Difficulty getting reservations
 

I was actually going to post something awhile back about difficulty getting reservations at places in the US. Money quote, "Getting into America's hot restaurants has become a sport, and as such unless you're part of the rich and famous sect, most folks have about as much chance of getting into the hip and happening places as getting to watch the Super Bowl." I would call this hyperbole except for a laughable time I had trying to get a table at Komi a year or so ago.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/...-reservations/

People in the US, what do you think - overblown, or is there a nugget of truth in this?

Overblown. You can get a table anywhere with enough planning ahead. You only need to be rich and famous to get a table at the trendiest of trendy places at the last minute. And it depends on location. You can get a table at a very nice restaurant at nearly the last minute in Chicago, but in New York you would need to make a reservation ahead of time.

I think Next in Chicago is one of the hottest tables around, and I have had season tickets to them since they opened.

The Little Owl in NYC is very tough to get a table at since the Times' critic raved about it six years ago or so. It's a small restaurant with not many seatings per night. I figured out when their reservations window opened, made a calendar reminder, and got a 7pm table on the night I wanted.

Just takes planning. :)

I was wondering if maybe the US is tougher because outside of major metropolitan areas there are fewer high-end places, sort of skewing the supply/demand curve for those tables. I just did a spot check on my iPhone of places within 50 miles of my house (I live in a rural area) and there are 41 Michelin-starred restaurants (34 - one star/3 -two star /4 - three star) in that area. There's such an incredible diversity of nice places that you don't even really worry about not getting a reservation; if a place is full you simply call another.

Outside of major cities, not as many people want/have the disposable income to eat "foo foo" food. Plus, lunches at these restaurants are far less busy than during dinner so you could always go then.

Outside of major metropolitan areas I don't think there's enough demand for high end dining to really support a diverse restaurant population. There are a few exceptions - California wine country comes to mind. Not to over generalize, but I think many Americans are less interested in fine dining than many Europeans. Most people I know who don't live in a big city consider Applebee's a fancy restaurant.

I think it's a question of quality/frequency. Most people here don't eat out that often but when they do it is an occasion and they want a nice experience that transcends the food alone. That's why dinners sometime last for hours and no one would ever think about rushing you out. You're probably right, but I've always wondered if you could put a great restaurant out in the middle of nowhere in the USA and get enough people to make the journey to support it.

In some places, yes (Napa, some resorts sprinkled around, etc). But it's the exception rather than the rule.

Often, the trendiest places are merely trendy and serve lousy food. Here today and gone tomorrow.

If you seriously can't get a table on your own, call the concierge at the hotel at which you are staying and see what he can do. Make sure you tell him it will be worth his while and make sure it's worth his while when you arrive.

People write about trouble getting reservations because its in their interest to do so: they're trying to impress their readers, or they're trying to impress their customers, or they're trying to impress their seatmates.

And the cities where with the fancy places are the cities where people need something to write about.

It's never in anyone's interest to say "yeah, it's easy to get a seat here".

The only place I've had any real trouble getting a reservation was French Laundry. I would have given up long ago, except my dining companion was willing to put in the hard work to actually get the reservation -- call up every morning at exactly 10 am, as they open up the reservations book for the day exactly two months in advance. She had to do this for several months before she managed to get through.

I imagine Northern California is particularly bad for this, because there aren't all that many really snazzy restaurants, and yet there's a lot of people with far too much disposable income. The ratio has got to be way off compared to New York, where there's a Michelin starred restaurant on every block.

I got lucky with French Laundry. I was in a bar in Chicago and struck up a conversation with the guy sitting next to me. Turned out he worked there, and when I was in the area a couple months later he helped me get a table. Even sent us a bottle of Champagne!

Good god, talk about winning the lottery.

Definitely seems like that area could be ripe for at least one more very high end place from some celebrity chef.

Overblown. Or, there are several layers to what constitutes a "hot" restaurant. Here in Chicago, tickets are required for Next and Alinea, and a reservation is usually required for The Aviary (bar). Those places might be difficult to get into on short notice, but many aren't. Girl & The Goat has been perpetually hot since it opened 3 or 4 years ago (OpenTable says the next available tables are in mid-July), but you can still walk in and eat at the bar tonight.

Wait. I didn't realize the source of your clip. You're asking if something you saw on Fox News is overblown. If it's on Fox "News", it is, by definition, overblown.

I had trouble with Eleven Madisson (Dinner) and Per Se (both). But in the end I always got a table:)