Iturn to the stranger sitting next to me. “You ever been to one of these?” I ask him. The guy is grinning and looking around like he can’t believe he’s here. “No, first time,” he says, settling into his bar-height chair. “You?” It’s mine, too, I tell him.

This is 1033 Omakase , the hardest – and possibly most sought-after – reservation in town. Why? For one thing, its format, an intimate 14-course chef-selected Japanese dining experience limited to 10 people. Second, it’s really good. Like, believe-the-hype good.

The only way to get in is through the booking platform Resy , where a month’s worth of reservation slots open up at a time. These, of course, fill immediately; in early September, 1033 was booked through November. It took me close to six months of missing every time the a

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