Feel Like NYC Reservations Are Impossible to Get Right Now? You’re Not Alone.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published a deep dive into why it can be so hard to get an NYC restaurant reservation right now. According to the report, as restaurants have filled up with patrons eager to be out and about, hot new restaurants like Chelsea’s Shukette saw reservations book out 30 days in advance, even in its untested first month of operation. Legacy spots, too, are facing record reservations. Resy tells the publication that April 2022 was the platform’s busiest month to date, and sign-ups for waitlists have jumped 50 percent since 2019.

The report offers some suggestions for gaming the system. Some restaurants, like Bonnie’s in Williamsburg, allow large parties to book directly with the restaurant prior to openings going live on Resy. Meanwhile, customers who reach out to a restaurant via email may get added to more direct waitlists, as well. Other restaurants like Le Bernardin suggested becoming a regular, as restaurants like the acclaimed Midtown seafood palace hold around 15 to 20 tables for recurring patrons. That is, of course, if you can afford to go to a three-Michelin-starred tasting menu spot multiple times a week.

Yeah, a Succession actor really did superglue himself to a Starbucks

The Associated Press reports that Succession actor James Cromwell superglued his hand to the counter of a Midtown Starbucks in protest of the coffee chain’s 50-cent surcharge for alternative milk options. The protest was live-streamed to Facebook in collaboration with animal activist organization PETA. That’s one way of sticking it to the man!

Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah opens a Staten Island coffee shop

SILive.com reports that Wu-Tang’s Dennis Coles, aka Ghostface Killah, opened Killah Koffee Shop this week, with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Mayor Eric Adams. The new West Brighton coffee shop is the first location for Killah Koffee’s bean company.

There’s now a speakeasy inside of a sex shop (because, of course)

Fans of HBO’s The Deuce might find something to like at the Woo Woo, a speakeasy opening today, where guests enter through a faux sex shop. A representative tells Eater that the new bar is a nod to the show and Times Square in the 1980s, when the area was more of a hub for sex shops. The Woo Woo is located at 266 West 47th Street, at Eighth Avenue, below storied Irish bar the Mean Fiddler, which is from the same team.