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The NY Sun looks at the strange but-more-common-than-you'd-think phenomenon of New Yorkers waiting for things. Well, in addition to Magnolia cupcakes and Shake Shack (yeah, you knew it) burgers and shakes, the Sun listed some waits:
HALAL GYRO AND CHICKENWow. Have you waited for any of these things? We've waited for cupcakes, sample sales, brunch spots and celebrities, but nowadays, we go to movie theaters early and wait a long time just so we can get first crack at seats.
Sixth Avenue at 53rd Street
Waiting for: A hefty platter of meat, rice, salad and secret sauce combination.
Peak time: 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., and midnight to 3 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays
Average wait time: 45 minutesCROXLEY'S ALES
28 Avenue B
Waiting for: $0.10 Buffalo wings on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Peak time: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Average wait time: 45 minutesMOMOFUKU NOODLE BAR
163 First Ave.
Waiting for: Ramen noodles and crispy pig tail
Peak time: Thursday, 8 p.m.
Average wait time: Half-hour to 45 minutesSWAY
305 Spring St.
Smiths/Morrissey Sundays with Ben Cho and Brian DeGraw spinning at this nightclub and lounge.
Peak times: 12:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
Average wait time: Half-hourSARABETH'S
423 Amsterdam Ave.
Waiting for a table for brunch.
Peak times: Weekends, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Average wait time: Half-hour to 45 minutes
Photograph of people waiting for something by Santi-Jose on Flickr
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Hm, I go to Croxley's fairly frequently for 10c wings and rarely have a problem with waiting. Sometimes if it gets very crowded I'll get my own drinks, but for the most part, they're pretty fast with the wings. And delicious.
I've waited for 15 minutes on line at Duane Reade to buy dental floss. More than once. It made me feel special. Other than that, I waited on line once at Shake Shack. I'm still not sure which experience was less exciting.
I always wondered why the hella long lines at Halal's gyro stand -- on weekend nights it looks like people are lining up for Star Wars -- bizarre! I can't imagine it being *that* good, but it must be...
ive waited at that halal cart more times than i can remember. 45 minutes is a little on the long side, its usually more around 30. definitely worth every second though.
Time Out New York did this story months ago:
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/Details.do?page=1&xyurl=xyl://TONYWebArticles1/sg06/out_there/waits_and_measures.xml
I've rarely had to wait at Croxley's for wings, and while it's been a few months since I stopped by, we used to go once a week. I think we sat at the bar and waited for a table for about fifteen minutes once, but other than that prompt seating and (fairly) prompt service (and the wings are good too).
I love Sarabeth's, but I've never really had to wait that long - either at the one on Amsterdam or on CPS. I suppose it depends on how many people you're with, because a table for 2-3 usually takes 15 minutes or so.
the one that's always mesmerized me is the brunch line at clinton st. baking co.
it's breakfast people! wake UP!
there's literally thousands of places that serve pancakes in this city... and you lot spend two hours of your beautiful sunday standing on a sidewalk?
freakin' insane if you ask me....
have you tried their pancakes, though? they're hands down the best carbohydrates in the city.
I waited for more than an hour and a half yesterday for brunch at Essex. Good thing they have $3 mimosas/bloody marys while you wait.
i won't wait on line at magnolia because the help is so rude. i'd rather walk the 20 or so blocks north to billy's bakery.
Don't forget there are certain foods you can only get from certain places in the city. Like if you want a decent Chicago Hot Dog theny ou gotta hang out in line for 45 minutes at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.
53rdand6th.com
I almost fell off my skates laughing yesterday at the line outside magnolia - it was at least 50 deep. Nothing, nothing is worth that wait on a sunday afternoon!
sure, they are great pancakes, but i get them at night when there's no wait ;-)
makes them all the more tastier
People here wait for things. This shouldn't be a surprise. I've waited an hour at Shake shake (worth it), and just yesterday I waited 45 minutes for a table at Popover Cafe for Brunch (Eggs Popeye!). Brunch on the UWS is crazy busy. If you're in the West 80s for weekend brunch, a 20 minute wait is almost a minimum.
And it's true what the article says: I interpret a long line as "that place must be good". This is usually* correct.
*not in the case of "[Just Barely] Good Enough To Eat", though.
Side note: At all the places I've waited, I've always waited in line. If there was a line painted on the ground, I may have happened to be standing on a line, but not once was I on line while waiting. Just thought I'd clarify.
jeff, it's a regional thing. in line or on line. like the difference between saying pop or soda. no need to be snotty.
They're totally off base with Croxley. As a way too frequent wing eater there, I can say with certainty that no one has ever had to wait 45 minutes for the wings. Yes, it can get really crowded in there, but they have wing making down to a science. It's actually quite breathtaking how QUICKLY the wings can get to you in the midst of an overcrowded bar.
i disagree, jeff. i think that waiting on line is a sign of people being a bit sheep-like (or, maybe more likely, they simply don't know about a less famous place that serves equally delicious food). why wait at magnolia when you can go to billy's? why wait at shake shack when there are a lot of burgers as good or better? if i'm going to spend money, i want to be treated with a bit of respect, not like a lemming.
Blue Ribbon is usually about an hour wait. At Al Di La, they often tell you at least an hour. Oh, but it's worth it!
Was just thinking this over the weekend while waiting half and hour for a fifteen dollar bowl of ramen.
Although sometimes its worth it. I met my boyfriend at Sway.
jersey city mafia: the chicago dogs at shake shack are neither authentic nor good. cucumber? lettuce? green peppers? i dont think so.
Waiting "on line" is definitely a regional thing. . . just like "conversate". Hilarious.
Trendhumpers in this city love to wait in line for shit they've heard is hot. Ask them to wait one second for anything else though and it's absolutely out of the question.
Ever had twenty cars lay on the horn 12 milliseconds after the light turns green?
Ever been passed on the right at a red light in Brooklyn with the Town Car driver going up on the curb just so he can lumber and waffle down the middle of the lane after the light turns?
Regional. Definitely. Curious. Certainly. Ridiculous? Arguably.
Two things:
-Magnolia cupcakes are revolting. My teeth are melting just thinking of them.
-One place that is always worth the wait is Dinosaur BBQ. Forget those wussy restaurants and head up to Harlem!
There was that 15 minute wait for a turnstile leaving Shea Stadium Friday night.
www.forgotten-ny.com
billy's cupcakes are about 1000% better than magnolia's.
oh, and the staff at billy's isn't rude. it's just indifferent. there is always the obligatory one or two people behind the counter that should be working and are, instead, just chatting.
I don't like to wait on line. And you do wait on line, unless you are from Wisconsin or someplace, call the Broadway-7th Avenue IRT the "Red Line" and pronouce Houston Street as if it was in Texas.
Do smart things so you don't have to wait on line or minimize the wait, like going places at off peak times, and use the stamp machine at the post office.
If the wait looks to be too long, go elsewhere - you may find someplace better that way!
Tomoei is an insane wait usually, but well worth it. Superlative doesn't even begin to describe that sushi.
It's "wait in line," not "wait on line."
You are not on a line. You are in a line.
Please learn the language.
i've been pissed off recently at the doorman at Rififi on friday nites (the name of the night is trash). He creates an artificial line of about 8 people when there is clearly room inside. The reason you know its artificial is because they dont let people in as others come out.. they just let them in after making them wait about 30 minutes.
now, i know this is normal practice for NYC, but not for the fucking east village. The doorman needs to take his shit to chelsea or chill out b/c it was never like that before at trash.
waiting on line is as acceptable a usage as saying "i'm on the phone." you are not literally "on" the phone, you are speaking into it.
it is a regional distinction. y'all isn't technically an acceptable contraction, but is anyone going to tell southerners to stop saying it and "learn the language." really, is it worth the snarky comments?
From Wikipedia. "In line" may be preferable, but it is not the out and out winner.
"In ambiguous cases, there is not always a clear rule which adposition is appropriate, and different languages and regional dialects may have different conventions. Learning the conventionally preferred word is a matter of exposure to examples. For example, most dialects of American English have "to wait in line", but some have "to wait on line"."
i wait 25 minutes for calexico's carne asada. mmmm..well worth it
in line, on line, who cares. really.
It's 'on line'.
Welcome to New York. Don't forget to call your mother, she's worried sick about you moving to the big scary city.
I say poe-tay-toe, you say poe-tah-toe...
...AND YOU'RE WRONG.
Yay! Whoo! Guy is the rightest! Whoo!
Yeah-I'm taking grammar advice from a group of people for whom "yous guys" is acceptable English.
Do yourself and skip Sarabeth's horrible service and overpriced and mediocre brunch. Check out their dinner menu. There's never a wait, and it's quite tasty!
There was a two to three HOUR wait this Saturday at Serendipity. A woman from the UK was outside when I sent my friend in to check and she said she put her name down, went shopping and was back after two hours waiting.
TWO HOURS. And this was in the after lunch/before dinner hours, around 4 - 6PM. Who wants to eat then??
Their food is sub-standard, and I can't even imagine waiting that long for ice cream. No frozen hot coco is worth that wait. Insane.
Its "queue", as in "Why do people wait in a queue for overrated cupcakes?".
"There was a two to three HOUR wait this Saturday at Serendipity."
This is a serious question: who on earth has that kind of free time? Waiting three hours and then sitting for an hour-and-a-half, at least? I wouldn't set aside that kind of time for any meal.
Samantha, you got that right.
I wouldn't stay in line that long for a threesome with Jessica Alba and that cutie pie photographer in Six Degrees.
Or even for a chance to flip the switch on a wired up GWB.
Okay, maybe the latter.
It's 'on line'.
Welcome to New York. Don't forget to call your mother, she's worried sick about you moving to the big scary city.
My mom is just fine. And my home city is just as civilized as yours. It's "in line" in 95% of this country, and I don't think I'll be lost in translation in this other 5%.
I remember a couple of years ago when they had the "worlds largest yard sale" in Central Park. the line ran from 72nd street to 59th street. That was the first of many stupid New York lines that I have seen.
waiting for brunch at clinton st makes a little bit of sense (they have the delicious fried green tomatoes, cheese grits and honey bacon you can't get most other places), but waiting for VESELKA really cracks me up! talk about eggs and toast you can get anywhere (or, even more incredulously: make them myself! and i'm not a cook-at-home type of gal, especially for brunch) baffles me week after week after week. and then, sit outside near the stagnant pool of 9th street gutter water that is present year-round. crazy.
there's also always a line of sit-on-the-bench-and-read-while-you-wait proportions outside 9th st market for brunch... so consistently that even though i've lived on that block for 10 years, i've never had an opportunity to eat there (since i'm not a wait-to-get-into-a-place kind of gal either).
I blame Duane Reade. Once you wait fifteen minutes on line for dental floss, forty five minutes for brunch no longer seems so bad.
85 minutes for shake shack on a rainy saturday afternoon very early in the season (this year). 45 minutes on line, 40 minutes for food. it was delicious.
How about just "wait"?
Anyone disturbed about "in/on" line should be taken "off/out" of the line for mandatory medication before being allowed to "join/step back on/step back in" the line. Now what about police "lineups"?
I'm sorry...but I have to just comment that waiting in lines is about the most UN-New York thing a person can do...it just goes to show how much the city has changed...and how many real new yorkers have left the city in recent years...I was born and raised in NYC and never had ANY patience for lines, and had always marveled when travelling how people were willing to wait, or even seemed to enjoy waiting in lines...I enjoyed going to Lombardi's for...but will never go back...because I can't stand to wait amid the tourists (or are they actually manhattan residents?)...and sorry, but anyone waiting in line for hours Magnolia or the Shake Shack is very UN New York...that's completely lame...find somewhere original, or DO without...that's REAL NY!...anyway that's just a tiny part of how the city has lost its character...