Nope. today Starbuck's tea, tomorrow Duane Reade sushi when will the madness end???

$3 dollars is also a lot to pay for tea. why does that price keep coming up? why would you bring tea into a restaurant? starbucks tea is not that great.

After an overwhelming response to my original post, I have written a follow up regarding Le Bernardin at my blog. I find the outpouring of mean-spirited remarks quite surprising, rude, uncalled for and part of the reason service in America suffers today: http://aaronallen.com/articles/le-bernardin-update

This is the same Aaron "Jethro Clampett" Allen who I know has censored comments that are critical, yet not vulgar, from his website.

Oh, and if anyone should happen to have a look around there, you'll learn that Allen's "consulting" is for mid-level feeding troughs like the Cheesecake Factory. He claims to eat at 300 places a year, but he's so stupid and arrogant that he actually thinks he can bring a Starbucks cup into one of the world's great restaurants to slurp with his $55 lunch.

God help the establishment that takes this idiot's advice!

That's right, it's clearly everyone else who has a problem, certainly not you.

"After an overwhelming response to my original post..."

Like an annoying child, it's best just to ignore you.

Yep. Same shit happened to me and the missus at El Bulli just last week.

We had heard the place serves nothing but 'foams' and 'scents' so we picked up a family bucket from KFC to bring with us, figuring they would slap it on a couple of plates and let us eat it right there at the table. But no! The snobby bastards threw us out!

Well. We immediately twittered both our followers and called for a boycott. HAHAHA! We'll see who has the last laugh here. Neither of our followers will ever enter their 8000-to-1 lottery for a reservation ever again!

Eat the rich.

This is probably the best $55 business Le Bernadin ever lost.

They also insist that men wear jackets in their restaurant. An outrage!

I was inclined to side with the consultant: y'know, c'mon, have some lenience and let him finish the tea. But after reading his blog, I have no sympathy. He's all about just how cool "I worked for 5 star 5 diamond blah blah" and powerful "8,000 twitter followers" he is. If I ran a McDonald's I'd kick him out just for being such a douche.

Le Bernardin also does not allow outside wine with a corkage fee which doesn't surprise me at all and a Aaron D. Allen, restaurant consultant, should consider this.

Le Bernardin has to uphold standards. What would they do if people started bringing in their McDonalds shake to slup with their Caneton a la Presse? Beverage is a huge part of their racket.

Eric Ripert can do no wrong. Le Bernardin is the best restaurant in NYC.

I agree.

And that "comically stereotypical maitre d'" is Ben Chekroun, who is one of the best in the business.

Doubt that? Take a moment and read his replies to Eater's questions last year:

http://ny.eater.com/archives/2009/09/the_gatekeepers_le_bernardins_ben_chekroun.php

The "restaurant consultant" should go back to Florida.

I wouldn't bring a Starbucks tea into my neighborhood diner, let alone Le B. If they sell tea, don't bring some in from another joint. Would you bring a steak from Ruth's into Sparks? He's self-obsessed, stuck up and a bit delusional.

Also, a restaurant consultant should know better.

I bought a DD coffee once and then unexpectedly ran into a friend on the street who wanted to have lunch. I couldn't gulp down the coffee, so I took it into the restaurant with me, but also apologized to the host and told him I would be ordering more coffee. I did and there were no problems other than an extra dose of caffeine.

Irrelevant anecdote, unless the place you went into was serving something along the lines of a %55 prix-fixe lunch.

If you are that defensive of your Starbucks coffee, you probably don't deserve to eat at Le Bernardin anyways

exactly!