A doggie bag for the bottle

Wine drinkers are now permitted to order a bottle and take home what they don't drink. It's been a little more than two months since the state Alcohol Beverages Control Commission put out doggie bag rules, but few diners seem to be taking advantage of the new law. ''We've had two requests in six weeks," says Steve Johnson, owner of Rendezvous in Cental Square, in Cambridge, although several more asked about it. The Federalist manager Bruno Marini says there have been maybe six requests. He thinks that ''people are nervous taking home an open bottle in the car."

Even at a place like Troquet, where the focus is on unusual bottles, co-owner Chris Campbell says, ''We've done four so far," and those wines ''were pretty rare." But Campbell thinks it will catch on as people become more aware of the law. Some restaurants are printing news about the law on their menus.

But the rules, which are temporary and may be changed after a public hearing, are complicated. As Johnson says, the onus to follow the regulations is on the establishments. Restaurants must supply clear, sealable bags to put opened bottles in, and a receipt for the wine and proof that a meal was purchased must be affixed to the bag. Customers must have had a meal, including an entree, that cost at least $20 for two.

The rules go on to specify that tableware must have been used and food that can ''comfortably be consumed while standing" -- in other words, at the bar -- doesn't define a meal.

Though diners seem ever more eager to take home food for the next day's lunch, they're not carting out wine doggie bags yet. -- ALISON ARNETT