Calm down and have a drink.

I'm sick and tired of how restaurants totally gouge you on bottles of wine. It pisses me off when I'm asked to shell out 35 bucks for a bottle we all know is worth maybe $7.99 at retail, particularly when the wine I really want, and for which I might pay $10 at retail, costs $45 or more in the same restaurant. Fuck that.

Yea, I know we're paying for the convenience, for the experience, blah. I don't mind one bit going to a nice place and spending good coin for a meal prepared by a chef whose heart & soul (and maybe some sweat & hair) are in every bite. Worth every penny. But what skill does it take to pull a cork out and parade me through the faux bottle-tasting ritual? Answer: none. Value to me? Zero.

Look, I don't even mind paying a few bucks more, crap, even a 100% markup on wine to have it with a nice dinner out. But you greedy restaurant-owning bastards beware, your days are numbered. Keep it up and I'm going to start pounding Yellow Tail in the parking lot before I order another $35 bottle of pisswasser.