An experiment

This weekend, I propose an experiment for all families:

1. Go to your neighborhood restaurant of some level of niceness/hipness, some time before the  dinner rush (say, 5:45)
2. Ask for a table for "a table for four", with your family on display to the host/ess
3. When the host/ess gives you a line that there are no tables or that there will be a wait of 45 minutes, count the open tops on display and inquire "why the holdup? There are X tables open right now"
4. When you get another steaming pile of BS about "oh, we have a lot of reservations", step outside, go on Open Table (or have your significant other call the restaurant, assuming they were wise enough to not offer verbal protests the host/ess), and see if you get a table

A few weeks back, my wife and I took the kids on an expedition around town at 5:30.  It wasn't meant to be a saga. All we wanted was to try a new neighborhood restaurant.  After walking over to the new place,  we were promptly rebuffed once the hostess eyed up the two less-than-full-contributors-to-the-tab we brought in tow.  This, in a restaurant that was half full, a good 30-45 minutes before the dinner rush would be in swing. Did I mention this was at a restaurant that had been open barely ten days?

I bring this up because this week we went to a local Ethiopian restaurant.  One we hadn't patronized in ages... due, in no small part, to our last attempt to visit to said establishment. Back then, my family was rebuffed for a 6 pm seating due to "a full night of reservations" while the establishment only had two couples seated at a 30-table room.  That was when I first thought of my little experiment.  I would have given it a go, but when saddled with two whiny, hungry kids, finding a dining solution quickly trumps vengeance.

This time, we made a reservation in advance.  Which is the wise move, I am more than aware.  And I like to believe I have a learning curve, though that is sometimes not on full display. So on the chance I actually learn form my mistakes for a few weeks and don't try and turn a local upscale restaurant on a Saturday eve into my impromptu family dining hotspot, give my experiment a go and let me know your results.