I booked my first reservation at Valley Goat weeks in advance. After all, this was the first Bay Area restaurant from celebrity chef Stephanie Izard, a James Beard Award winner and the first woman to win “Top Chef.” But when I walked in, the hostess informed me my table was only available for a little over an hour. (“No rush,” she advised.) Apparently, the restaurant had overbooked multiple large parties. When I walked by one such table, I spied a parade of Google badges worn at the hip.
On another attempt, the restaurant was closed for lunch due to a “couple of private events,” the bartender said. The following outing, the server mentioned that Tuesdays are a popular choice for employees of Adobe and Google; the latter’s building is steps away. Perhaps those identification cards, imbued with the power to open doors, had given them back-door access.
I started to wonder if I would have received better service if I worked in tech…