Jane on West Houston Street, Sunday 1PM

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, Jane on West Houston Street.

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Glenn Harris and Jeffrey Lefcourt's Jane on West Houston Street is still going strong after ten years. During peak brunch hours, the restaurant usually has a posse of diners waiting outside, many of them drawn in by the promise of a complimentary cocktail with their omelette or French toast. The weather was great yesterday, so the crowds were extra-thick. We chatted with a few hungry diners about why, exactly, they were enduring the wait, especially when there were other brunch options on the same block with no line at all.

Names: Chad and Joy
Ages: 30 and 24
Professions: Construction
How long have you been waiting? Chad: We put our name in at 12:45, so just over a half an hour.
There's no line at Silver Spurs on the corner. Would you consider going there?: Joy: Is it the same kind of food? It's more Tex-Mex. Joy: Oh, no, I don't want Tex-Mex. Chad: Do they have complimentary cocktails?
No. How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else? Joy: They said 40 minutes, so we said "Okay." If it's under an hour, that's fine. Over an hour? Done.
What did you do last night? Chad: I went out to Vynl. Joy: I just stayed home. It was such a dreary day.
What are you doing later today? Chad: Shopping then catching the game later on.

Name: Mark
Age: 30
Profession: MBA Student
How long have you been waiting? Maybe 20 minutes.
There's no line at Silver Spurs right now. Would you consider going there? Maybe, if I knew what kind of food they served.
How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else? I would definitely move after 40 minutes, but I'm here with friends and the sun is shining so it's not bad.
Why did you come to Jane today?: I came in from Philly to visit my friends from New York, we wanted try a Sunday brunch, drink a mimosa and have a slow morning.
What did you do last night ? We got in around Times Square and walked around. It's my friend's first time in New York, she's visiting from Taiwan. We walked up 5th Avenue, got pizza at a place called Angelo's, walked to the Upper West Side, met up at a friend's house, went to a bar near Columbia, bought some beers, then stayed at home.
What are you doing later today? We're going shopping in Soho, going to walk around a little bit, then going back to Philly. I'm taking the Bolt bus.

Name: Vanetta
Age: 36
Profession: Real estate
Why are you waiting in line at Jane? I came here about a month ago with my other friend, and I had to come back because the food was excellent, the service was great, and you can make reservations, which you can't do at a lot of other places for brunch.
How long have you been waiting? We're just waiting for our fourth person to join us, so it's been about five minutes. But they're usually very prompt, they seat you right away. The food is so good and you get a drink or cocktail, and it's included.
How long would you wait before deciding to go somewhere else? It depends, because if I know that the food is really good, I'd wait 30 minutes depending on the weather. But I would wait 20-30 minutes because I know that's par for the course. That's why I really appreciate that they take reservations.
What did you do last night? Last night was a quiet night at home watching movies.
What are you doing later today? I think we're either going to see a movie at Angelica, or go to a museum. I think we're probably going to the Natural History Museum.

Names: Megan, Nicole and Jocelyn
Ages: 24, 24, 24
Professions: Marketing, Social Media, Finance
How long have you been waiting? Nicole: I think we've been waiting about fifteen minutes?
There's no line at Silver Spurs right now. Would you consider going there?: Megan: I think we've done stuff like that before. We definitely do brunch every weekend, but one of my friends has never been to Jane before, and when we have our hearts set on a place, we're willing to wait. Jocelyn: It's nice today and we're finally in a good mood.
How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else?: Megan: About 35 minutes, I think, then wander off.
What did you do last night? Jocelyn: We all stayed in. Megan: The weather wasn't spectacular.
What are you doing later today? Megan: Super Bowl party. Jocelyn: I'm taking a cooking class later at CIA, it's a gluten free baking class. I don't know anything about football.

Name: Sylvia
Age: 25
How long have you been waiting? Maybe ten minutes?
There's no line at Silver Spurs right now. Would you consider going there? Yeah, I think I would rather wait the extra time and know I could get something good.
How long would you have to wait before deciding to go somewhere else? More than a half hour.
What did you do last night? I went out to Slate.
What are you doing later today? Maybe some shopping. I might go home and watch the game with my family, you know, watch the commercials.

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