The Unusual Way George W. Bush Orders Ahead At Restaurants — Can You Do It Too?

It's no secret that certain people get preferential treatment at restaurants. Celebrities and former presidents are two obvious examples. If you've ever wondered what tricks George W. Bush utilizes when he eats out, we do have one confirmed: He sometimes places his order ahead of time.

Jenna Bush Hager, the former president's daughter, revealed her father's hack on an episode of the Today show. She explained, "He'll call the restaurant and order the meal before we get there so we don't have to wait. He has a little bit of a restless personality." Bush apparently has someone on his staff send him over the menu, and then call his family to take their order, too. It speeds up the process so much that they can be finished eating in 30 minutes.

And it turns out that this special treatment isn't just reserved for big-time politicians. Willie Geist, who co-hosted the Today show on the morning the topic was discussed, said he had the same experience with a famous author. When they got to the restaurant, the food was waiting for them on the table. There are some restaurants that may grant the request to the average person. But there are a few things you might want to keep in mind before trying to order from a fancy steakhouse or bistro over the phone.

There's no set rule for the ordering process, so the policy of whether to allow people to pre-order is up to the restaurant owner. It's not very common however, and you would usually need to pay in advance. You might have better luck pre-ordering a tasting menu with fewer options – in fact, some tasting menu restaurants will ask that you specify that you're having that option when booking, or you could try at lunch time and explain you only have a set amount of time off from work.

There are certain types of restaurants that will let you order something that takes a long time to cook, and some places actually prefer if you order things like fresh Peking duck or special meats earlier in the day. If you're eating with a group, you can also usually call and discuss your order with the restaurant. Again, you may actually be asked to do so depending on the size of your table.

But there are many reasons why some eateries would be opposed to letting you order ahead. Things are timed very specifically in restaurants, and any disruption to the flow can cause a big headache. There's no way of knowing if a customer will show up on time (or at all) and if there's no prepayment, it's a waste of food, time, and resources. Chefs also want to protect the integrity of their food by not having it sit under a heat lamp for an extended period of time — and it just takes up space in the kitchen when it does.

The kitchen also doesn't want to have to plan ahead of time to make sure they still have what you want at the time you want it, because, again, not all of your group may turn up. Finally, if the staff are hanging around waiting for you, they can't give your table to other hungry guests. It's fine to do this after a certain period with a normal reservation, but when there's food waiting it's a lot more complicated. This is annoying for both other customers and the host or hostess.

Those who have the best shot at making this happen are regular customers. I've worked in dining rooms where we would get an order ready for someone who came in every day as soon as we spotted them at the door. If a customer who was particularly nice to us called with such a request we would also be happy to do what we could, especially if they explained the reasoning. Some things, like easy dessert recipes and cold appetizers, are easy to make in advance. 

I've even spotted people waiting in line and put their favorite item aside to make sure it would be there for them if they wanted it. Most restaurant etiquette rules have gone out the window a long time, ago, anyway. The bottom line is be nice to the staff if you want special treatment, and develop a relationship with your favorite restaurant — or be a former president of the country.