Lines I think you should wait in

the only places worth your precious, precious time

I was up early on Saturday getting coffee at Oslo, trying to fight last night’s 3-martini-haze that could blow into a migraine any given second. I turned the corner and saw the line for Apollo Bagels and wanted to turn around and go back to bed. I know there’s always a crowd here, (and I want to add that I had no intention of getting a bagel, just purely a bystander), but there were three roped off sections of a line down the block and around the corner to simply order the bagel. So yes, to summarize, you had to wait in line to wait in line.

Sunday morning Radio Bakery line

The psychology of the New York City Line™ needs to be studied. We’re doing something over here that nobody else on planet earth is doing. These single file situations taking up hours of the human day on a Saturday are made up of a few motivators to be diagnosed below:

1. The “we only makes few a day(!!!)” place with the viral item that you simply will not be getting if you aren’t there an hour early. Think: the damn pinwheel croissant from Lafayette Bakery.

2. The free item. Because waiting outside of a food truck in Soho that is giving away a free Sabrina Carpenter lip gloss is just important, I guess.

3. A bagel, a cinnamon roll, or a pancake. I have never seen lines like I have outside of Golden Diner, Pop Up Bagels, and that new Sunday Morning Cinnamon Roll place in the East Village.

4. The 5pm walk in only bar seats. The only way to eat at I-Sodi, Don Angie, or most recently the Snail- any of the places in that wheelhouse

Before we get into the few places that are worth waiting for, please don’t wait in the following lines: (I may or may not have deep regrets from doing so in the past)

• Bubby’s. Always a line, always a mediocre pancake.

• The Corner Store. There’s now a line that starts one hour before to put your name on another wait list.

• Apollo bagels (my god do they hurt my jaw)

• Any free product pop up, ever. I waited so long for a free tote at the Fishwife pop up, (I wasn’t myself that day)

• The “Bradley Cooper cheesesteak place”. I haven’t been but please don’t wait in the cold for this it looks dry

• Any Swedish candy place

• Breakfast by Salts Cure.

Places worth their long wait times:

These are all subjective to mood, but I’m looking for discourse if I’m out of my mind

1. Montauk General Matcha

The only pop up I will wait in line for. In this age of matcha in a city far far away from Japan, you’re probably familiar with the: cup of milk with a faint tint of green concept that you’ll be served more often than not. In search of the correct hue of green, I became obsessed with the Montauk General Matcha.

They use Rocky’s Matcha which is my most favorite brand of perfect ceremonial grade matcha, and the flavors and presentation at the pop ups are always whimsical- their classic iced matcha topped with Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding, or a maple matcha topped with a Cinnamon Roll baked by

Perfect City

are just two examples.

That being said, when there’s no pop up, I do think the line at Kijitora is decently warranted for a good matcha.

2. Welcome Home

This new Bed-Stuy bakery perfectly perched on its corner is worth the line for many reasons. One of their owners is an ex- L’Appartment 4f baker, which is likely what contributed to the formation of the line to begin with (we know 4f has the longest lines in NYC history), but the feeling I get from indulging here is worth the time standing in the cold. As soon as you make it inside, you thaw while light floods the space- you’re literally sunbathing in the smells of melted butter and cinnamon.

The kicker here is that they only put a few things out at a time, so it’s a mystery once you make it up to the counter to see what just came out of the oven. I can promise you everything is incredible no matter your fate. I got my warm croissant, found a seat at the table in my little red chair, and finished every bite. 20 minutes later, the chocolate chip cookies came out. 20 minutes after that came the cinnamon buns. Yes I stayed for all three, it felt like a little game of clue.

3. Ho Foods

This Taiwanese breakfast nook has about 5 tables, which is why the wait is so long and why you have to go so early to put your name down. The good news is, you’re right in the heart of the East Village, so there’s plenty of places up the block to grab a coffee after the host scribbles your name down on a note pad- La La Bakery is a favorite of mine for a Vietnamese salt coffee.

Once you’re seated at your table (that does not have the surface area for the amount of food you’re about to order), you’re going to start with the Taiwanese cruller that you’ll dunk in their house made warm soy milk. The most popular menu item is the scallion pancake egg sandwich, which we know is another viral concept at Win Son Bakery (another place I would still wait in a decently long line for), but my favorite thing on the menu is the fan tuan, which is pork floss and crispy cruller wrapped in a sticky rice. Everything about this space feels like everything a neighborhood spot should ever be, people don’t rush out either which rightfully adds to the wait time.

4. Petit Chou

This French bakery is less of a line-out-the-door situation and more of a “we only have 5 a day [on the weekend only]” situation. The best bacon egg and cheese in New York City resides here, but damn they are hard to come by if you decide to sleep in.

The distinguishing factor between this sandwich and all others is the bread, which is a laminated croissant dough that is both crispy and flaky and encases their crispY bacon, a major cheese pull, and non eggy eggs. My favorite part is that it’s served on a paper plate with a tan sauce on the side- an aioli of sorts, and you’re literally standing there on the street with your sandwich exposed on a plate indulging. It’s the perfect recipe to attract attention to yourself, everyone who walks by will ask where you got what you have.

5. Wildair Donuts

Notice the tater tot focaccia

Wildair is a tiny wine bar by night that has an incredible pastry chef that makes one or two funky flavored donuts every weekend, hence the exclusivity of getting your hands on one. This also isn’t necessarily a line, (even though there were people always waiting outside), but a game you’d have to play every single time they dropped the link at 1pm on Saturday afternoons to pre-order the most top tier donut you can find in New York City. We’re talking caviar donuts and crispy torched creme brulee donuts (and if you’re lucky, a tater tot focaccia).

Rumors are the donuts became so popular they’re now opening a separate spot just for donuts in place of the Saturday morning competition to make them slightly easier to obtain. You’ll also never have the same first bite here because the flavors arealways different, which is why it’s consistently memorable and always worth the 12:55 iphone alarm.

6. Cervo’s

Let me be specific here. The scenario in which I would show up at 5pm with a line of people and put my name down for a 3 hour wait is: an outdoor table for two right in the street on a breezy summer night with a plate of chilled mussels.

Cervo’s has the best outdoor seating in the city- I’ve never felt more in Portugal and less in New York. You could arguably say any of the restaurants within the “““dimes square””” collective (Le Dive, Tolo, Kiki’s) have prime outdoor seating in the summer, but nobody does it like Cervo’s. The yellow tiled outdoor bar with buckets of natural wine swimming in ice that exist to wash down their crispy shrimp heads, summer peas, and the [ONLY] chicken dish worth ordering anywhere- is so incredibly worth the wait for the feeling and the flavor.

7. Bernie’s

[Controversial take but] another place worth waiting for both feeling and flavor. In order to eat amongst the checkered floors and neon signs, you’ll have to start lining up around 4:40pm. If you aren’t part of that initial line, you definitely aren’t getting a table. You’re usually looking at a 2 hour wait that can be pleasantly filled by sitting on one of their outdoor stools with a few cosmos, or at one of the 10,000 cocktail bars steps away, my favorite in the summer is Parkhouse, which is a bar in McCarran park that allows for a sunset spritz on a park bench in a plastic cup.

The feeling you’re waiting for: slightly tipsy and doodling using crayons they give you to produce a work of art on the paper tablecloths, which is such a nostalgic smell and activity. To continue the nostalgia, they serve mozzarella sticks, chicken parm, a dramatic wedge salad, and a hot fudge brownie sundae. You almost feel guilty drinking alcohol amongst the child-centric menu, but the fun wait staff that sing and dance while they serve you remind you you’re also here to party as a real grown up.

8. Win Son

The best fried chicken sandwich in the world

This will probably be the most generic one on this list- it’s no secret that the walk in only Win Son is delicious. I want to note I’m referring to the restaurant here, not the bakery, which is also good but has gotten a bit out of hand.

Allow me to plan your next Thursday night because Win Son is such a Thursday place (does this make sense to anyone?)- you’re going to head over around 6pm and put your name down. The hosts who are always hot and wearing something I wish I could pull off will tell you it’s a 2+ hour wait- no problem. It’s always a bit difficult when you see other people happily eating their sesame noodles knowing it’s just ~so far away, but you have other plans in the meantime.

Go get cash from the ATM across the street at the bodega with the funny owner, and head to Duck Duck, a cash only bar with cheap cocktails and banging music. Once you’re 2 micheladas in on one of their (potentially dirty) corduroy couches, your text that your table is ready will appear before you are.

Lines I’m still curious about

• Lucali- I feel like something I have to do eventually?

• Schmuck- New bar from these cool Barcelona people that has a line around the block at opening

• Cafe Panna- for some reason it’s hard to believe ice cream could be that good?

• Chrissy’s Pizza - another full day mission to obtain a pizza

• The Snail - I think we’re at the stage of people lining up at 3:30 for a 5pm opening

Input from the community

(My 3 friends)

What lines do you think are worth waiting in?