Walk Right In

I'm a planner. A serious planner. I book flights months in advance. Same goes for dinner reservations, when possible. So, the evenings where spontaneity pays off are a special treat.

Case in point: This past Thursday, sashaying up to the host at Olmsted, the James Beard Award-winning hot spot in Prospect Heights, and being told we could have seats at the bar in 15 minutes. Would we care to take a seat in their drop-dead gorgeous garden and grab a cocktail while we waited? Um, YES! Thank you!

It was a marvelous meal, made all the more marvelous by it all being happenstance. (The fact that it was a perfect spring evening didn't hurt, either!)

I've had similar luck at notoriously hard-to-get-into restaurants like Oxomoco and Sofreh too.

It makes me wonder if I should abandon the notion of advance planning altogether. But, truth is, I don't think I can let go of my natural instincts to schedule in advance. Still, it might be worthwhile for me to remember the joys of winging it and leave a little more room for surprise.