A writer for the Houston Press visits a local sushi restaurant and ends up waiting for an hour and a half, but while his party waits, he notices that a man breezes in, "talks" with the hostess, and is seated right away. The writer was not impressed with his meal, but goes back, again faced with a ridiculously long wait, and decides to "bribe" the hostess with a $20 bill. His party gets seated in five minutes.
For some reason, I only ever thought this kind of things happens in books and movies - greasing the maitre d' or hostess for a table, but apparently, the practice is alive and well. At least in Houston. The funniest part of the Houston Press's story is when the writer wonders if $20 was too much, and wonders what kind of service he would have gotten if it had been a $100.
I've never done it, as it seems sort of, oh, I don't know what the word is here - cheesy and lame - to me, but maybe I'm mistaken. Have you ever done it? Are you discreet? For how much? Was it worth it? Members at eGullet have some opinions, as well.














