DMN Food Critic Loses Reservation At Howard Wang's

When the DMN's Leslie Brenner showed up 15 minutes late to her 8:00-on-a-Friday-night reservation at Howard Wang's Uptown China Brasserie, she found that she was not treated with the respect an anonymous food critic deserves, that is, until she was recognized and given a good table. When Brenner arrived, she found her table had been given away, and she and her party, who'd been unavoidably detained drinking cocktails elsewhere, were asked to eat at the bar or wait on a table. They said they'd wait.

Banished to the bar like just another normal diner who showed up fifteen minutes late to her dinner reservation because she was busy drinking down the street, Brenner acknowledges that "Obviously we should have called." But atop her barstool, she was recognized by Horne and Dekker restauranteur Shawn Horne, currently working as a Wang's consultant. Fifteen minutes later, Brenner says they were given a "nice table." Brenner asks on her Eats Blog: "What do you think? How long should a restaurant wait before cutting its losses?"

We counter: How long should an anonymous food critic who showed up late to her reservation and didn't bother to call beforehand wait before getting recognized and given a nice table?

· The Back Story: Howard Wang's China Brasserie [Eats Blog]