Crude wine choice leads to 911 call, robbery arrest Cops nab dining suspect after bank held up

SF GATE ^ | Thursday, February 6, 2003 | Wyatte Bucannan

[vannrox]

Lee Harris walked into Le Central Bistro on Bush Street for lunch Wednesday wearing desert camouflage fatigues and carrying bulging duffel bags.

That's odd, the wait staff thought.

Then he ordered smoked salmon with a glass of red wine.

Mon dieu!

[vannrox]

Hum.

[camle]

does this fall under the "dumb criminal" category? criminal robs bank, sits down for lunch, and even orders the wrong wine...

[stylin19a]

I suppose we now need a "Hold my wine" alert ?

[Gordian Blade]

In From Russia With Love, James Bond spotted the SPECTRE agent on the train because he ordered the "wrong" wine. It trips the bad guys up up every time.

[An.American.Expatriate]

Obviously if he had ordered the right wine, the waiters would have lauded his good taste and would not have given the other circumstancs a second thought . . .

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

I wonder what the other diners thought: "Man, are they strict about that white-wine-with -fish thing at this place!"

[Mike K]

The wait staff called 911, asking what all the fuss was about. When the cops told them about the bank robbery, ...

They called 911 to ask what the fuss was about? And the dispatcher told them?

2 cases of egregious stupidity.

[AnAmericanMother]

Obviously if he had ordered the right wine, the waiters would have lauded his good taste and would not have given the other circumstances a second thought

LOL! It makes a good story, but the other circumstances as you say are what led to the arrest.

Besides, it's perfectly all right to drink some red wines with smoked salmon. Wine choices aren't based on color, but on flavor-matching with the dish. Obviously for something delicate like filet of sole in a mild sauce, a nice gentle but crisp white is appropriate, but salmon has a relatively strong flavor, especially smoked and if it's been gussied up with capers, chopped onion, crumbled egg, etc. I wouldn't drink a powerful Bordeaux with it (the "roast beef of Old England" is about all that can stand up to a really big claret), but a nice Beaujolais-style red or something mild and soft would be just fine. So would a full-bodied white with some bite to it, of course.

[Coop]

In From Russia With Love, James Bond spotted the SPECTRE agent on the train because he ordered the "wrong" wine. It trips the bad guys up every time.

That's why I stick with beer.

[An.American.Expatriate]

So Mad Dog 20/20 is out??

[AnAmericanMother]

So Mad Dog 20/20 is out??

"A pretentious vintage (Tuesday) with an explosive nose, aggressive on the tongue, and a cataclysmic finish. Should be used for painting the landing."