The Waverly Inn's Reign of Hot Terror is Over
"I didn’t actually beg to get my table at the Waverly Inn. I had other people do it for me. And once inside, I must admit, I felt pretty damn good about myself," wrote Adam Platt in New York magazine in 2007: "There is no reservationist, and no telephone number for chumps from Syosset or Teaneck to call." Wrote the Times in 2008: "Insiders just call Mr. Carter’s office"—that's Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair—"directly but it is in fact possible to drop by the reservations desk at the restaurant and book a table for those netherworld hours before 6:30 or after 11:15 p.m."
And now? Let us welcome the Waverly Inn to Open Table. That Times statement is still a bit true, at least, but the restaurant's window of inaccessibility has shrunk greatly: tonight, by way of Open Table, you can get a table for two at 6:45 p.m. or 9:45. (Or a table for four at 6:30 and 9:45.) Enjoy! It's a real period piece.
Great…next I'll be able to get a table at Moomba.
Everything Olde is new again.
Or you can just walk in that place, no problem. Been that way for at least a year…
Bet it felt like old times last Thursday when the US Secret Service was doing the Waverly's security.
I hope the natural evolution of the exclusive dining experience is a restaurant that allows you to make reservations and be seated whenever you want for $125 a person but won't actually serve you any food or beverages unless you are famous.
@Screen Name
Don't be silly — famous people don't eat and don't pay for anything! They're just there, like animatronic figures at Disney, so non-famous people start thinking $125 for mac and cheese and two drinks is completely reasonable.
To be fair, it really is a very pretty room. And the food would be perfectly fine even at half the price.
"chumps from Syosset or Teaneck"
Of course, all 8 million residents of the five boroughs are simply given Graydon Carter's office number when they sign their lease or mortgage.
@jfruh Wait, you didn't? I call him all the time.
"Hey, Gray – it's okay if I call you that, right? Did you know that I found a harvestman in my apartment today? It was weird. Okay, laters."
"Hi, it's Molly again. I just had THE BEST string cheese. The strings were, like, so thin and supple! Thought you might want to know. Call me back!"
She Loves Service Journalism
Sic semper tyrannis! Next target: Momofuku Ko.