[pimlottc]

At Alinea, it works just like you suggest - the ticket price is just covers the core meal, with the drinks being extra and settled at the end of the meal. Interestingly enough, though, the sister restaurant Next does require you to purchase your drinks option as part of the ticket. But I doubt there is much problem, as they provide a highly-coordinated service that already requires a constant awareness of where you are in the meal at all times.

For the non-high-end, non-pre-fixe market, the ticket is normally a deposit on the meal price, so you'd still have to settle the remainder of the bill when you're finished.