The only thing pointing this out to Patton Oswalt might do is make him feel bad that his presence caused other people to be bumped. He tweeted about his reservation before the actual night, so it's not like he called that day and said "feed me".

He's a known foodie, who often tweets about his meals.

leek wrote:The only thing pointing this out to Patton Oswalt might do is make him feel bad that his presence caused other people to be bumped.

We couldn't have that. He could go all Lindsay Lohan on us.

No offense to PO. If he's a well-grounded as Remy, he'll do just fine.

They cancelled on someone else as well on Friday
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/773222#6396835

There is, of course, the possibility that Oswalt is lying.

Kman wrote:There is, of course, the possibility that Oswalt is lying.

Not likely... He posted a photo of him and the chefs on twitter...

CrazyC wrote:

Kman wrote:There is, of course, the possibility that Oswalt is lying.

Not likely... He posted a photo of him and the chefs on twitter...

Photoshop! Oh well, whenever dradeli goes back maybe make a point of asking to sit at PO's table, since he sat at yours.

The Bill Kim episode and now the Oswalt bumping really make the title of this thread prescient . . . though unfortunately in a different context.

Maybe PO brought his plunger and bailed them out.

Just wondering if anyone out there knows if their cancellations are legitimate. This happened to a friend of mine and to me personally.

My friend made a reservation for February 16 and it was cancelled about 3 hours before the scheduled dinner. Her out-of-town guest had stayed an extra night in a hotel (she lives in Canada) to go to Schwa. During the call with Schwa about the cancellation, my friend thought fast and secured another reservation. This second reservation was on March 25 (this time I was invited as part of the party) and it was cancelled about 2 hours before scheduled for dinner. My fiancé had already decanted wine worth more than $100. It was our last bottle from our trip to Portland OR wine country.

What’s troubling is that there are comments on Yelp that indicate that even though we were told by Schwa the cancellation was due to a water main break (or oven malfunction, can’t remember which cancellation excuse they used for which reservation), the restaurant WAS open that evening and people dined there!!

Does anyone have information on these practices? If indeed they are lying when they cancel some reservations, I think the public has a right to know.

At this point I have little doubt that Schwa is in fact canceling reservations for reasons other than what they tell customers over the phone. They should know that in the internet age such behavior is all but guaranteed to be exposed to the public. I had planned to make a reservation there in late May with a group of friends visiting from out of town, but now I am very hesitant to do so. It won't be long before these practices hurt their bottom line.

I can't speak for everyone, but I think most of the public (let alone LTH-goers) that does any bit of research on Schwa will be aware of these practices. It is a shame, since the place puts out some of the best food I've ever eaten, but it is what it is. You just got to take the good with the bad when dealing with a man like Chef Carlson. I'm not condoning the practice, but he does have the right to do as he pleases so long as it is not discriminatory. Personally, I think that part of the allure of Schwa rests in its unpredictability. But, this is spoken from someone who was not left out in the cold hours before their reservation - so take what I say with a grain of salt. There are plenty of other great restaurants in the city with more reliable reservation systems, so the first thing anyone should do is have a backup plan! Happy eating

I'd love to be their plumber . . . the hours I could bill!

=R=

AudreyS wrote:Just wondering if anyone out there knows if their cancellations are legitimate. This happened to a friend of mine and to me personally.

My friend made a reservation for February 16 and it was cancelled about 3 hours before the scheduled dinner. Her out-of-town guest had stayed an extra night in a hotel (she lives in Canada) to go to Schwa. During the call with Schwa about the cancellation, my friend thought fast and secured another reservation. This second reservation was on March 25 (this time I was invited as part of the party) and it was cancelled about 2 hours before scheduled for dinner. My fiancé had already decanted wine worth more than $100. It was our last bottle from our trip to Portland OR wine country.

What’s troubling is that there are comments on Yelp that indicate that even though we were told by Schwa the cancellation was due to a water main break (or oven malfunction, can’t remember which cancellation excuse they used for which reservation), the restaurant WAS open that evening and people dined there!!

Does anyone have information on these practices? If indeed they are lying when they cancel some reservations, I think the public has a right to know.

It's not that I'm not sympathetic to your plight, but I can't help but think of the story of a person who goes to a doctor and says "It hurts when I do this." Of course, the doctor says "Don't do that."

The stories of the unreliability of a booking at Schwa are so legend that I would never assume that I would be eating there on any given night until I'm sitting at the table. I would never put myself out there in some way financially or emotionally or pin my hopes on the reservation meaning much of anything. It's unfortunately that so many apparently special occasions have been 'ruined' by what may simply be a need to reduce the number of covers on a given night due to staff illness, etc.

A long time ago I stopped thinking of Schwa as a special occasion restaurant...I avoid it in any type of circumstance where a last minute cancellation/rescheduling would be stressful. It would likely help their image quite a good deal if people simply ate there more often (easier said than done, I know) and simply because they are hoping to enjoy a good meal. Then, when they needed to cancel/reschedule would not feel like such a crushing blow.

Who knew that Schwa would become a Pop-Up Restaurant?

AudreyS wrote:Just wondering if anyone out there knows if their cancellations are legitimate. This happened to a friend of mine and to me personally.

My friend made a reservation for February 16 and it was cancelled about 3 hours before the scheduled dinner. Her out-of-town guest had stayed an extra night in a hotel (she lives in Canada) to go to Schwa. During the call with Schwa about the cancellation, my friend thought fast and secured another reservation. This second reservation was on March 25 (this time I was invited as part of the party) and it was cancelled about 2 hours before scheduled for dinner. My fiancé had already decanted wine worth more than $100. It was our last bottle from our trip to Portland OR wine country.

What’s troubling is that there are comments on Yelp that indicate that even though we were told by Schwa the cancellation was due to a water main break (or oven malfunction, can’t remember which cancellation excuse they used for which reservation), the restaurant WAS open that evening and people dined there!!

Does anyone have information on these practices? If indeed they are lying when they cancel some reservations, I think the public has a right to know.

How many outlets did you send this story to?

I already said what I wanted to say on yet ANOTHER blog. (Dining Diva)
But, I shall agree with Pastry643.

It's SCHWA! It's not Alinea, nor RIA, nor any other restaurant out there. If they wanna do that they can. It's punk rock and I love it! It's a place after my own heart.

You knew what you were getting into. And I shall make a reso. at Schwa sometime, (it's not that hard they answer the phone when I've called) and make a reso., and if they cancel on me prior then I shall go somewhere else. No harm. No foul. No big deal.

I am so happy to see Schwa staying true to themselves and not changing no matter what stars they get, or accolades nor Beard awards.

Then why take reservations at all?

Just throw the doors open at whatever O'Clock and the first 20 people (or however many they can seat) get to eat. The rest go elsewhere.

I have to take issue with chicagotraveler24. Schwa isn't punk rock. Punk rock is about working-class politics and challenging 'the man.' In this case, much as it pains me to say it, Carlson is the man. You know what's punk rock, though? People calling out this kind of practice in a democratic forum like lth. Transparency is important to this community, and of course with knowledge, everyone is free to make a choice: Happily play by Schwa's rules and ideally have a memorable meal as a reward, or opt out of something that doesn't feel right.

And before the moderators quibble about this thread not being about the food, I think we need to acknowledge it's tough to talk about the food when your reservation's been cancelled.

ChristyP wrote:Schwa isn't punk rock. Punk rock is about working-class politics and challenging 'the man.'

Anyone who's listened closely to the lyrics of The Clash's "Does the Prix Fixe Include Wine Pairings?" will know just how wrong you are.

GAF wrote:Who knew that Schwa would become a Pop-Up Restaurant?

I like the idea of a growing taxonomy of restaurant reservation systems.

Restaurants that take reservations
Those that don't
Or don't usually except when a smart phone app offers the opportunity for a reservation
Restaurants that take reservations by phone only
At certain hours
Or only online
Reservations that require credit cards numbers
Or original and/or facsimile signatures and/or other IDs
Reservations that require partial or complete payment of the meal
With cost determined by reservation date, day and time
Reservations that require a secret word or tap dance
Or only by invitation or referral...

I think Malcolm Gladwell needs to sort this all out. At least very least, I'd like to see Chris Ware plot a bumped Schwa reservation episode in a dramatic comic.

A friend last month said she wanted to take me to dinner at Schwa as a thank you for a favor. She said she'd take care of all of the details. Not knowing anything about the restaurant except my fondness for it, she asked, "They take reservations or not?" I really liked that this seemingly simple question brought our rapid-fire SMS message exchange to an abrupt halt. I responded, "I'll call u later, need to explain."

Then again, I've not been bumped by Schwa, and in general I've been trying to approach reservations in a more light-hearted way. I think it was just last month also, some very special person out there thought it would be a worthwhile prank-hack to make dozens of restaurant reservations around town using my name. Like nearly 100 reservations, all for a single week. I give my joker-admirer credit for, first, paying enough attention to choose restaurants I like and, second, for giving me the opportunity to reflect on what can be the absurdity of chasing reservations.

All of that said, and no thanks to my dear hacker, I am part of three parties that have reservations at Schwa next month. I'll write about food if one of those meals works out.

ChristyP wrote:And before the moderators quibble about this thread not being about the food, I think we need to acknowledge it's tough to talk about the food when your reservation's been cancelled.

Not so much quibble its not about the food, but more that this has been gone over and over and over and over starting on page one of this 24 page thread.

Carlson is NOT the "man". I mean, yeah,---he is, but in other ways. He does whatever he wants and if anything he's the Frank Sinatra of cooking. He does it, HIS way.

People in Chicago are VERY aware of the fact Schwa will shut down for a celeb, or for a VIP chef, or special dinner, or just because they feel like it.

Ok. So? And?

I've never had a problem making or keeping a reservation. Call me lucky, or what but I just don't see the big FUSS.

What about Momofuku Ko? They only take reso's through their labyrinth of an online reservation system, and if you don't do it precisely correct, then you lose! So we are supposed to be mad at them too when we don't "win."? What about people who aren't tech savvy isn't that excluding them? Isn't that sooo unfair?

Accept it, or just simply make a reservation at a place that will honor it.

cilantro wrote:

ChristyP wrote:Schwa isn't punk rock. Punk rock is about working-class politics and challenging 'the man.'

Anyone who's listened closely to the lyrics of The Clash's "Does the Prix Fixe Include Wine Pairings?" will know just how wrong you are.

I'm pretty sure that The Clash answered their own question in their subsequent hit, "Rock the Cash Bar."
--Rich

RAB wrote:

cilantro wrote:

ChristyP wrote:Schwa isn't punk rock. Punk rock is about working-class politics and challenging 'the man.'

Anyone who's listened closely to the lyrics of The Clash's "Does the Prix Fixe Include Wine Pairings?" will know just how wrong you are.

I'm pretty sure that The Clash answered their own question in their subsequent hit, "Rock the Cash Bar."
--Rich

And on that, I move we declare RAB the winner of the thread and lay this one to rest.

I figured the staff favorites were
Reservations on my back
Or, The call up
From Sandinista!

But I could be

Wrong 'Em Boyo

Moderator Note:

I think that most of us would like to see this thread move on. While the reservation and cancellation issues at Schwa are very much in-bounds, as G Wiv and others posted above, those general issues have already been discussed into oblivion on this thread. I believe the debate over them has played out, as well. Everyone here seems to know what the potential pitfalls are when making reservations at Schwa. They're either issues you can live with . . . or not. But I don't believe any minds here will be changed through further discussion of them. Weighing in with one's opinion of those issues seems like water under the bridge (or gasoline on the fire) at this point.

It would be greatly appreciated if everyone here could use a little restraint in their future posts regarding Schwa. If confused, a simple rule of thumb to follow would be to limit one's posts to one's own direct experiences with Schwa. In addition to actual dining experiences, those can certainly include experiences with reservations and cancellations. But again, weighing in just to voice which side of the debate you're on is pretty much a waste of everyone's time.

Thanks,

=R=
for the moderators

Had a reservation at Schwa for myself and 3 out-of-town friends this evening at 9pm. Got a call at 7pm canceling for plumbing issues. Not happy.

Has anyone tried throwing gas on the fire by going to Schwa after getting one of these cancellation calls and seeing if they're open? What would happen if they were and you walked in saying..."fixed your plumbing huh? Can I have my table now?"

Better yet: don't answer your phone. Show up at your scheduled time. Watch what happens.

Can we start a new thread solely devoted to people reporting cancelled reservations?