Last weekend, my girlfriend and I decided to try a Chinese restaurant near us called, Tasty Garden. It was busy so we put our names on the list with the host. Having been a host at a restaurant for a number of years and being an astute observer, I personally witnessed the hostess seat 3 parties before us, despite the fact they arrived and submitted their names after us. In my mind there are but two explanations, one, the hostess is a terrible at her job, or two, Chinese people are being given priority to Caucasians at this restaurant. Either way, I do not plan on going to the restaurant again and having tasted their food, I would not recommend it.
If the 3 parties who arrived after us and seated before us, had reservations, why did they submit their names? So, the speculation that they had reservations holds little to no merit.