Price Check

DBGB Launches Lunch, But Beware of the Bizarre Booze-to-Beer Upsell?

Photo: Courtesy of DBGB

Eating in Translation experienced a mishap at DBGB’s newly launched $22 three-course lunch, but what’s the big deal that he got the dessert course first? We’d still eat it. We were more perplexed by something that happened when we recently ordered the bar’s lovely Spicy Paloma drink, consisting of Del Maguey mescal, grapefruit juice, and ginger syrup. See, the bartender recommended we have a beer instead. To be fair, the Schneider-Brooklyner Hopfen-Weisse he pointed us to was really good, and shared some flavor elements with the Spicy Paloma, so let’s leave aside the weirdness of recommending a beer in lieu of a mixed drink. The thing is, he failed to mention that the pour costs $15 for just half a pint (DBGB’s menu lists it as 250 milliliters, to the bewilderment of imbibers who happen to prefer their liquid measured in ounces). That’s $3 more than the cocktail we would’ve been perfectly happy with. And it’s $4 more than a bottle of the same beer (twice the size!) at Blue Hill, per Beer Menus. Regardless of the markup, perhaps the bartender was too harried to sweat the details, and this wasn’t a case of egregious upselling? We’d like to think so, since Boulud has been touting DBGB’s affordability. Has anyone had a similar experience? Oh, and so you don’t end up in this situation, the colossal drinks menu is below. You might also want to install a milliliter conversion app on your phone. Update: Plus, take a look at the lunch menu!

DBGB Beers, Wines, and Cocktails [PDF]
DBGB Lunch Menu [PDF]

DBGB Launches Lunch, But Beware of the Bizarre Booze-to-Beer Upsell?