Restaurants With Long Lines Worth Waiting For

a car parked at a gas station
Line out the door at Oklahoma Joe’s

Just how long would you wait in line for a meal? Generally speaking, I’d assume that we all hate waiting. When we get to a restaurant we want to be sat instantly and have our food be brought out promptly.

However, some places are just so popular that you know there is going to be a wait. But are you willing to stand in those long lines to get some (hopefully) delicious grub?

When there is a place that I have my mind set at trying out I have a strategy and it is very simple: Get there early before the place is  even open. You might wait an hour or so but at least you’ll be guaranteed a table.

When it comes to employing this strategy, the restaurant that first comes to mind is one that we visited in Rome. I read about the notoriously long waits for a table at Pizzeria da Baffetto. We arrived a bit over an hour before opening and were the first on-line. Within 10 minutes or so, people started showing up to wait behind us. Luckily I found an open wifi connection so I was able to catch up on e-mails while we waited. In the end, it was well worth the wait. We really enjoyed the pizza and I’ll never forget the experience!

I came across an article from Yahoo Travel which made me think of this topic. The article, Wait For It: 10 Restaurants Worth Waiting in Their (Very) Long Lines made me wonder how committed others were to getting that must-try meal.

Here is the list:

  • Oklahoma Joe’s- Kansas City, KS
  • Mussel & Burger Bar- Louisville, KY
  • Hot Doug’s- Chicago
  • Regina Pizzeria- Boston
  • Franklin BBQ- Austin, TX
  • Shake Shack- New York, NY
  • State Bird Provisions- San Francisco, CA
  • Oddfellows- Dallas, TX
  • Pink’s Hot Dogs- Los Angeles, CA
  • Jestine’s Kitchen- Charleston, SC
a group of people outside a restaurant
Well worth the wait!

We’ve only been to a couple of restaurants from the list and both are worth of waiting for.

During our recent trip to the Mid-West, we had lunch at Oklahoma Joe’s. The line was long but it moved relatively fast. (I think we waited around 35 minutes.) The BBQ was excellent and well worth the wait. I’d head back there again if I find myself back in the KC area!

I’d consider Shake Shack one of my favorite burgers out there and the lines at the original Madison Square Park location get ridiculous. For that reason I’ve only dined at this location a few times. With quite a few locations around, unless you have to eat at the first Shack, head to one of the other locations. There will still be lines but (usually) not nearly as long as MSP. Lucky for me, the Shake Shack closest to home in Brooklyn has never had a wait much longer than 10 minutes.

How long are you willing to wait in line to get into a restaurant?

Find out about each of the restaurants on the list from Yahoo Travel here.

7 thoughts on “Restaurants With Long Lines Worth Waiting For

  1. Carl- At this point I wouldn’t wait on a very long line for Shake Shack since there are many locations. However, I disagree with your comment about their burgers. I am guessing you must be a Five Guys (ill) fan! 🙂

    FlyingDoctorWu- Thanks for the info! Charleston is a place that we’ve wanted to visit for quite some time.

  2. I find Jestine’s to be merely average.. I think that waiting for a table at Hominy Grill for lunch is definitely worth it…. and please don’t even consider Hyman’s (all Charleston SC)

    FDW

  3. Never figured out why Shake Shack is on such lists. Certainly their burgers aren’t anything special.

  4. Mike- To each their own! 🙂

    Trent- Definitely good to know! You must be a committed BBQ lover! A visit to Austin has been calling my name for some time now!

    Dovertime- Awesome! Would like to know how OK Joe’s compares to Franklin? I’ve also wanted to check out Regina for some time now. How was it?

  5. Mmmm Franklin Barbeque! I’ve had Franklin three times with an average wait time of just under 4 hours. Definitely worth it.

  6. In the words of a retired Lt. commander I used to work with

    “I wouldn’t wait on line to see the statue of liberty jump the grand canyon “

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