Wine with Dinner

Getting tired of making dinner, it had been my intent to use up leftovers last night, then go out tonight.  My wife has an obligation tonight so we shifted days to going out last night.  Most of our options, as we require vegetarian, are a few regional and national chains which this era of restaurant tech makes things efficient, as we can preview menus in advance.  Italian always has pasta, so we went that route.  

As much as I welcome the evening off from KP periodically, cheap evening outs have largely disappeared, mostly because the concept of a treat also includes a serving of wine or beer that I would not have available to myself at home.  About $8 a serving, one serving each.  While our choice offered house bottles for $20, which would have been a better buy, I did not want to drive home with a partially consumed bottle of wine in my car, even in the trunk, though in another era I once did routinely.  Our legislature has been grappling with a bill to make driving home with leftovers illegal.  The merits of that are obvious, the downside also obvious.  Had I purchased a bottle, would I have poured myself the same glass that I purchased individually, or might I have topped it off?  And if I couldn't take leftover wine home, would I get my moneys worth by having only minimal leftovers?  

In my younger years, as newlyweds we lived in a place that had a lot of students some quite wealthy, and a lot of faculty, all prosperous.  Lots of great places for supper, many walking distance from our apartment, but for special occasions I drove to someplace more elaborate.  Wine by the glass had not become available everywhere, so we would get a bottle for those special evenings.  And I would top it off, but keep myself still within safe driving limits, with about half a bottle in the back seat for later.  

My permanent home did not have quite the plethora of whim outing places, we grew our family, and went out less. In addition, I became interested in what I could do in the kitchen.  As a result we went out much less.  I became more interested in craft beers as they came onto the market, something usually served as an ice-cold pint in a tall glass, as I only ordered a selection that they had on tap.  My wife preferred wine, leaving a glass the best option.  Those bottles that we ordered previously essentially stopped, more for economic than liability reasons.

But at home, where saving leftover wine for the following evening had not legal implications, I still purchased a bottle for each elaborate dinner I made myself.  And I almost always drank beyond what would be safe driving.  So trying to duplicate that at an Italian restaurant, even if a better buy, would probably be unwise.  Paid a little extra per ounce, and we each got our glass, but it added about another third to our final tab.  Which is why going out for dinner is relatively infrequent as I reach my senior years.