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# A lack of goodwill while hunting for a table
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/a-lack-of-goodwill-while-hunting-for-a-table/
- Published: 2005-05-10T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T00:02:25.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Montana, #archive-import

*By IN LA BY HEIDI MANTEUFFEL*

It’s one thing that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner get their mugs photographed nearly every week of the year, but quite another that they stole my table this past Saturday at Café Montana.

I thought it was ridiculous they got tickets to see the World Series just by showing up. But as I watched them enjoying the meal at the table that was supposed to be mine, the jilt got all-too personal.

My roommate and I decided to grab lunch at Café Montana, and luckily the quoted wait was 10 minutes. We shopped a little at some nearby stores, but came back shortly after as I was getting slightly nervous. Being a hostess in college, I know they take your name off the list if you wander off too far.

“Heidi?” the hostess called. We rushed up quickly. “Oh, I was just checking to see if you were still here.” Deflated and stomachs churning, we walked back outside and looked at the menu.

“Heidi?” she called again 20 minutes later. We approached the hostess station with great vigor, as it was already 1 p.m. “We’re clearing your table. It will be ready in five minutes.” We shuffled back outside to wait.

Then, a total stranger rested her hand all too comfortably on our backs. “Don’t look now,” she said, “but Ben and Jennifer are walking into the restaurant.”

I tried as stealthily as I could to look while being discrete. There it was, only two tables away — Bennifer. It was kind of exhilarating. I always see paparazzi pictures of famous people in LA, with captions like “They eat too!” but hardly ever do I encounter one face to face. Here in my own neighborhood, I got to see Bennifer-2 ordering a meal at the same restaurant I frequent.

It was exactly at that moment my starry-eyed staring turned to scowling. When no one came to escort us to our table, it finally hit me — they were ordering lunch at the table that was supposed to be mine.

We had to wait another 30 minutes for a couple to leave, all the while Ben and Jennifer enjoyed our table. Some girl came over to the table and gave Jennifer a hug. I wanted to go over too, but my interaction would have gone something like this: “Are you enjoying your salad? How’s that soda? You like the table? Good, ‘cause it’s mine!”

You may think it’s mean, but I have no patience for celebrity table-stealers, especially when lunch is on the line.

As the woman called “Heidi?” for the third time, she gave me an I’m-sorry look and directed my friend and I to a window table.

Sure, now I watched them, but more in frustration than fascination. Ben in a blue hooded sweatshirt was a sloppy eater, over-gesturing annoyingly as he talked between bites. Jen in a conservative, collared shirt and sweater was all cute and smiley during the meal. Of course she was happy. She didn’t have to wait for her table.

While you can tell my friend and I were fairly pissed, we realized there was no reason to bring out the fisticuffs. Ben being in Daredevil, and Jennifer the multi-action movie star, would probably be the absolute worst couple to start a fight with. They could kung fu our butts to oblivion, or effortlessly hold us back as we ran into their out-pushed palms.

When Ben and Jen exited the restaurant, they walked directly passed the window we were seated at. But no, not even a thanks for the table. Instead they shielded their eyes from the paparazzi taking pictures with a large-lens camera. I thought it was overdramatic as it was midday, no flashes involved, and there was only one man out there. Well, there was someone who parked her car, took a picture, and drove away, but hardly the mob they had prepared for.

I think what frustrates me is their sense of entitlement. I don’t suppose Ben and Jennifer were purposefully being rude, but they obviously didn’t think about the fact that everyone else had to wait 30 to 40 minutes for a table. Movie stars complain about how they wish to lead a normal life. You want a normal life? Wait for a table. Don’t shield your eyes from cameras that aren’t there.

I heard from my friend that they also frequent the TCBY on Montana, the very same TCBY I often go to. That was the final straw. While they may gotten away with cutting in line, there will be a fierce scene if they try to get in the way of me and my fro yo. You may be trained in martial arts, Jennifer, but I have no shame when it comes to defending my chocolate malt and oreo yogurt, and will use force if necessary. (Heidi)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 10, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)