Egg in Williamsburg, Saturday 1:30 PM

Welcome to the Brunch Bunch, where we go to some of the city’s hottest brunch spots and ask the crowds outside why, exactly, they are waiting in line. Today, Egg in Williamsburg.

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Over the past few years, George Weld’s Egg in Williamsburg has built up a steady following of comfort food fans who are drawn in by its affordable menu of market-driven Southern classics. Brunch service on the weekends has become something of a phenomenon — the crowds start queuing up early, and by midday the wait for a table in the narrow dining room can reach epic proportions. On the last Saturday of summer at 1:30 PM, the people enduring the line included a nanny, a janitor, a punk rocker, a sommelier in training and a sociology professor. Let's meet them, shall we?

Name: Anna
Age: 27
Profession: Project manager
Why are you waiting in line for brunch at Egg? We just come here a lot because of the hash browns and the French press.
How long have you been waiting? We just got here, but looking at the line, it’s probably going to be at least 30 minutes.
How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else? Until Liz gets here, she’s our last friend that we’re waiting for.
If the wait gets too long, do you have a back-up plan? La Superior.
Did you go out last night? I didn’t because I had to get up early.
What did you have to get up for? Volunteering at the abortion clinic.
What are your plans for the rest of the day? Eat, and then I don’t know. Hang out, drink? I have to go to a dinner party tonight for my roommate’s mom’s birthday.

Name: Bizzy Jenkins
Age: 28
Profession: Singer in a punk rock band
Why are you waiting in line for brunch at Egg? I’ve been coming here for years. I know about it and we figured we’d go put our name on the list, go grab a cup of coffee and come back. We figured it’d be about an hour wait, but it’s definitely the best brunch place in Williamsburg.
How long have you been waiting? It’s been about 15 minutes.
Who are you here with? My friend, Doctor.
How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else? No, I don’t work like that. I knew we’d have to wait, so we came here and we came up with a plan to deal with the waiting.
Was the plan to go get coffee and come back? Yes.
If the wait gets too long, do you have a back-up plan? No plan B. There’s only Egg.
Did you go out last night? No, I just stayed in actually.
What are your plans for the rest of the day? Just going to see what happens.

Names: John and Tara
Ages: 28 and 27
Professions: Manager at Frankie’s Spuntino and professor of sociology
Why are you waiting in line for brunch at Egg? John: I’ve been living in the neighborhood for a few years and it’s always a solid, greasy brunch. Tara: I take his lead.
How long have you been waiting? John: I just put our name down about five minutes ago and there’s maybe fourteen tables ahead of us.
How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else? John: I’ve just about decided that now, actually. I work the door at Frankie’s a lot, so I would say this is about an hour wait.
If the wait gets too long, do you have a back-up plan? John: I think Five Leaves.
Did you go out last night? John: No, I cooked dinner at home, we had a dinner party. I made an heirloom tomato salad and a kale salad, some spinach and ricotta ravioli in a hen of the woods brown butter sauce, and a pork tenderloin with some mashed potatoes and bok choy.
What are your plans for the rest of the day? John: Studying. I’m taking the ASA sommelier class right now — it’s a lot of memorization. Tara: And I’m getting getting my PHD, so I’m studying with him.

Name: Elizabeth
Age: 33
Profession: Executive assistant
Why are you waiting in line for brunch at Egg? It’s my friend’s birthday.
How long have you been waiting? It’s been a while. We got here like at 12:30, but really we haven’t been waiting that long because, like, our turn is next.
How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else? I don’t think we’re planning on going anywhere else, we want to be here.
If the wait gets too long, do you have a back-up plan? No, not really.
Did you go out last night? We went to happy hour at the Warf Bar in Manhattan.
What are your plans for the rest of the day? We’re going to see a band later called Those Darlins.

Names: Jessica and Joey
Ages: 25 and 23
Professions: Nanny and janitor
Why are you waiting in line for brunch at Egg? Joey: My cousin’s in from LA, wanted to take him out for a good breakfast.
How long have you been waiting? Joey: We’ve been waiting for a while. Our name’s been on this list for like an hour. We walked down to another store though, she might have called out our name when we weren’t here.
How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else? Joey: We were right about to go somewhere else.
If the wait gets too long, do you have a back-up plan? Joey: We were thinking about going to Dumont Burger or Oasis. There aren’t that many places to have breakfast around here.
How do you guys know each other? Jessica: We’ve known each other our whole lives. His father was the best man at my parents' wedding.
Did you go out last night? Jessica: No, we ended up staying in and watching the Sopranos.
What are your plans for the rest of the day? Jessica: I’m going to go be a nanny. Joey: And I’m going to go be a tour guide.

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