Prime Time
The boss is on the line and wants you on the first flight to New York. No time to plan or make dinner reservations. So when you get a chance to think about where you'd like to eat - Del Posto, Per Se, Gramercy Tavern or maybe even Gordon Ramsay at The London - the "reservationists" are quietly chuckling at your "tonight please" request.
Unless, perhaps, you're staying at the Waldorf and the concierge has clout. There is an alternative. For US$35 - $45 (AUD$45 - $58), the newish New York restaurant booking service PrimeTime Tables - "specialising in impossible reservations" - has entered the intriguing ring of getting you a table in the most difficult city in the world in which to eat without planning.
Alternatively, you can take out annual membership at US$450. The service is touted as an exclusive dining club that can procure members short-notice reservations at the hottest restaurants in New York as well as Miami, Colorado and The Hamptons. Or so it claims.
We joined and tried getting into Per Se several times; no luck (which is not surprising). Getting into Per Se in 2005 cost us at least US$35 per shot and several days after joining we received an email list of all the places with available tables (for four) that night. Pity we weren't in Manhattan.
Take a look at http://www.primetables.com/
