Thanks Tao!

Had the fortunate pleasure of eating para gratis at Tao last night. It is the number one restaurant in terms of OpenTable reservations. It definitely lived up to its hype. The place was jam packed for a cold and rainy Wednesday night. Had to wait for 15 minutes even though we had a confirmed reservation. But the manager must have recognized I was an OpenTable VIP and gave our party of 4 a free round of drinks on him. (I am assuming he recognized my VIP status...most likely he was passing those drink cards out like Halloween candy, but I'll keep dreaming i'm special)
The real treat for me though, was the fact that the ditzy bartender didn't know who she was dealing with. I sauntered up to the bar already drunk with power and my free drinks coupon and ordered up another round for my party. Potato juice and tonic, grape juice from South Australia, sweet sugar cane nectar from Puerto Rico with a splash of diet cola and the kicker..... a full brim glass of 1977 Sandeman Vintage Port. She had to open the bottle new because apparently no one had tapped into that $225 bottle(restaurant price). It was a perfect ruby red. Clear as glass. Clean berry aromas, full-bodied yet supple, very well balanced, with a nice long finish.
Not sure what I enjoyed more last night, the port or the black peppered sirloin with udon noodles. Needless to say though, thank you Tao (and Bebe's expense account) for a wonderful meal.