When I go out to eat, it's to eat food that someone else makes, not to brag about getting a reservation at hooty-tooty-restaurant. Yeah, I eat at Applebee's and places like that where reservations are not necessary unless you have a large group. I like to spend about $25 on dinner, not $250.

I feel no need to brag about where I've gotten a reservation, just as I feel no need to brag about how little or how much I've spent on a meal.

Not everyone who chooses to eat food that they probably couldn't make in their own kitchens is doing it for the bragging rights. Many of us are doing it because it's gives us pleasure in life. You can't understand why I might spend a large amount on a meal, and I can't understand why someone might spend thousands of dollars on a Super Bowl ticket or a new watch. Different strokes for different folks.

Look at you being all fancy with your Applebee's and $25 for dinner. I like to spend about $11 on chipotle, not $25+tip like you fancy guys and your fancy chain dinners.

Very few people brag about getting a reservation at "hooty-tooty-restaurants", but don't knock it until you try it. You remind me of people that think fine dining is going out to a chain restaurant like Olive Garden or Red Lobster....

I'm thankful that in the DC area most restaurants take walk-ins and there are very few if any that are fully booked every seating.

I've had $100 a person entrees and $10 a person entrees, I enjoy both equally and for what they have to offer.

Sometimes you want a nice Foie Gras, sometimes you want a large bowl of chipotle.

People that are snobbish one way or the other suck and are missing out on the glory of high-end food and the glory of fried chicken in a bucket.

It´s nothing about bragging. I only like to eat at this restaurant. I would perfer, that it´s not difficult to get a reservation. I´m always on the search for the "perfect meal". I don´t care, what other people think, if the can afford or if it is the hooty-tooty restaurant. I´m only focused on the food and the ambience.

I detest the idea of having to call exactly at 10:00am every day for weeks, or where the phone line is always busy, or where they never respond to e-mails (like El Bulli when that was open), etc. Of course, it's supply and demand, so I don't begrudge restaurants where demand far outstrips supply.

But do some restaurants deliberately make it more difficult for normal people to make a reservation just to maintain that exclusivity and/or build hype? Of course. In such cases, I don't bother. I have never rationalized it being worth it. I vote with my feet and go elsewhere, like to one of the aforementioned Michelin-star restaurants in Europe, where it seems usually feasible to get a reservation with reasonable advance planning.

Some restaurants could probably double their prices and increase profit overall, yet the tradeoff would be a few empty seats such that one could usually get a reservation. They are free to define their own business models, so I can't be grudge them for not choosing to do that, either.

You have to play the phone game if you want a case or two of Westvleteren beer. I am happy to play their game because the end result is so worth it.