* * * * * Restaurant and supper club reservations can be made in advance by phone, but unless the headwaiter knows you, you will find your table behind a post or along the wall when you get there. Also, places like El Morocco refuse phone reservations from all except regulars, and the regulars don't need them. If you point to one unoccupied in a position of better vantage, the functionary will show you the "Reserved" sign. The odds are it is not reserved, but is being kept for a liberal tipper. Now, there are only two ways of beating this system. The first and best is to slip the headwaiter a few bucks. He will suddenly discover that he has made a slight error and the table he is really holding for you is way up front, on the ringside, because the reservee died a few minutes ago. The other way is to get tough about it and threaten to walk out if he doesn't give you a better table. If the place is doing any kind of business at all, they will let you walk. But if they give you a better table it usually shows that things are so bad (either because of a bum show or lousy food) you won't want to stay anyway. Headwaiters at some of the swank night clubs like the Stork or El Morocco, where most people aren't permitted in unless known, or at busy places like the Copacabana, are reputed to make more than the owners. Some estimate that $5,000 a week for these factotums is conservative. They may have to kick some back. They all pay for their jobs instead of being paid for them. (INSIDE STUFF about theatre tickets: Though most houses invariably number their seats as A1, B2, and so on, there are exceptions. Ticket C1, for example, is not always first seat on the aisle, third row.) See page 299 for a list of theatres where the numbering system varies from the norm. The reveler who plans to visit a café or supper club will find that a knowledge of the name of the headwaiter, maître d'hôtel or proprietor of the place quite often helps obtain a better table or service. See page 301 for a directory of such functionaries at New York's leading spots. New York has more taxis per capita than any other city anywhere, but even in normal times, when the full quota of 20,000 is on the streets, it's difficult to get them at certain times. Few New Yorkers use their own cars to come to the shopping or theatre centers of town, because of the traffic and parking problems. Cab fares are so cheap and distances so short in Manhattan that few people are too poor to use cabs. Most difficult times of day to get taxis are between 5 and 6, at the close of business hours; 8 o'clock at the theatre rush; 11 P.M., when the plays let out; and 4 A.M., when the night clubs close. At night you can tell if a taxi is vacant. The light over the driver's compartment is then shining. In the daytime, watch the flag on his meter. If it's up, he's free.