11-28 BYOB

To some of you, I'm sure BYOB still means bring your own beer. While that is still an appropriate meaning if you are going to, say, a superbowl party, I've got another one for you. Bring your own Bottle. Sometimes a restaurant will open before they get their liquor license, and they will allow you to bring in your own bottle of wine (or beer). They will somehow designate that they are BYOB (usually on the menu and on their website, if they have one). It is also acceptable and appropriate to bring you own bottle of wine to almost any restaurant as long as you follow a few simple guidelines.
Do's
1. Call the restaurant first, or look on their website, to confirm that they allow you to bring wine. Also confirm how much they charge you to have them open it and make sure it is an amount that you are willing to pay (corkage*).
2. Once you are seated at your table, let the waiter or waitress know that you have a bottle you would like him to open, and when to open it.
3. Tell the waiter that he is welcome to save some for himself to try as well (a nice gesture that may help with the corkage fee.)
4. Bring a wine that is special to you in some way, even if the reason it's special is just because you already know that you like it a lot.
Dont's
1. Don't bring a wine that is on their list.
2. Don't bring a wine that is seriously cheapo, that's an insult to the chef and the sommelier (wine person).
3. You might not want to bring your own if you are meeting up at a bar for a drink first. I once tried to stop in to Harry Denton's for a drink before dinner, toting along the bottle that I was going to bring to a restaurant down the street, and they refused to let me in with it. I guess they were worried that I would crack the bottle open with my hands and drink straight from it, instead of waiting behind the flurry of barely of age kids for my drink. Just a warning.

You can do a little research in your area to find out if there are restaurants that waive corkage at certain times of the month or for wines purchased from a nearby wine shop.

In SF:
Mondays, no corkage at Zuppa
Tuesdays, no corkage at Zazie
Wednesdays, no corkage at Alamo Square

Fish and Farm only charges $5 for a California wine and waives the fee if you buy a second bottle.
PlumpJack doesn't charge corkage if you buy the wine from their wine shop.

*Corkage typically varies from $10-$45. I've never seen anything more than $45, which was at the four star French Laundry in Napa. The amount is meant to cover glassware, service, and unfortunately compensation for what they are not making off of selling you one of their own wines. It is highly correlated to the priciness of the restaurant. Restaurants will sometimes wave the fee if you buy a second bottle of of their list, or if you tell a really good story about why you are opening the bottle (ie your late grandfather worked for the winery as a kid, you won it from your father in a bet, its your birthday and its your favorite wine). BYOB restaurants that don't serve any alcohol of their own usually don't charge anything for corkage, but they will probably just give you a corkscrew and water glasses and let you pour yourselves. At least then you won't have to wait for the waiter to come around and fill you up!