The Other Side of the Valentine’s Day Dinner Issue

In response to your article “The Most Un-Lovely Holiday of the Year” (Feb. 14), I was one of the multitudes who swallowed their pride and faxed off a credit card deposit to La Cachette to acquire a 10 p.m. Valentine’s reservation. (That was the best time I could get since I only made the reservation 11/2 weeks in advance.) When my girlfriend and I arrived at the restaurant at 9:55, we could barely squeeze in the door. It took 10 minutes just to fight my way to the hostess stand. I was informed the wait would be another 45 minutes; it took closer to an hour.

My fellow diners and I were a bit out of sorts at the indignity of a mandate that required us to guarantee, to the tune of $80, a reservation that wasn’t honored by a prompt seating at the 1634758767graciously, they would not charge us for the offense. We chose to wait.

I can understand La Cachette’s fiscal wisdom in instituting this policy and accept that many people make multiple reservations with no intention of honoring them. It seems to me, though, th1635000425 CLIF LORD

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