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New Online Reservation Hookup

You're a magician when it comes to securing those hard-to-get weekend tables. Your bag of tricks includes a winning smile, a firm handshake and—if need be—subtle blackmail.

But face it, even Copperfield couldn't book 7:30 at Graham Elliot this Friday.

Well, like always, you've got another trick up your sleeve: TableXchange, launching today in Chicago.

A fixture of the New York dining scene for a year now, TableXchange allows you to buy and sell your restaurant reservations like an online commodities trader. Let's say someone books a reservation they cannot use. They'll post the reservation with a price they're willing to sell it for. You'll snag it, and receive an email with the name of the reserving party, so you can call the restaurant to confirm (no need to mention TableXchange). Then just show up with Nadia on your arm.

We know what you're thinking: It seems a bit shady. We'll admit, it's controversial. But TableXchange's backers claim their system is regulated tighter than CBOT to filter out abuse.

Thus far, the reservation selection is fairly limited, offering a few tables we didn't realize were so hard to grab (The Dining Room at Kendall College?), but also a few gems (Frontera Grill).

Maybe the best news is it's all electronic and PayPal secure—leaving you to concentrate your magic on your date, rather than the reservationist.