turkob wrote:To echo what Nero said, if a restaurant is so popular that you have to plan reservations far in advance, I'm a lot less likely to go. All things being equal, I prefer a restaurant where I can make a reservation a day or two in advance. If they require over a week's notice then I have to really want to go there. If Avec had a 2-3 week lead time on reservations, I'd go a lot less frequently. But as it is, I know that if I show up early enough I'll be seated at a reasonable hour. The lesser evil in my book.

Totally agree with everything you said.

ChitownJackson wrote: If we're going to dedicate half the official Ruxbin thread tearing the place to shreds for their no reservations policy without mods doing anything about it, why aren't we ripping Next for their ridiculous ticketing policy?

Did you not read this thread? Plenty of ripping for your reading pleasure.

ChitownJackson wrote:The ones we want to dine at are all the ones with the longest waitlists and as I've stated elsewhere, I cannot tell you what I'll be doing this Saturday night, let alone 12 to 14 Saturday nights from now in July or August. If you live a life where you can plan your weekend nights two or three months ahead around what restaurant you're going to, hey man, it's a free country and that's awesome. Go for it.

Mine? If I'm feeling like Big Star at 5 p.m. on a Saturday, I'm there because I'm spontaneous like that. If I want Xoco at 7 p.m. on a Thursday night, I'm there. Ruxbin this Friday? Okay. Sure. I don't like planning things out because I never know what's going to happen, and I hate canceling reservations on places.

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here as so many others have said the same thing prior to this discussion in the Ruxbin thread. What's so hard for you to understand that not everyone wants to plan their weekends out (sometimes) months in advance?

Hi CJ,

I guess we are totally different in this area. I plan restaurant activities out in advance because the folks I go with are all as busy as I am, and as busy as I'm sure most of us are. If that means getting together with Couple X at Goosefoot in August, so be it. But I do it because that's a place I want to go. In answer to your question of why it's hard to understand, it's because I've known a lot of people who operate like this because they're always afraid to plan because "something better might come along". (Not that this is your mindset. I don't know you at all. I'm just recounting people I know like this). They're the same people that won't RSVP to parties and then just show up, because apparently the party was the best thing they could come up with.

I guess I don't understand why planning is bad, but that's a completely different discussion. Maybe the thing that isn't getting planned is the "something better".

P.S. I hate the Next system too and haven't even tried to go there because of it.

ChitownJackson wrote:So you can walk up to Girl & the Goat and get seated, and stay as long as you want on a Friday or Saturday night?

I don't know. I never said anything up to this point about staying as long as one wanted -- and neither did you. You're moving the goal posts, now. But yes, you can walk in there at around 5pm and usually get a seat. I've only been there twice and both times it was true.

ChitownJackson wrote:So, for you to say we could have our pick of "pretty much any" restaurant isn't true at all because the one we were at last weekend told us we had to be out by 6:30 p.m. (Ruxbin has never done this to us and in fact we usually stay past 8 and do dessert if we arrive at open.)

Plus, who's "pretty much any" list are we talking about? Your list? Who's to say mine isn't totally different?

Many restaurants have walk-in seating available when they first open. I'd guess that it's a vast majority of local restaurants but I don't know for sure. What I do know is that you're again talking about how long one can stay, an issue I never mentioned.

ChitownJackson wrote:The ones we want to dine at are all the ones with the longest waitlists and as I've stated elsewhere, I cannot tell you what I'll be doing this Saturday night, let alone 12 to 14 Saturday nights from now in July or August. If you live a life where you can plan your weekend nights two or three months ahead around what restaurant you're going to, hey man, it's a free country and that's awesome. Go for it.

Mine? If I'm feeling like Big Star at 5 p.m. on a Saturday, I'm there because I'm spontaneous like that. If I want Xoco at 7 p.m. on a Thursday night, I'm there. Ruxbin this Friday? Okay. Sure. I don't like planning things out because I never know what's going to happen, and I hate canceling reservations on places.

What's your point? I like Big Star. I like Xoco. When they're too crowded I go somewhere else. Just last Friday afternoon I waited over 30 minutes to order at Xoco. Great stuff, as usual!

ChitownJackson wrote:I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here as so many others have said the same thing prior to this discussion in the Ruxbin thread. What's so hard for you to understand that not everyone wants to plan their weekends out (sometimes) months in advance?

I asked an earnest question and didn't understand the logic behind the answer. I sincerely thought we were just chatting. I respect your point of view. I just don't agree with it, especially now that you've explained it.

ChitownJackson wrote:What makes me snicker is the clientele. Most of these individuals who are used to getting reservations because of their connections hold a severe bias—a form of elitism—and they will not stand in line with average, ordinary folk because it is below them. Places like Ruxbin anger them greatly because they cannot use their influence to bend the restaurant policies to their will.

People are used to being able to make reservations. That's mainly why they bristle at the idea of having to wait in line for a table. I think the dimestore psychoanalysis is way off-base. And you've completely missed or ignored the concept of giving preferential treatment to regular customers, which is hardly a form of elitism.

ChitownJackson wrote:Just a few weeks ago at Ruxbin, a guy rolled up in a Mercedes SLK at about 5:10, parked directly in front of the restaurant with his hazards on (it's a no parking zone at any time), and waited in line behind us until 5:30. He was alone and in workout clothes so I'm guessing he was trying to land reservations. I didn't hear the conversation that happened between he and the front of the house, but since he was not seated I'm imagining it didn't work out too well for him. Want to bet that guy tried to work his way in, holding spots for his friends later that night, like he does everywhere else? I love seeing people like that get denied. How hard is it to hit the website before you show up? Due diligence?

Oh, he drove a Mercedes. He must have been a huge asshole. There's no way he went inside and asked politely, right? Oh wait, you didn't hear the conversation.

ChitownJackson wrote:It's [Next is]relevant to this discussion (in my view) because of the three similarities to Ruxbin:

1. It's a hot restaurant with a great chef and great food.
2. There is a thread on this forum dedicated to the restaurant.
3. It has a seating policy that pisses a LOT of people off.

If we're going to dedicate half the official Ruxbin thread tearing the place to shreds for their no reservations policy without mods doing anything about it, why aren't we ripping Next for their ridiculous ticketing policy? I could write you guys a thesis on why that system is a real piece of shit, but you don't see me in there stomping that place.

There's a long thread (several, in fact) in which many people here ripped Next for their ticket policy. One thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=31457

ChitownJackson wrote:The double standards here are a little out of hand sometimes. It took until today before this chat was moved? Yet the discussion about their policy has been there since last year with one or two people constantly coming back to say how crappy their policy is? As moderators you should be able to rise above this.

We actually split this off because we wanted to respect the Ruxbin thread. Before my post earlier this week, the digressive chatter had settled down. For me, though, the dining experience and the no-reservations policy seemed inseparable and I did my best in my post to provide salient details as to why. That's why I included it in my post on that thread. However, once it became digressive to the Ruxbin thread, one of our mods linked to this thread from that one in the hopes that we could have the more general discussion here.

=R=

No Reservations + BYOB is not an ideal combo:

I'm generally agnostic on the no reservations policy, but wanted to make one point in particular about Ruxbin. It's in my neighborhood, but not right out my front door. If I go there, I'm walking, and if it's a weekend I'm planning on going out afterward. Also, I'm bringing a couple of bottles of wine. My wife and I have eaten at Ruxbin once, but since then we've twice shown up pretty early and then twice been shut out, stuck away from home, ready to eat or at least grab some snacks at a bar and then head out for a lively evening. But I'm still holding 2 bottles of wine that end up getting donated to our server at whatever non-BYOB we end up visiting instead.

So we're out the wine, but also, knowing that is a fairly likely scenario, we also bring only inexpensive wines to a restaurant serving what is generally considered top-notch food. Not my ideal situation by a long shot. I mean, we keep some good "value" wines around, but I'd like to be able to take a better bottle somewhere like Ruxbin without worrying that I'll have to go out of my way to take it home or gift it to a stranger.

Since the second time that happened, we've mentioned trying again but so far it keeps losing out to one of the many other great option in the area. So there's one guy's experience.

ChitownJackson wrote:What makes me snicker is the clientele. Most of these individuals who are used to getting reservations because of their connections hold a severe bias—a form of elitism—and they will not stand in line with average, ordinary folk because it is below them. Places like Ruxbin anger them greatly because they cannot use their influence to bend the restaurant policies to their will.

I'm used to getting reservations because I only go to restaurants that take reservations (or places that are so un-hip that there's never a wait). Sadly, this is not because I'm a restaurant industry insider with connections all over town...it's because, for me, going out to dinner means scheduling a sitter and making sure our reservation is late enough that we can put the kids to bed by 7pm, get ready, and get to the restaurant in time - we usually try to get 8pm reservations. Sure, my situation is not Ruxbin's problem, but much as it's your right to defend Ruxbin's no-reservation policy and how it perfectly fits your hip, swingin', devil-may-care lifestyle, it's my right to denounce as a terrible fit for my inflexible, spit-up-covered, "when did we become such squares" lifestyle.

ChitownJackson wrote:Just a few weeks ago at Ruxbin, a guy rolled up in a Mercedes SLK at about 5:10, parked directly in front of the restaurant with his hazards on (it's a no parking zone at any time), and waited in line behind us until 5:30. He was alone and in workout clothes so I'm guessing he was trying to land reservations. I didn't hear the conversation that happened between he and the front of the house, but since he was not seated I'm imagining it didn't work out too well for him. Want to bet that guy tried to work his way in, holding spots for his friends later that night, like he does everywhere else? I love seeing people like that get denied.

I drive a lame SUV, and when I open the door, stale Cheerios and old snot rags fall out. Hopefully this will allow me to fly under the radar...when I pull up, park where ever the hell I want with the hazards on, jump out of the car wearing pajama pants & a holey "MTV Choose or Lose 1998" t-shirt, and stroll in ahead of the line like I own the place, I'm totally gonna work my connections & play the kid card to score the reservations to which I feel I'm entitled. Because I'm not young, hip, or German-convertible-driving, the hoi polloi in line won't know what happened until I'm long gone...muahahahaha!

toria wrote:Its a mixed bag. I like having reservations when I am going with my mom who is elderly and can not wait in line. If a place is really popular and does not take res, then I go early. We went to Bien Trucha tonight and got there around five because we knew the line would go out on the street later. I will only wait fifteen min. for a table. But what about the places who take res and will not seat you if you do not have one? Last week when I went to the Pink Martini concert, we tried to eat at the Gage and had no res. They said they had no tables and wait was over an hour. Next door was Henri, completely empty and they too turned us away because we did not have a res. But they were empty. Strange. We ended up at Russian tea time and they seated us promptly and it was nice and quiet there. Its really frustrating to try to go to the popular places....I've yet to get into Hot Dougs.

If it was right when they began seating for dinner service, my guess is that all the empty tables you saw were about to be seated with reservations. It's very awkward to tell a potential guest that you can not accommodate them when the room is empty. But if you know all those tables are going to be (hopefully) full within the next 30-45 mins, you have to honor that.

John Danza wrote:I guess we are totally different in this area. I plan restaurant activities out in advance because the folks I go with are all as busy as I am, and as busy as I'm sure most of us are. If that means getting together with Couple X at Goosefoot in August, so be it. But I do it because that's a place I want to go. In answer to your question of why it's hard to understand, it's because I've known a lot of people who operate like this because they're always afraid to plan because "something better might come along". (Not that this is your mindset. I don't know you at all. I'm just recounting people I know like this). They're the same people that won't RSVP to parties and then just show up, because apparently the party was the best thing they could come up with.

I guess I don't understand why planning is bad, but that's a completely different discussion. Maybe the thing that isn't getting planned is the "something better".

If your lifestyle allows you to plan out weekends in August, here on May 1, that's totally awesome. I wish I could do that. But I can't. And I'm glad there are a handful of restaurants in Chicago that allow me to wander in and enjoy a fantastic meal without trying to kick me out early.

That's what so great, and that's what I was trying to get across that ronnie didn't seem to understand. There are restaurants that cater to people of all types. Avoid the ones you don't agree with and life goes on.

Khaopaat wrote:I'm used to getting reservations because I only go to restaurants that take reservations (or places that are so un-hip that there's never a wait). Sadly, this is not because I'm a restaurant industry insider with connections all over town...it's because, for me, going out to dinner means scheduling a sitter and making sure our reservation is late enough that we can put the kids to bed by 7pm, get ready, and get to the restaurant in time - we usually try to get 8pm reservations. Sure, my situation is not Ruxbin's problem, but much as it's your right to defend Ruxbin's no-reservation policy and how it perfectly fits your hip, swingin', devil-may-care lifestyle, it's my right to denounce as a terrible fit for my inflexible, spit-up-covered, "when did we become such squares" lifestyle.

You sound like a perfectly reasonable individual so you probably have read all my previous Ruxbin posts and understand where I'm coming from.

However, where have I ever ripped on "making reservations"? For the record, I think reservations are fantastic.

I am, however, incredibly happy that Ruxbin does not offer them.

ChitownJackson wrote:I drive a lame SUV, and when I open the door, stale Cheerios and old snot rags fall out. Hopefully this will allow me to fly under the radar...when I pull up, park where ever the hell I want with the hazards on, jump out of the car wearing pajama pants & a holey "MTV Choose or Lose 1998" t-shirt, and stroll in ahead of the line like I own the place, I'm totally gonna work my connections & play the kid card to score the reservations to which I feel I'm entitled. Because I'm not young, hip, or German-convertible-driving, the hoi polloi in line won't know what happened until I'm long gone...muahahahaha!

If you did that, it would be great and I'd probably make fun of you too. But only in jest.

With "SLK-Guy" (yes, we refer to him a lot because he was that awesome), I left out a few important details because it wasn't my intention to smear this guy on a public forum. I wanted to use him as an example, which seemed to blow past everyone.

I saved you for last because you're the most fun. (And so serious, too.)

ronnie_suburban wrote: I never said anything up to this point about staying as long as one wanted -- and neither did you. You're moving the goal posts, now. But yes, you can walk in there at around 5pm and usually get a seat. I've only been there twice and both times it was true.

So you only mentioned, in that previous conversation, that we could "have our pick of almost any restaurant in Chicago" but not actually stay and eat there for as long as we wanted? Uhh.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Many restaurants have walk-in seating available when they first open. I'd guess that it's a vast majority of local restaurants but I don't know for sure. What I do know is that you're again talking about how long one can stay, an issue I never mentioned.

You said we could have our pick of "almost any restaurant". I simply posted a restaurant we went to the week prior where this was not the case. Just pointing out that "close" only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades.

ronnie_suburban wrote: What's your point? I like Big Star. I like Xoco. When they're too crowded I go somewhere else. Just last Friday afternoon I waited over 30 minutes to order at Xoco. Great stuff, as usual!

My point is that, for the 250-thousandth time, and since you specifically asked me to describe why we like places with no reservation policies, it's nice to have choices, ronnie. We like being able to go to Ruxbin and wait 30 minutes for a kickass meal with no prior planning needed. If that ever changes, I'll let you know.

ronnie_suburban wrote: I asked an earnest question and didn't understand the logic behind the answer. I sincerely thought we were just chatting. I respect your point of view. I just don't agree with it, especially now that you've explained it.

And that's why I explained it again, super clear like, so even the 90-yr olds reading could understand it.

ronnie_suburban wrote: People are used to being able to make reservations. That's mainly why they bristle at the idea of having to wait in line for a table. I think the dimestore psychoanalysis is way off-base. And you've completely missed or ignored the concept of giving preferential treatment to regular customers, which is hardly a form of elitism.

Pretty bold statement. "People." What people? The people of your kingdom? How do you know this?

Come on. There are tons of "people" who don't want to deal with the bullshit of playing games with restaurants and their stupid reservation systems. They posted in that very Ruxbin thread, and also in this thread.

Next? G&tG? Schwa, anyone? Oh yeah, the plumbing broke again.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Oh, he drove a Mercedes. He must have been a huge asshole. There's no way he went inside and asked politely, right? Oh wait, you didn't hear the conversation.

Nah, he was an idiot because he showed up to one of the hottest restaurants in Chicago without even doing two minutes of research on the place he was going. Ironically, he sat there texting and doing whatever the hell on his iPhone, walking past the 15 people ahead of him, pulling on the door handle a few times, looking in through the glass and then looking at all the people in line like he as totally bewildered without saying a word. He was a real standout, ronnie. Probably a Mensa candidate.

ronnie_suburban wrote:We actually split this off because we wanted to respect the Ruxbin thread. Before my post earlier this week, the digressive chatter had settled down. For me, though, the dining experience and the no-reservations policy seemed inseparable and I did my best in my post to provide salient details as to why. That's why I included it in my post on that thread. However, once it became digressive to the Ruxbin thread, one of our mods linked to this thread from that one in the hopes that we could have the more general discussion here.

I'm glad it split off. I'm saying it ought to have happened much earlier.

I've read through this thread. The Ruxbin thread. The many pages of the many Next threads. Reservations suck. Reservations are great. Some people will have fantastic experiences at GNRs. Others will have less than fantastic experiences at GNRs. Differing opinions and interesting discourse...welcome to LTH!

For herself,

ChitownJackson wrote:In the end, above everything else that's been said, it's really the following two points for us and we're glad Ruxbin is making it work:
1. Miss Chitown and I LOVE (yes, truly love) the ability to decide the night before that we want to go to Ruxbin, and actually be ABLE to go. We show up at 5 p.m. and we are seated 30 minutes later. A 30-minute investment with no prior planning needed? I cannot name many decent sit-down dinner restaurants in Chicago where we can do this. Not with the food and hospitality we've experienced here.

If you are willing to eat at 5pm, you can probably eat in 99.9 percent of restaurants in Chicago, including most of the so-called decent sit-down dinner restaurants. The issue of reservations is acute when you want to sit down at prime time. The issue of being asked to give up a table is not unique to restaurants that take reservations either.

ChitownJackson wrote:2. Personally, we're sick of dealing with Chicago restaurants that cater to "connected" individuals. That is, you have to be someone to have a chance at getting a decent reservation at a decent time. I see all these people getting Next tickets and special treatments at restaurants and it makes me snicker because I understand that's how the dining industry works for you guys, and that's great. But don't be pissed off when a place tells you to wait in line with all the other lowly grunts. And don't tell the world that the policy is "wrong" because it's an inconvenience to you. To many people, it's a blessing. Everyone we've ever talked to in line does the same thing we do and can't say enough about the place. *shrug*

I hate to break it to you, but a lot of places that don't accept reservations still give special treatment to so-called connected individuals and regular customers.

The truth is that the number of places where you need to wait months for a reservation is really small. Moreover, some of these places are simply hot because they are new. You might wait a month for a reservation now, but by next year you'll only have to wait a day or two.

Darren72 wrote:If you are willing to eat at 5pm, you can probably eat in 99.9 percent of restaurants in Chicago, including most of the so-called decent sit-down dinner restaurants. The issue of reservations is acute when you want to sit down at prime time. The issue of being asked to give up a table is not unique to restaurants that take reservations either.

5 p.m.? Or 5:30 p.m.?

And, "eat" then? Or be "seated" then, to be served apps by 6, mains by 6:30 - 7?

So, again, what if I want to eat at Girl & the Goat at 5:30? We did that last week and they only seated us if we would leave within the hour. I guess they're the only .1 percent missing from your scientific breakdown, right?

Darren72 wrote:I hate to break it to you, but a lot of places that don't accept reservations still give special treatment to so-called connected individuals and regular customers.

Ruxbin isn't one of those places. And it pisses people off. Congrats for "revealing to me" what I've been saying all along.

Most, or pretty much any, does not equal all. Clearly, G&tG isn't going to work for all people. If you wait for a bar seat, yes, you can likely stay a normal amount of time, but if you accept a normal table, then you have to accept their limitations. You are happy to wait in line for a seat at Ruxbin, how is that different from waiting for a bar seat at G&tG?

No. You can not walk into every single restaurant in Chicago and expect that it's going to work out for you. You can't get a reservation at every single restaurant in Chicago when you want to. That's life.

Maybe you can't plan August now. That's OK. You can make a reservation for then and you know what? If you get busy, cancel it. That's the beauty of OpenTable! (or the telephone, if you don't want to use OpenTable). Or check OpenTable on the day of, things open up.

(disclaimer I've never been to Ruxbin, and I wasn't thrilled with food at G&tG when I went)

ChitownJackson wrote:So, again, what if I want to eat at Girl & the Goat at 5:30? We did that last week and they only seated us if we would leave within the hour. I guess they're the only .1 percent missing from your scientific breakdown, right?

Darren72 wrote:I hate to break it to you, but a lot of places that don't accept reservations still give special treatment to so-called connected individuals and regular customers.

Ruxbin isn't one of those places. And it pisses people off. Congrats for "revealing to me" what I've been saying all along.

EVer been to Hot Dougs or Kuma's? Just curious.

Why is this such a polarizing issue? The restaurant gets to choose what policy (reservations or not) and the customer gets to choose how much that policy will influence their decision to patronize the restaurant or not. Choices. We haz 'em.

Kman wrote:Why is this such a polarizing issue? The restaurant gets to choose what policy (reservations or not) and the customer gets to choose how much that policy will influence their decision to patronize the restaurant or not. Choices. We haz 'em.

Exactly. I really don't understand the hostility.

jesteinf wrote:Exactly. I really don't understand the hostility.

The hostility is that everybody wants to try every restaurant, and whether it's a reservations only/no reservations will more or less exclude one entire class of patron.

Naturally, the meticulous, responsible planners of my tribe (without whom society would undoubtedly fall into utter ruin) resent the way the Anti-Reservationists rewards those unkempt hippies who can easily spare an extra two hours from their busy days spent smoking pot, supporting Communism, and loitering on our lawns. Oh, what sad days these are when we must cater to the whims of such wanton and faithless peoples.

Independent George wrote:Naturally, the meticulous, responsible planners of my tribe (without whom society would undoubtedly fall into utter ruin) resent the way the Anti-Reservationists rewards those unkempt hippies who can easily spare an extra two hours from their busy days spent smoking pot, supporting Communism, and loitering on our lawns. Oh, what sad days these are when we must cater to the whims of such wanton and faithless peoples.

FINALLY, someone gets it.

ChitownJackson wrote:

Darren72 wrote:If you are willing to eat at 5pm, you can probably eat in 99.9 percent of restaurants in Chicago, including most of the so-called decent sit-down dinner restaurants. The issue of reservations is acute when you want to sit down at prime time. The issue of being asked to give up a table is not unique to restaurants that take reservations either.

5 p.m.? Or 5:30 p.m.?

And, "eat" then? Or be "seated" then, to be served apps by 6, mains by 6:30 - 7?

So, again, what if I want to eat at Girl & the Goat at 5:30? We did that last week and they only seated us if we would leave within the hour. I guess they're the only .1 percent missing from your scientific breakdown, right?

Darren72 wrote:I hate to break it to you, but a lot of places that don't accept reservations still give special treatment to so-called connected individuals and regular customers.

Ruxbin isn't one of those places. And it pisses people off. Congrats for "revealing to me" what I've been saying all along.

Chitownjackson: You started an interesting discussion here. I happen to agree with the thrust of your posts that "no reservation" restaurants serve an important role in the market and I have a feeling that if we were having this same discussion over drinks, we'd quickly agree that we're all on the same page about the trade-offs inherent in the two models. But we're trying to have a conversation on-line. Perhaps because of this, you interpret some of these posts as hostile towards your views or to you personally. I can assure you that no one intends them that way. I wasn't trying to "prove you wrong". I was trying to point out what I perceive to be nuances to the issue. But the sarcasm in your reply seems to indicate that you don't want to have a conversation at all. I think you'll find that this type of reply is the surest way to cut off conversation.

You're right, in-person, none of this would be a problem. I love to discuss things like this (especially when I feel something has been unfairly called out as being "wrong").

In this case, I don't think some people were looking at the big picture with restaurant policy and I'm glad they are starting to at least understand the other side.

But unfortunately, I received an official warning from a moderator here that people have been offended by my posts and that I'm being too hostile, in general.

In the end, my intent was not to offend. As I mentioned to the moderator, I am only a guest here so I need to abide by house rules. It's best if I don't comment on this topic anymore so I'm bowing out of this one.

Return to the normal discussion.

So, picking up on the reservation/no reservation bit from the Fat Rice thread that Ronnie tried to send here, here we go.

They have different purposes and I've dined at plenty of "No Reservation places", but when time is important to me, or if I'm meeting others, these places are the places I will almost always skip. Great Lake had a no reservation policy and our method, and we were consistent with it, was to only meet timely people there and be in line 30 minutes before Lydia & Nick opened. It only failed once, and of course the other party was late. After that one time, I never bothered going to Great Lake with anyone other than BFF/DH.

One of my favorite restaurants is now doing a hybrid, no reservations for weekend brunch at Lula, but the rest of the time they do take reservations. So right, I generally don't go to Lula on weekends unless I'm willing to wait. Yesterday, I inadvertently landed 45 minutes early. So I ate the time and we were placed on the list. We were seated within a few minutes of my dining companion's arrival.

While I understand the business expense, I'd rather have reservations available as an option. I don't get the "type of diner" issue for restaurants but I guess that means the type of patron who is willing to wait is more important to them.

I just saw that Mt. Everest in Evanston doesn't make reservations for parties of less than 5. We walked by a few weekends ago and the wait was 25 minutes plus. Bullshit.

Ran into a situation on vacation recently having to do with "No Rez" policy.

The owner of a very popular place in Crested Butte, CO - Secret Stash - was willing to be "flexible" about the "No Rez" policy and agreed to accommodate our large party of 36 persons who were in town from out of state. Our fearless leader had made these plans a couple months in advance and felt that since we had made arrangements with the owner and would be spending hundreds of $ in food and bev while enjoying their pizza and libations that we were in good shape.

Well, we were -- until two days before our agreed upon date and time (note that I don't call it a reservation) when the owner called and told us that a party of 110 (yes, 110) had upped the ante - so we were bounced without even the slightest apology for having to remake our plans for 36 persons to dine together.

I understand ya gotta make dough (pun intended) to stay in business but I question this practice.

Unless it's basically like a corner bar with food, or a neighborhood standby, no reservations = I'm not going there.