Needing the Dough

We've seen Larry David bribing a Maitre d' to get a table at restaurants on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and his surrogates on Seinfeld trying to do the same. Gourmet finds out if it works in real life.

I've never bribed my way into a restaurant. I've never slipped a C-note or greased a palm. In truth, I've never even considered it. I've assumed, of course, that people do such things. I've seen my share of Cary Grant movies. I've heard — and wondered whether such old-fangled gestures would work in the high-stakes, high-hype world of New York City restaurants. For everyday diners in Manhattan, cracking the waiting list at Nobu is said to be harder than getting courtside tickets for the Knicks. But is that true?