You can usually get a reservation for Eleven Madison Park at a prime time if you book at the outer limit of 28 days in advance. You can always try through Open Table, but if that doesn't work, just call. I just booked for late August and had several choices for times, and this was on a Saturday night. Obviously, it's going to be easier on a weeknight. Le Bernardin used to be easy to get into if you book 6 weeks in advance, but since it's gotten its Michelin stars, it is harder. But not impossible.

All Winter and Spring, it was just not that hard to get into Per Se. Since last year, you have been able to get a table a week or two in advance. But now that the economy is picking up, it's getting harder again. But I still think it might be possible. I would, however, call the restaurant directly rather than rely on Open Table for this one. Open Table is better for tables for 4 at Per Se (I think this has been discussed earlier in the thread).

I've been to EMP recently and would recommend highly.

Maybe it is my contenious nature, but if a restaurant does not want your business that bad, do not go. There are plenty of other wonderful places that do want your business and may need your business.

How do you equate more people wanting tables than there are tables at these restaurants, with the restaurants "not wanting your business"?

It's a supply and demand issue--it's not bouncers and velvet ropes.

It seems the effort to get a reservation is part of the mystique they wish to create. You cannot book more than two months in advance and then you must have some sort of technique and luck.

Christy, you have the magical touch and the patience.

Great restaurant,celebrated our anniversary there last year. Do you have an AmEx Plat.card? They hold one table per night for their card holders. Had no touble with getting a reservation on a Friday night.

Finally, a subject in which I have some experience...

Im4Wine, if you're hoping to make a reservation at Per Se because you want to experience Thomas Keller's excellent cuisine, which I assume you are, DON'T. It's not that hard to get into Per Se, nowadays, but I'd recommend against it. I've dined there at least a dozen times, most recently about a month ago, although most of my visits there were around the time of the restaurant's opening. It was the most eagerly anticipated restaurant opening that any of us New York foodists could remember. Thomas Keller was generally regarded as America's best chef, but it had been nearly impossible for most of us to get out to French Laundry. We were ecstatic about the possibility of experiencing his genius right in our own city.

From the beginning, the restaurant failed to achieve the success of French Laundry. Keller, a perfectionist almost to the point of being obsessive-compulsive, struggled to try to run two excellent restaurants, at the same time, on opposite coasts. To make a long story short, he eventually gave up on Per Se, which I think was actually the right thing for him to do personally. The restaurant has basically abandoned any aspirations of greatness in its food, and it's now just a cash cow for Keller. The food is mediocre at best. The waitstaff and sommeliers are seriously undertrained, sometimes to the point of being a bit unprofessional. The main dining room offers only a nine-course menu, so if you make a reservation, you're on the hook for a long, expensive, mediocre meal (although I must say, the dining room is as beautiful as it ever was).

In my opinion, there's only one right way to experience Per Se now. The salon in the front of the restaurant, which was once used only for pre-dinner cocktails, for some time has been open for a la carte dining, and reservations are not accepted. The salon is quite lovely, and it would be a pleasant place to stop in for a drink. I'd recommend one of their signature cocktails, the Per Se Cocktail or, preferably, the champagne-based International Cocktail, if they're still serving it. The latter was a wonderful aperitif. Then you should see if you can try the salmon cornet, the perennial amuse bouche at both of Keller's restaurants, which Per Se still does well. Then order Keller's signature "oysters and pearls" appetizer, which is always on the menu. It's the one dish that the kitchen doesn't seem to mangle. It was as excellent as ever when I last tried it. Then, LEAVE, and continue your evening elsewhere.

There are alternative restaurants, but on the whole I'm not very excited about the status of high-end French cuisine in New York right now.

In my experience, Daniel Boulud has never operated a good restaurant in New York.

For years, Jean Georges was my favorite restaurant in New York, but as has been mentioned above, Jean Georges Vongerichten gave up on quality to build an empire some years ago. For a while, truly bizarre things were happening at his flagship restaurant, and it seemed like the place was completely out of control. That behavior seems to be gone now, but, when I last returned about a year ago, the food was still not particularly special, although the dining room is still one of my favorites.

Picholine was excellent for many years, but something weird is happening there now. Max McCalman, their former Maître Fromager and probably the most famous person in the American cheese scene, has left. Terrance Brennan's waiters are apparently suing him, and all the usual folks were nowhere to be found when I was last there.

Eleven Madison Park is pretty good, but not fantastic. Le Bernardin would probably be a better choice than any of these places, although of course you'll have to want seafood, and the quality there is still not as consistent as it once was. The wine list at Le B has always been tough to deal with -- high markups and sommeliers who aren't very helpful.

My favorite place for high-end food these days is Corton, in Tribeca. But it's a different sort of place, and it might not be right for you. Paul Liebrandt's cuisine isn't classically French. It's more complex and adventurous, incorporating unusual ingredients and dishes with numerous components, sometimes on separate plates. The room doesn't have the "special occasion" feel that you'd find at Per Se, or the other restaurants mentioned above. It's modern, somewhat informal, with a downtown feel, and jackets aren't required. The noise level can get high, although you would probably be pretty safe on a weeknight. For what it's worth, the wine list and the sommelier are outstanding.

You could consider Bouley. I haven't dined there recently. I had a reservation there earlier this year, but the front-of-house staff botched things up so badly that I never even managed to get seated. I haven't felt like trying to go back.

Thanks Hawksbill for your honest assessments. It was balanced based on experience.

Just got reservations at Per Se for October 6th. Thinking of trying for EMP for October 7th. Might as well go all out!

Hawksbill: I, too, am delighted that you took the time to asses the current situation and offer your opinions. Thanks!

Just got reservations at Per Se for October 6th

Congratulations! How did you get them, by simply calling early and getting thru or by one of the other tricks like Am Ex Platinum or concierge service or Open Table w/ 4? (Asking because we still occasionally try for French Laundry and the normal experience is 135 auto-redials before we get thru, then hearing 'we are closed for a private function that day' or 'nothing is available, do you want to be # 87 on the wait list?' or similar)

A reservation at Per Se is not nearly As difficult to get as a reservation at The French Laundry. You just call Per Se a few weeks in advance, or if you are four people you use Open Table.