THE BAD DEAL

Want to hit up Rucola, a new Italian joint in Boreum Hill? They have a Cafe Boulud Alum at the helm? Sure, why not. 

Feel like spending more money at Rucola than at Torrisi? Well, maybe not just yet, Rucola’s still young with no major reviews.

It’s a five-course tasting menu with wine pairings! Um, well, Rucola typically doesn’t do tasting menus, why don’t we just go a la carte and see how hungry we are. This isn’t Per Se. 

Thing is, we have to go through Gilt City. It’s a pre-paid non-refundable deal! Let’s do it! Yeah, I think I’ll pass. 

So it goes that Gilt, the King of Bad Deals, is selling a $155 tasting menu for two plus wine at Rucola. The REAL COST is $216 after tax and optional 18% tip on the “original” value of $262, a hefty sum for a restaurant without a single entree over $22 and that doesn’t really do tastings outside of the Gilt offer. By comparison, eight or so shared plates plus wine pairings at Torrisi will run about $190. Is Rucola a Bad Deal? Of course not, it’s just a case of Gilt City getting you to spend more money than you would otherwise. Here’s the math: 

• The tasting menu is a compilation of dishes from the regular menu. If you ordered everything a la carte, it would cost around $119. 
• If all the food costs $119, that means Rucola is estimating the original cost of the wine pairings at $143 or $72 per person ($262-$155/2 = $72). It would take major cojones for a young Brooklyn spot to charge more for wine than food. 
• Of course, you’re technically only paying $36 for two wine pairings under this deal ($155-$119 = $36), so if you’re addicted to savings statistics, this is a decent enough offer. 
• But look at it this way: Why don’t you drop by, order two $14 pastas (rigatoni & strozzapretti) and then see where things go. If you order more, you’ll spend more. If you order less, you’ll spend less. 

The key is this: Why let Gilt City control your culinary and financial experience? Since there’s no wine pairing or tasting menu outside of the Gilt offer, we feel pretty safe saying you’re not saving a single dollar with this deal, rather, you’re forcing yourself to spend more. 

Here’s the rule: order a la carte at a la carte restaurants, order tasting menus at tasting menu restaurants, and never let GILT GOONS dictate your dinner. The food looks slammin at Rucola, we can’t wait to try it — without any deal site telling us what to do.