better wine at home.
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