Garces Trading Co.: Tasty Euro classics and a State Store, too

A slow-stewed legal mess finally hit the Common Pleas Court fan last week as a coalition of disgruntled restaurateurs, a neighborhood association, and a state representative filed a lawsuit in their quest to wrench a Pennsylvania-owned wine boutique out from the heart of Jose Garces' new BYOB.

As an industry observer, I feel their competitive pain.

The red-hot Iron Chef is the last restaurateur who needs a state-boosted advantage over his competitors, which is how the plaintiffs (with their costly liquor licenses, liability insurance, and triple markups) view the wine store inside the Garces Trading Co.

They clearly see the state as an easy villain here, since the complaint targets only the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board - not the muy popular JG or his GTC.

As a consumer, though, I have to wince.

Pennsylvania's wine lovers have been so beaten down by the state monopoly and its overpriced ripple effects in restaurants that every breath of BYO relief is welcome - especially when a kitchen cooks as well as the Garces Trading Co.

So what's not to like about being able to walk into the wine store here, where an actually enthusiastic salesperson can help you choose a fantastic bottle of Spanish garnacha at retail cost to accompany the phenomenal rabbit and gambas paella being prepared just beyond those glass store walls? Or how about sipping a prechilled Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label for $46.99 (instead of $90-plus on most restaurant lists) while you wait for a no-reservations table - sometimes longer than 30 minutes - and cruise GTC's market lane of Serrano hams, oozy La Serena cheese, and shiny metal canisters of bulk dispensers of vinegar and truffle oil?

With the dark clouds threatening it's enough to make one hustle down to the old Western Union building at 11th and Locust Streets before this experiment in affordable drinking possibly ends. Even if it doesn't, what diners will discover is that the PLCB partnership isn't even the most exciting thing going on here. What I'm most intrigued by is how the Garces Trading Co. is testing the boundaries of fine dining by pushing it toward an ever more casual setting. Just how far from old formalities can Garces go and still deliver high-end food, where the sublime fusilli carbonara with house-cured guanciale and plats du jour crocks of bouillabaisse aren't just camera-ready gorgeous but also available for takeout?