The concept of a corkage fee began as a small convenience payment. Restaurants are within their rights to charge for opening a bottle that isn’t their own, but with the fees that some restaurants charge for the service, it feels more like legalized extortion. We asked around about the going rate, and, much to our delight, it turns out that some of our favorite upscale restaurants offer free-corkage nights. Saturday doesn’t make the BYO cut with any of these gems, but just imagine all the bottles of Two-Buck Chuck you can take to wash down your foie gras any other night of the week.
 

SUNDAY
Eve
Old Town Brasserie
The Stained Glass Bistro
Topaz Café

MONDAY
Carlos’
May Street Market
Prairie Grass Café
Topaz Café

TUESDAY
Avenues
Cuatro
May Street Market
Restaurant Michael
Shanghai Terrace

WEDNESDAY
Eve
May Street Market

THURSDAY
Les Nomades

FRIDAY
Carlos’