YumSugar

Do You Eat at Restaurants That Don't Take Reservations?

partysugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:50:36 -0700

A couple of weeks ago, I went to grab dinner at Pizzeria Delfina, my favorite local pizza joint. The trendy restaurant is always packed, and although it doesn't take reservations, I normally don't mind going early to put my name on the chalkboard. However, the wait ended up being two hours on a Wednesday night! I couldn't help but think of a friend who refuses to eat at restaurants that don't take reservations - no matter how good the food is. As my stomach growled, I wished I was more like her. Where do you side on the matter?

Do You Call to Cancel Reservations?

YumSugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:00:07 -0700

I dine out with friends and family all the time, and inevitably there are always scheduling changes. When I need to cancel a reservation, add or subtract a party member in a way that would affect table count, push dinner back, or am running late, I always make sure to call the restaurant - and more often than not, they thank me for calling. Do you do the same?

How Long Will You Wait For a Table?

partysugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:30:52 -0700

Yesterday on his blog, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer discussed the no-reservation restaurant trend. While he doesn't enjoy it, Bauer will sometimes wait up to an hour for a table.

When I have no place to be, I'm willing to wait an hour, especially if the eatery has a bar. How about you?

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How Do You Make Reservations?

YumSugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:45:43 -0700

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal that reviewed online dining reservation applications prompted a discussion I had with PartySugar about the preferred method for booking reservations. If possible, I'll score a reservation online; it's convenient and sites such as OpenTable offer incentive points for doing so. Party, however, always prefers to book over the phone; she believes it's easier to get a reservation that way. I'm curious to know: how do you book your dinner reservations?

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Are You Willing to Hold Tables With Your Credit Card?

YumSugar — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:00:11 -0800

The other day, I was on OpenTable to book a reservation at Range, a popular restaurant in San Francisco, and the online service prompted me to enter in my credit card number. It may not be the norm, but some restaurants - like Agave and Momofuku Ko - stand by this policy. Although it could seem risky to reveal a credit card number before any sort of purchase has been made, the practice seems to make sense for those restaurants who would have lost significant business due to no-shows.

What is your opinion on this issue? Are you willing to, or have you, plunked down your credit card number to secure a reservation?

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What Would You Do?

partysugar — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:11:51 -0700

We've all been in crazy situations and I want to know how you handle entertaining blusters and bad restaurant behavior. Much like our What Would You Make feature, I'll present a situation and you tell me what you would do.

Here's the scenario: you're at a new, trendy restaurant. You don't have a reservation but, it's 8:15 and you figure they might be able to squeeze you in. When you arrive at the restaurant there are several open tables. However, the hostess tells you there is a 20-minute wait. You are in no hurry and decide to wait. The 20 minutes go by and there is still an empty table. All of a sudden you realize you've been waiting 50 minutes and the table is still empty. What would you do?

To see what I did in this situation - true story, it happened to me a couple of weeks ago! - read more.

I went to the hostess and told her we had been waiting for almost an hour when she said the wait was only 20 minutes. While, I understand that people with reservations get priority over those without them, I wondered why we stood there for 50 minutes when we could have been seated and eating. Luckily I noticed there was a spot clearing up at the bar. I told her we would like to sit there. The open spot was only for two people and we were three, but it was better than waiting outside in the cold night!

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Have You Ever Been Rushed Out of a Restaurant?

YumSugar — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:01:51 -0800

Last week food blogger Sam Breach recounted an incident where her late - as in less than an hour before closing time - reservation caused the staff to rush her through her meal. I personally thought it was unacceptable, why take a reservation so close to closing time if you're only going to rush people out? Yet I must admit, I don't like making reservations so late, mostly because I'm worried of being rushed out. So tell me, have you ever been rushed through a meal?

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Did the Restaurant Do the Right Thing?

YumSugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 07:28:31 -0800

The other night my friends and I were out and about and decided to grab some dinner. At 7:35, we popped in to a small sushi place and asked if they had a table for four. Our chances didn't look good - there was only one table left and it had a reserved sign on it - but the hostess disappeared into the back and about five minutes later she returned, removed the reserved table and sat our party.

We proceeded to sit down, order drinks, and peruse the menu. A few minutes later - at least 7:45 - a lady entered the restaurant and was really upset to hear that she no longer had her 7:30 reservation. The hostess said she called twice, but that no one answered. Personally I wondered why - if the lady knew she was going to be late - she didn't call the restaurant herself.

So what do you think, was it okay for the restaurant to give the table away? Or should they have waited?

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Happy Hour: Canadian Club 30-Year Reserve Whiskey

partysugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:15:37 -0700

This Father's Day why not surprise dad with a premium, limited-edition bottle of whiskey by Canadian Club ($200)? In celebration of their 150th anniversary, Canadian Club has released a 30-year reserve whiskey in a special collector's bottle. I was lucky enough to get a bottle and was wonderfully surprised by the smooth, rich tasting spirit. It has a smoky nose with hints of honey, vanilla, and caramel on the tongue. Unlike other whiskeys, there is no biting aftertaste: the finish is lush and subtly spicy. This whiskey is very easy to drink and although I enjoyed it after dinner on the rocks, it would make a lovely Manhattan. Since my dad is a whiskey drinker, I plan on sharing the bottle with him. Do you drink whiskey? What's your favorite label?

There Will Be No Reservations This Holiday Season

YumSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:03:31 -0700

In an attempt to score a lot of viewers, television holiday specials always seem to have the oddest premises - such as the infamous David Bowie/Bing Crosby pairing and the beyond weird Star Wars Christmas special. Well, this Christmas, we can add another "weird-but-amazing" special to the list: the No Reservations Holiday Special.

The Queens of the Stone Age have just performed "~~Silver~~ Turkey Bells" for Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation special. While Bourdain was cooking up a full traditional meal in his Connecticut home, the Queens were down in his basement rocking out in the finest holiday sweaters. They then joined him for some holiday fun. They won't say exactly what will happen - we have to watch for that - but they have hinted to karaoke, surly adolescents, Japanese businessmen and violence. Or as Bourdain said:

“It’s a traditional Thanksgiving/Christmas meal with turkey, all the trimmings, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie … some Christmas carols … and a vicious brother-on-brother knife fight.”

I don't know about you guys, but I am counting down the days until this airs.

Source: Rolling Stone - Thanks to geeksugar for the tip!