#1. Here's an old article from the LA Times I stumbled across that deals with the finer points of BYOB laws in California: http://articles.latimes.com/2003/nov/12/food/fo-matters12.
Some of the points are a bit out of date, for instance the ABC changed its policy and license-holders can NOT be held responsible for damages caused by patrons leaving drunk from their establishment, provided that the patrons are of a legal drinking age. This rule was changed because it put a restaurant in the catch-22 of neither being able to have a drunk patron on their premises nor being able to send him on his way.
It does highlight the basic ridiculousness of our liquor licensing system and how it can spell the death of an otherwise prosperous business. It also puts too much in the hands of one little douche bag with a grudge or a hatred of alcohol.
#2. I don't know in what esteem the OC Register's food section is held, but in an indicator of the bizarreness of the LA Times review of Charlie Palmer, the Register gave it nothing but plaudits in its review. This goes to show nothing other than that you should ignore fucking restaurant reviews and decide for yourself. Critics are no better or worse evaluators of dining than the average intelligent consumer. Strike that, they're usually worse.
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#2
I get where you're coming from here, but "ignore restaurant reviews" isn't such hot advice. You gotta find out about places somewhere, and not everybody can be bothered to live at Chowhound. Thing is, "average intelligent consumers" aren't as common as you wish and they don't broadcast useful information right to your doorstep like paid critics do. Friends pass along tips, and friends are awesome for that, but those tips just aren't enough, man. What am I supposed to do? I know you're not gonna say Yelp.
Sorry for the delayed response.
I guess I should say that you should read restaurant reviews for the INFORMATION but not the opinion.
Suss out what you need from what is presented, but give no value whatsoever to the conclusion obtained by the critic from their experience.
If it sounds interesting, go there.
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