A group of us were in New York for my buddy Joey\u2019s engagement party. \u00a0We all came into the city for the weekend and there were a bunch of activities planned \u2013 \u00a0dinners, cocktail parties \u2013 all of the festivities that go along with that kind of gig. \u00a0So, most of the long weekend was filled \u2013 all except Sunday. \u00a0Most folks were heading back to their home bases at different times, so that day was going to be a bit more ad hoc.<\/p>\n
Although we had been together for many years, it was the very first time my wife Patricia and I had been in NYC together. \u00a0So, when we woke up on Sunday morning I said to her, \u201cThe city is yours, we\u2019ll do whatever you want.\u201d \u00a0She got an excited look on her face and stated that she had heard that Tavern on the Green was a special place to have brunch. \u00a0Of course, I said, \u201cno problem,\u201d suggested we see if anyone else wanted to join us, and asked\u00a0 her to buzz the restaurant to get a table for 2pm. \u00a0My buddies, Steve and Ricky, were still in town, and although the thought of food was good, the two bachelors were on the fence about going to Tavern on the Green.<\/p>\n
Patricia called Tavern on the Green and said that she would like to make a reservation. \u00a0The person on the other end asked, \u201cWhen would you like the reservation?\u201d \u00a0Patricia proceeded to tell her 2pm. \u00a0There was a pause on the other end, and then a curt chuckle followed by, \u201cMadame, this is THE<\/em> Tavern on the Green; we are booking reservations for three months from now.\u201d \u00a0Patricia hung up, obviously disappointed, and stated that our brunch plans would have to change \u2013 Tavern on the Green was booked solid for three months.<\/p>\n I told her to get ready and to tell the boys we are heading over around 1-ish. \u00a0I jumped in the shower while she rang up Steve and Ricky. \u00a0While I was getting dressed, I asked P if the boys were in. \u00a0She said, \u201cOh, yeah \u2013 I told them the restaurant was booked solid and that you said we were heading there anyway; they weren\u2019t in the mood, but wouldn\u2019t miss this for the world.\u201d \u00a0The four of us jumped into a cab and headed to Tavern on Green.<\/p>\n When we got there, we entered the foyer where everyone was waiting to be seated. I navigated through the sea of people, with my crew of three in tow, up to the reservation desk. \u00a0The maitre d\u2019, who was all business, asked for my name. \u00a0\u00a0I answered, \u201cFranklin.\u201d He surveyed the list up and down and said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry sir, I do not see a Franklin on our list; could it be under another name?\u201d While sliding him a c-note I said, \u201cYou must be missing it; table for four \u2013 Franklin, Ben Franklin.\u201d \u00a0The pretentious dude looked up at me and said, \u201cOh, yes Mr. Franklin, wait one moment.\u201d \u00a0I smirked at my crew and gave them the nod \u2013 \u201cwe\u2019re in.\u201d<\/p>\n A moment later, my new best friend looked over and said, \u201cRight this way to the Crystal Room, sir.\u201d \u00a0As we followed him, we saw four waiters carrying in a table, chairs, and the whole set up. \u00a0They plopped the table into the middle of the room, and instantly, everything was set up, and the maitre d\u2019 told us to enjoy our brunch. \u00a0Patricia, Steve and Ricky were enjoying every aspect of the scene. \u00a0We were out of place\u00a0– the way Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi were in the restaurant scene in the movie, The Blues Brothers.<\/em>Now, you might be saying, \u201cLou, sure, when you have money, it\u2019s easy to wave it around and get what you want.\u201d I would say two things in response: \u00a0first, it\u2019s more a matter of attitude and owning the situation than anything else, and second, we actually had no business going to the Tavern on the Green, never mind slipping the dude $100. \u00a0I worked in radio, made little money, and we had just bought our first house. \u00a0But at the same time, my philosophy has always been to capture moments like that \u2013 they\u2019re to be seized and enjoyed. \u00a0After all, it was our first time in NYC together, and Patricia never asks for anything. \u00a0I wasn\u2019t going to let a little thing like a reservation bring her any disappointment. \u00a0Besides, missing an opportunity like that for \u201cpractical reasons\u201d is sure to turn into a future regret, and you just can\u2019t let that happen if it\u2019s within your power.<\/p>\n As with all things in life, there has to be balance, and you can\u2019t just make those grand plays with total disregard for reason, because that will surely cause regret and problems as well. \u00a0But there are those times when you just have to say\u2026. well, you know the saying\u2026. and this was one of those occasions. \u00a0It\u2019s a story and a memory that we are glad we secured for our lifetime of experiences together.<\/p>\n So \u2013 what is your Tavern on Green? And if you do not have one \u2013 what are you waiting for?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A group of us were in New York for my buddy Joey\u2019s engagement party. \u00a0We all came into the city for the weekend and there were a bunch of activities planned \u2013 \u00a0dinners, cocktail parties \u2013 all of the festivities that go along with that kind of gig. \u00a0So, most of the long weekend was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197,"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions\/197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/louimbriano.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}