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New York City is home to around 25,000 bars and restaurants (or at least it was before they kind of stopped being a thing earlier this year) ranging from pizza places where you can pick up a slice for $1 to Michelin-starred establishments boasting some of the finest meals the culinary world has to offer that tend to run you just a little bit more than that.
I lack the funds to frequently dine at the establishments that fall at the pricier end of the spectrum, but during my time in the Big Apple, I’ve occasionally treated myself to some fancy dinners at restaurants where I do what I can to act like I belong there despite being incredibly out of my element—especially at places that present you with a wine list the size of a small novel filled with offerings that were bottled decades before I was born and cost more than I make in a month.
If you’ve ever found yourself in a similar situation, there’s a good chance you’ve harnessed the same strategy I’ve repeatedly turned to over the years, which involves scouring the collection for the most moderately-priced offerings and asking your waiter various questions about the more expensive ones even though both of you know you already decided to order the second-cheapest bottle on the list.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with showing your hand and simply asking for the one that’ll run you back the least, which one couple decided to do when they ordered an $18 Pinot Noir during a night at Balthazar, a French restaurant in SoHo that’s been serving up food and drinks to a wide variety of clientele since owner Keith McNally opened it up in 1997.
That includes a few Wall Street workers who were there on the same evening and decided to drop $2,000 on a bottle of 1989 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, and as McNally recounted on Instagram earlier this week, the restaurant ran into a bit of an issue after the manager poured both bottles into identical decanters. This resulted in a mix-up that led to the couple being served the one that cost $1,982 more than the one they asked for, while the quartet of finance guys—one of whom appeared to fancy himself a bit of a connoisseur—were given the decidedly cheaper option and didn’t notice the difference until the man who made the mistake eventually broke the news to both parties.
You’ve got to love a story with a happy ending.