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In industry lexicon, there are no VIPs—there are PXs. An abbreviation for the French “personne extraordinaire,” the restaurant-ism is a unique delineation for diners of, well, distinction.
Generally, PXs have tiers (usually labeled PX1, PX2 and PX3), whereby guests are ranked in prestige based on their relationship to a restaurant—be they friends of the staff, industry colleagues, investors or perhaps big-deal reviewers. And the specialty treatment protocols are varied among each establishment: comped cocktails and dishes, topped-off glasses, free desserts, prime seating, the list goes on.
Across the board, however, a PX will nearly always be greeted with “a splash”—a pour of something or other by the glass to set the tone for the meal. But how do venues choose which bottles to splash with and who to splash? To find out, we asked five wine directors and restaurateurs about the nature of their PX policies and their chosen “splash” offerings.
“For us, PX1s are new regulars and friends, PX2s are (mostly) family members of people that work here, restaurant industry peers and major regulars. PX3s are critics, our wives and Barack and Michelle (putting this one out into the universe). Obviously, we use discretion here and certain folks get moved through the rankings. And yes, we Google our guests—not ashamed!”
—Andrew Lawson, partner and general manager, Ètra, Los Angeles
“There isn’t an exact formula to being classified as a PX or a VIP for us. It can mean someone who’s industry or industry-adjacent, friends and family of the staff, guests who have been supporting myself and our chef, Nick, at the various restaurants we’ve worked at over time, as well as neighbors, or even regulars at Smithereens.”
—Nikita Malhotra, beverage director, Smithereens, New York City
“While we don’t necessarily have tiers of MITs [Canard’s internal term for PXs], if we know a reviewer is coming, we’ll take extra special care of them—though that doesn’t [necessarily] mean sending out free stuff. It’s just about keeping a super close eye on their table to make sure all is seamless. Of course, we try to do that with all our guests, but a bad review could theoretically be very catastrophic for business.”
—Andrew Fortgang, co-owner and wine director, Canard, Portland, Oregon
“At the end of the day, our regulars are the most important to us. They’re the ones who make our restaurant what it is—end of story. Of course, industry guests are also important to us because we maintain a mutual respect for the work that they do—and when you work in hospitality, it can be quite hard to find time to visit other restaurants because you’re always working, so when an industry guest chooses to come to us, we think it’s important to show them a good time.”
—Harry Jamison, general manager, a.Kitchen, Philadelphia
“We try to match any specialized attention to the person in question. If we know someone is really into wine, for instance, we might specifically not splash them with bubbles, because they probably have a clear idea of what they want to drink. Instead, we might send an extra food item, splash them with something that complements the wine they did order (perhaps a different producer’s wine from the same vineyard). We want every gesture to feel personal, not formulaic.”
—Fortgang
“We try to be smart about what we send—and we don’t like to crush people with excessive food. We like to splash, send a small plate from the top of the menu, or something to go with an entrée. It’s always a conversation between us and the server and we make decisions based on their read of the table: if there’s a hole in the order, or we’ve sent things in the past, etc.”
—Lawson
“If I know the guest in question is into wine, I sometimes offer something off the pairing list to go with their meal, or a dessert wine to finish their meal. I pick the bottle based off of the mood of the night, whether this guest is sitting down for a quick bite or having a night here and if any celebrations are involved.”
—Mariano Garay, wine director, Corima, New York City
“In Los Angeles, people drink less than they do in New York, so I have to make sure people are having wine that night before going for it. I like to have something behind the bar that isn’t on the list, which makes it a bit more special. I was splashing Arnaud Lambert’s Crémant de Loire Rosé for a bit. Pink bubbles are always fun.”
—Lawson
“We have over 350 wines in the building, so we often like to open a couple things from the bottle list and sell them by the glass (we call these ‘Deep Cuts’). It gives our guests a chance to try some of the more rare selections we have and is a great way to keep our staff educated on our list. Instead of having a standard offering for people, we try to make sure there is as much variety as possible.”
—Jamison
“If there’s a celebration happening, a splash of bubbles to start makes sense. Sometimes, we prefer to wait until mid-meal and add a wine pairing. Or, if we know this particular guest is trying to drink less, we might sneak in an extra bite of something. What we do needs to meld into their experience, not just sit on top of it.”
—Fortgang
“We try to keep notes and be intentional when it comes to gifting or interacting with our guests regardless of a ‘PX’ label… Maybe if a bottle of Lauer riesling has already been ordered, we think a splash of another Lauer wine would make for a lovely side-by-side. Or, there might be a dish, like our seaweed dessert, that would pair best with sake, so we’ll splash sake right when that dish hits the table.”
—Malhotra
“I usually go for Champagne, but recently, I’ve been going adjacently to Crémant Blanc de Noirs from Tissot; I think they pair really well with our tortilla. I’ve also been exploring dessert offerings, so I’ve used a ratafia from Chavost too.”
—Garay
“This past week, we poured some Loire Valley wines, specifically Domaine des Sablonnettes’ Le P’tit Blanc chenin blanc and Antoine Sanzay’s La Paterne cabernet franc. But those selections change on a weekly basis for us.”
—Jamison
“Of course, starting someone with bubbles is great; right now it’s François Chidaine’s Brut Tradition. My favorite splash, however, is Giusto Occhipinti’s Naturale Bitter Vino vermouth with dessert. As a wine-/beer-only spot, this is the closest I can get to an amaro and guests love it.”
—Lawson
