Kristina Jenkins

Some restaurants are so difficult to book that securing a reservation can sometimes be more satisfying than the actual experience of dining there. After setting alarms, obsessively refreshing OpenTable, and praying you get off the waitlist, just getting in the door may take months of planning and preparation. Getting a seat at one of the most coveted tables in America has become a status symbol, making some restaurants nearly impossible to get into. For some, you need to be willing to eat lunch at 10:30am or book a year in advance, and for others, you need to ask your close personal friend Justin Bieber to let you join him and Hailey for dinner.  These hot-ticket restaurants, from iconic Napa Valley institutions to New York dining rooms accessible only to the rich and famous, are the toughest to book in America. Securing a table at one of these places sometimes feels like a game, but if you know the rules and are very, very flexible, it's definitely possible to snag a reservation. RECOMMENDED: The cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in AmericaThe best seafood restaurants in the USA

Miss out on a culinary adventure to Ferran Adrià’s elBulli? Try to secure one of the twelve seats at Minibar by chef José Andrés—an Adrià disciple—for a progressive meal merging art, science and unmistakable culinary flair. Seasonal reservations are acquired via email and roll out every three months. If sheer proximity to this hot ticket suffices, snap up a seat at the adjacent Barmini, Andrés’ culinary cocktail lab.

At the Las Vegas iteration of José Andrés’s culinary lab, the eight-seat bar books one month out by first-come, first-served email reservation only. Lucky correspondents will snag a seat for an experimental 15-course tasting in a space within the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel.