Fazio, cofounder of Abigail Michaels Concierge, providers of a vast repertoire of concierge services to nearly 40,000 New Yorkers, shares five tips for planning a party like a pro in the know.

1. Manage your own expectations. “We should never ‘lower’ our expectations, but we all need to be realistic in understanding that the dining experience for a party of four is vastly different than the dining experience for a party of 40,” he says. Fazio suggest that planners stick to less intricate dishes to ensure service goes smoothly.

2. Sidestep sticker shock. While you can plan your own budget, it is difficult to calculate the per-person price of an event simply by looking at a standard menu. Fazio reveals, “Clients will see a menu listing apps for $10, entrées for $25, and wines by the glass for $8. Their logic tells them that the per-person price should be app + entrée + two glasses of wine = $72, yet the group menu starts at $85 per person plus tip and beverage. We have to explain that group events have different pricing because different components are required, such as additional kitchen and wait staff.”

3. Look for ways to save. If your needs are flexible, the restaurant’s pricing may be as well. He advises party planners, “Peak nights are always Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but a restaurant may offer a reduced rate if your event is held any other night.” You may also find a bit more wiggle room in pricing when restaurants have private dining rooms that are part of their regular restaurant space. Fazio points out, “If they can fill those tables with normal business before or after your event, you’ll probably have more bargaining power when it comes to settling on pricing.”

4. Never be afraid of negotiating. According to Fazio, whose company also serves clients in Chicago and Washington, D.C., “Negotiating, when done tactfully, is always acceptable. ” After you get a full proposal from a restaurant, he recommends looking for ways to reduce the rate. “Consider different selections, foregoing dessert, or asking if you can bring your own wine,” he says. Remember to find out if a corkage fee applies.

5. Don’t disregard details. Once you have your menu and beverage selections set, don’t neglect the other factors that can make your event run smoothly. “Think about things like parking, handicap access, and availability of taxis. You’ll want to inform your guests of these details before they arrive,” says Fazio, a regular segment contributor to “The View,” where he often shares secrets of how everyday Americans can get treated like VIPs.

You can visit Abigail Michaels to learn more about Michael Fazio and his services. And, don’t forget to browse our Private Dining pages when you’re planning your next event.

You can nominate OpenTable’s Android app now through midnight, PST Friday, December 4. The Crunchies Committee will then choose five finalist companies for each award category from all the nominations. Voting for finalists opens Monday, December 21 through Wednesday, January 6 midnight PST.

Click here to nominate OpenTable (up to one time per day per IP address,) and stay tuned to see if we’re selected as a finalist. And, if you don’t have the OpenTable for Android app, download it today!

Finding participating restaurants is easy. Just look for the “Private Dining” tab on a restaurant’s profile page, click on the “Private Dining” icon just below the search widget on the right side of your start page, or select the “Large Party and Banquet Booking Information” option under “Offers and Events” on your start page. Also available in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., Private Dining is coming to Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, and San Diego on November 20.

Learn more about how Private Dining pages can help you plan your next event here.

OpenTable.com has been around for a long time, and we’ve gotten great feedback about how the website is so simple and easy to use. But we also know that our product and the web overall have evolved a lot since we launched. One of the places where we knew could do some great new things to help our users get restaurant info and make good decisions was in our search results pages  — the ones that people see after they click the big red “Find a Table” button.

So by popular demand, we’ve redesigned search results from the ground up and added some new content and features front and center. Now, if you come to us before you’ve actually decided where to eat tonight, you can choose to search around a specific neighborhood or address (or even select multiple locations). You can also narrow your results by times, prices, cuisines or 1,000-point slots (before you could only re-order these lists). If you need to see user reviews, you can now show our confirmed diners’ star ratings and compare your options that way. Even if you’re just here to make a reservation at a specific restaurant, we now show more information about the restaurant up-front, including photos and address info, in a lighter and easier-to-read page design. Here are the screenshots from before and after:

Old Search Results

New Search Results

Adding these features and still ‘keeping it simple’ was a challenge. After all, these pages are where your dining out experiences begin, and we wanted to make sure the unique, real-time table availability from our restaurants is always immediately obvious. Thus, we tested a bunch of prototypes with our users in person, through surveys, and live on the web, and we settled on a design that even our longest-tenured users have said does just about everything the old design did — and more. Even better, our data also show people are finding what they want faster and much more frequently. We hope you enjoy it, too, and if you have any feedback, we’d love you to share it with us on our search results user survey. Bon appétit!

Jack Shay is Senior Product Manager for www.OpenTable.com

On a related note, Bar Boulud, Café Boulud, Daniel, db Bistro Moderne, and DGBG Kitchen and Bar are all serving Thanksgiving dinner in New York this year. While wd-50 is not, we’re sure you’ll find similar seasonal fare on his menu throughout the fall (if you’re not adventurous enough to whip up his suggested dishes at in your own kitchen).

OpenTable’s list makes it easy to make plans with all your friends and family and features an array of cuisines, from Greek and Italian to American and ethnic barbecue and brewhouses. The next time you’re dining out in a group, consult our Good for Groups restaurant list to reserve tables for larger groups, as well as our new Private Dining pages, which can help you explore private dining options and plan banquets and parties for up to hundreds of guests.

The San Francisco Chronicle

What frustrates you most about restaurant websites? And, what are some examples of the very best restaurant websites? Chime in here or on Facebook, and check back for our expert tips on creating an effective, diner-friendly restaurant website.

Some of the Mission’s most popular restaurants are taking part in this worthwhile event, from Farina and Flour + Water to Slow Club and Spork. Help educate tomorrow’s college graduates while you educate and entertain your palate. Reserve now!

This year, leave the shopping, the cooking, and the clean up to professionals, and share a good meal with good friends and family at a restaurant near you.

Find deals and tables near you now.

The New York Times

“First, I would be terrified to work for this guy! Mr. Buschel has never run a restaurant,” Dublanica says. “This list puts a muzzle on waiters, personality wise and salesmanship wise. It’s dehumanizing.” The list is also clearly born of ignorance as wait staff usually do not dictate policy. Says Dublanica, “They hand these things down from on high that you, as a waiter, have to do.” To wit, many of Buschel’s ideas are verboten at restaurants I’ve worked at as they would have violated rules set by the owners or management, including seating a table when all members of the party are not present; offering a complimentary drink or amuse bouche if there is a delay in seating; not asking if a table wants tap or bottled water; failing to announce one’s name; refusing to hustle lobsters (or any other special of the day); and not acknowledging regulars and repeat customers.

Some of the items that truly ticked off Dublanica include Buschel’s suggestion that a waiter steam the label off a bottle of wine if the patron likes it and present it to her with the bill. “Steaming the label off the bottle and handing it to somebody? That’s never going to happen – unless you’re the person who ran up a $47,221.09 check at Nello in New York.  For THAT guy, we’ll steam the label off.” For everyone else, he suggests snapping a photo of the wine label. “Take a picture. You’ve got it and you’re not going to lose it!”

He also takes issue with Buschel’s assertion that a waiter should not interject personal favorites when listing the specials. “When I dine out, I ask the waiter, ‘What do you like?’ Part of the whole dining experience is having a conversation with the staff. They know what sells, what’s going out the door, what people are enjoying.” He reminds Buschel, too, “Some folks want to be told what’s good and put their experience in a waiter’s  hands.”

Regarding not saying, “Good choice,” he counters, “Sometimes a diner really HAS made a good choice. If you’re asked for a recommendation and you say, ‘The osso bucco is spectactular,’ and she orders that, you should say ‘Good choice!’” He also has no problem with servers saying, “No problem.” “It’s an accepted colloquialism in our culture,” he points out.

Dublanica reveals that as a diner, he’s fine when waiters do some of these don’ts. “Don’t bang into chairs or tables when passing by? I was at Les Halles and they literally had to pull the entire table out for my date to sit down. I think the waiters bumped me three times, but there was no way around it. It’s just a by-product of how close together the tables are,” he notes.

“All his suggestions – in a sterile, perfect world, they may make some sense. But the reality of a restaurant is far different,” says Dublanica, who promises to pay a visit to Buschel’s restaurant when it opens. “I think I’ll sneak in.”