A Dollar for Ice in Your Bourbon on the Rocks? Yes, Says New Restaurant

The bourbon menu at the new Tap 42 in Fort Lauderdale is perhaps South Florida's best. It has, as you might guess, 42 varieties, from the smooth Basil Hayden's to the spicy Evan Williams Green. If you want your whiskey from Kentucky, you'll find something you like here.

But if you drink your bourbon on the rocks, be prepared to pay extra.

Tap 42 sneaks a $1 charge on the bill for

each bourbon on the rocks, my table learned when we got our bills last

night. We complained to our server, who shrugged her shoulders and said: "I'm not responsible."

We asked

for a manager. Our server came back later to say, "I can't get his attention." After some convincing, a manager named

Jake arrived to explain the charge. He said it's because on-the-rocks

pours have a bit more liquor. Or, at least, he thinks they do.

"I believe it's two ounces versus two-and-a-half ounces," Jake said.

If

what Jake believes is correct, well then, it's a decent deal. The two

glasses of bourbon I had were $11 each, or $5.50 an ounce (before the

charge for ice). If they're adding an extra half ounce for a buck, then

that's a bargain, right?

But there's still this: The dollar charge

for ice wasn't mentioned anywhere on the menu. Our server never let it

slip ahead of time, which smacked us all the wrong way. The manager

explained: "Yeah, your server should have mentioned that."

More

than that, so should the menu, which ought to explain clearly that rocks

orders get charged an extra dollar. Jake shrugged to that

argument, and we changed the subject to whether the place has been

busy.

It has. But complaints like this one aren't the first I've

heard about what is unquestionably Fort Lauderdale's prettiest new

restaurant. Restaurant critic Melissa McCart's full review of the place

comes out in New Times next week.

In the meantime, I hope

they'll reconsider this ice charge. Even if the food had been stellar

and the service decent, we would've left last night feeling cheated. A

dollar for ice? Really?