Bring wine, but leave cheap stuff at home.

Byline: FOOD DUDE By Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

Isn't dining out romantic? Except when it's not. Like when a bug lands in your date's food or a gastrointestinal issue barges in on that perfect Valentine's Day meal. Food Dude learned long ago not to over-hype an intimate evening out. You're better off just letting the magic happen.

The lesson came on our Hawaiian honeymoon, where we embarked on a quest to find some good food to go with the fine scenery and romantic surroundings.

But the harder we tried, the more miserably we failed.

We ate sushi filled with warm mayonnaise and dined on Thai food that tasted like greasy Chinese. We paid $30 per person for all you can eat green eggs, runny Belgian waffles and half-fermented pineapple. A giant flying cockroach put a damper on our farewell meal.

It would have been easy to blame Hawaii, which is much maligned for its Spam-centric cuisine, but it's not all canned ham on the islands. There is lots of fine food to be found there. I know because I've tasted it on other visits. It just wasn't to be this time around.

If you like your sushi sans Miracle Whip, or if you've got a question for the Food Dude, write to the address at the end of the column.

Dear Food Dude: Can I bring my own wine to a restaurant in Oregon?

- Tim

Dear Tim: As long as the restaurant allows the practice, you're in the clear, according to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

That said, there are some general rules of etiquette that you'll want to follow. Such as, not bringing a cheap, garden variety bottle of wine into a restaurant. Remember, the restaurant doesn't have to allow the practice. They're doing it as a customer service, and most people who take advantage of the option are doing so because they've got something special in their wine cellar and want to mark an anniversary or some other big occasion.

So don't ruin it by abusing the policy because you're a cheapskate. Since most wines brought by customers are subject to a corkage fee of $10 to $35, you're probably not going to save much money, anyway.

For a number of reasons, it's a good idea to call ahead, says Jeff Passerotti, director of operations for Bel Ami Restaurant and Lounge, which charges a $10 corkage fee for wine brought from home.

First, you should make sure the restaurant allows the practice. You might also want to ask what the corkage fee is. Secondly, you should make sure the wine you're bringing isn't already on the wine list. That's a no-no, Passerotti says.

Bel Ami is unusual in that the restaurant owns a wine shop in the same building. If you can't find something on the restaurant's list, which offers about 100 different varieties, you might be able to find it in the store next door. The restaurant charges a $5 corkage fee for bottles bought in the wine shop.

According to the OLCC, it is also legal to bring a bottle of beer or distilled spirits into a restaurant if the owner allows it. Although some microbreweries have been known to allow patrons to bring in their own home brews, Passerotti says he's never heard of a restaurant allowing beer or liquor to be imported. The practice has been limited to wine, he says.

Steve Baker, a Eugene-based wine buyer for the Portland importer Zancanella, says the tradition of bringing your own bottle is more about celebrating good wine than trying to shave a few dollars off the bill. He cites a case of a wealthy diner who showed up at a local restaurant carrying a supermarket bottle of wine.

"People like that should be given the bum's rush," Baker says. "Or at least educated."

If you're thinking of bringing your own, Baker recommends ordering something off the restaurant's wine list as well. If he's drinking something very rare, he will sometimes offer the chef a sample.

Note: Technically it's illegal to drink while cooking, but that's the chef's problem, isn't it?

Baker has carried enough nice wine into restaurants that he has acquired an Argentinean leather carrying case (a friend of his imports them). He admits that his girlfriend thinks he's weird, but says there's just something not right about pulling a 1961 Mouton Rothschild out of a paper bag.

Incidentally, if you want to take the remains of that expensive bottle of wine with you when you're done eating, OLCC does allow you to re-cork it and take it to go. The wine must be carried in the trunk of your vehicle or in the area of the car farthest removed from the driver and passengers.

Send your questions about food via e-mail to [e-mail]. Or, send mail to Food Dude, The Register Guard, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2168.