Waiting in line in Boston is brutal. Some spots are still worth it.

"But outside certain local businesses, a line can work less like a deterrent and more like an endorsement. It signals that something inside is beloved, hyped, familiar, or reliable enough that others are willing to give up a portion of their day for it."

"They are there for the baklava pancakes. Drizzled with rose water syrup and topped with baklava, walnut, and pistachio sugar, the pancakes have become the Cambridge diner's calling card - the kind of dish people hear about before they ever see a menu."

"The Palestinian-owned restaurant first debuted the pancakes as a Mother's Day special, but they developed enough of a following that the diner let them stick around. Now, the restaurant calls itself the "Home of the Baklava & Kanafeh Pancakes," and a search of the restaurant on social media reinforces that reputation, turning up videos of customers filming the pancakes, cutting into them, and posting about finally trying them."

""I heard the baklava pancakes here are really good," said Celine, a 22-year-old Boston University student waiting outside the restaurant. "It's my first time here, and I will wait for them." She and a friend had given themselves a limit. It was 10:10 a.m., and they were willing to wait until 10:30"

Lines outside busy Boston restaurants can function as endorsement rather than deterrent. Customers waiting outside Brookline Lunch, Cannonball Cafe, Modern Pastry, and Neptune Oyster were asked what makes the wait worthwhile. At Brookline Lunch in Cambridge, customers repeatedly cited baklava pancakes as the reason for standing in line. The pancakes are described as drizzled with rose water syrup and topped with baklava, walnut, and pistachio sugar. The restaurant’s reputation is reinforced through social media, where customers film and post their experience. A Palestinian-owned restaurant, Brookline Lunch originally debuted the pancakes as a Mother’s Day special, then kept them due to strong demand. Customers arrive already convinced the pancakes are worth it.

Read at Boston.com