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SoCal Restaurants With Extremely Long Lines That Are Worth The Wait
In today’s modern world, people aren’t really accustomed to waiting around for stuff anymore. We can get products shipped overnight with the click of a button. If a website or app takes more than a few seconds to load, we give up. When we’re too lazy to cook, Uber Eats brings food to our doorstep. But there’s one thing that will still make people skip delivery and wait in line for — getting a chance to eat at the best restaurants. Whether it’s because of the fantastic food, the experience of the restaurant, the bragging rights that come with exclusivity, or simply hopping on a trend, there are several restaurants that will have people waiting hours in line. The truth is, not all popular places are worth the wait. Here is a list of restaurants that you’ll need to set half your day aside for — but are worth every second.
Eggslut (Los Angeles)
For egg lovers that are willing to wait in long lines for the best egg sandwiches and cheeseburgers around, look no further than Eggslut in Downtown Los Angeles. Chef-founder Alvin Cailan (also author and host of First We Feast’s “The Burger Show”) came up with the idea for the egg-based restaurant while nursing a hangover by cooking delicious food for himself and his friends. He felt his city needed a feel-good breakfast option for those painful Sunday mornings. The restaurant started out on wheels in an old white foot truck, but the idea took off fast. Within two months, people were already waiting for 45 minutes to snag some of his egg sandwiches. He eventually moved into the legendary Grand Central Market, and the rest is history. Now Eggslut has locations all over the world, including in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Despite the additional locations, you’ll still need to line up to snag a hearty bacon, egg, and cheese on a brioche bun after your next big night out on the town. The restaurant also serves cheeseburgers, steak sandwiches, and plenty of other egg-cellent breakfast foods as well.
Pink’s Hot Dogs (Los Angeles)
There aren’t many places that justify waiting for an ungodly amount of time for a hot dog — but Los Angeles’ Pink’s Hot Dogs is one of those places. Pink’s is one of those restaurants that has become a mainstay of Los Angelean culture, complete with walls covered in autographed and framed celebrity posters. Even the Los Angeles Times named Pink’s LA’s third-most iconic spot. Pink’s humble beginning came way back in 1939 when a couple named Paul and Betty Pink received a $50 loan from Betty’s mother. They used that money to buy a hot dog pushcart, where they began selling a simple chili dog recipe for 10 cents a dog. The couple scraped by, but eventually purchased the property where the cart sold from and even opened a flower shop next door to pay the bills. Almost eight decades later, the same restaurant dishes out thousands of hot dogs and over 200 hamburgers every single day to people coming in from all over the world. If you find yourself waiting in line at the historic LA institution, you’ll find the menu has been expanded widely since its humble beginnings as a chili dog cart. There are several jam-packed hot dogs, like the pastrami Reuben dog, the nacho cheese chili dog, or the Guadalajara Dog. But depending on when you show up, be prepared to wait anywhere from a half hour up to two hours to bite into a piece of Los Angeles history.
Howlin’ Ray’s (Los Angeles)
You don’t have to be in Nashville to get top-tier Nashville-style hot chicken. LA’s Howlin’ Ray’s has made it clear the hot chicken movement can even be found near the sunny beaches on the Pacific as well. Chef-founder Johnny Ray Zone worked under notable chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Thomas Keller, and Nobu Matsuhisa before falling in love with the Southern-style hot chicken found in Nashville. When he got back to LA after a trip, he and his wife did the customary LA move — start a food truck. One day, Johnny’s wife Amanda put together a hot chicken sandwich on a whim after buying buns from a burger stand — and thus started the legendary long lines that follow the restaurant. Today, Howlin’ Ray’s can be found in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza (as well as a new location in Pasadena with equally long lines). If you do find yourself trying to snag a hot chicken sandwich, you might find yourself waiting in line for up to three hours on weekends and even five hours on weekends that happen to fall on a holiday. But if you do brave the lines, you’ll get your hands on hot chicken that rivals its siblings in Nashville. If you’re ready to sweat, get in line.
Las Cuatro Milpas (San Diego)
Finding good Mexican food in San Diego isn’t hard. You can find fantastic fish tacos, California burritos, ceviche, and street tacos on just about every corner of the city. This makes the fact that a tiny, mom-and-pop, cash-only, hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Las Cuatro Milpas consistently has lines that stretch around the block all the more impressive. The legendary spot was created way back in the 1930s by Petra and Natividad Estudillo in Barrio Logan and is the oldest operating Mexican restaurant in San Diego. Ever since its formation, it has never closed, moved, or changed ownership. The menu is incredibly simple — tacos, tamales, burritos, and of course, rice and beans. It is most famous for its deep-fried tacos, topped with Mexican cheese and shredded lettuce, but just about everything on the menu is known for being the best in the city. Just make sure you bring cash, or your whole wait will have been for nothing.
Text by Elliott Pak | Photo credits on mashed.com | Read More Here
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