My First Time

Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm talking about my first time making a reservation on OpenTable.

What a sane way to navigate through the insane world of reservation making at top-flight restaurants! I was shocked to see that their list of participating restaurants isn't limited to Applebee's, Chevy's and tourist faves like Jekyll & Hyde. In fact, those establishments aren't even on their list, which leans more towards Craft, Sui, Town and alike.

For "my first" I decided to really put the site to the test and book a coveted Restaurant Week table at Eleven Madison Park. Heck, this was the restaurant where Mr. Big told Carrie that he was engaged! That may have been a few SATC seasons ago, but with Danny Meyer at the helm the place is still an incredibly popular and highly glam, hot spot.

OpenTable came through with a 7:30pm reservation - on a Thursday night, no less. I even got a confirmation e-mail from the restaurant.

How civilized. What a relief not to be on hold forever, in the hope that a reservationist will pick up the line or deign to give me a primetime table. And, as an added bonus, for every restaurant reservation you make online with OpenTable you earn points toward Dining Cheques redeemable at thousands of OpenTable restaurants nationwide.

Talk about bang for the buck.

Get your mind out of the gutter!