Restaurant lineups just a part of today’s dining experience

Toronto restaurants have made tremendous strides in the last five years — more late-night eating, using challenging ingredients and getting customers to eat them — but we are still in our adolescence as evidenced most recently by our Festival of Lineups.

The city is only big enough for one super-hot restaurant at a time. So when a new kid on the block is anointed by a gridlock of celebrants, the sidewalk soon becomes clogged with those desperate to be the first to dine-brag. In 2008, it was outside carnivore hangout the Black Hoof on Dundas St. W.

Then it was at Pizzeria Libretto on Ossington Ave., followed by Japanese comfort food hot spot Guu on Bloor St. W.

Last year the crowds gathered outside hipster taco joint Grand Electric on Queen St. W, and now at Momofuku’s

“Every restaurant has every ability to allow reservations.” RICHARD NIMAN

Noodle Bar at University and Adelaide.

These places all have a few things in common, which is why, at one time or another, they had people waiting on the sidewalks. The food is good and inexpensive, the service is fast and they don’t take reservations. Many patrons expect reservations to be a standard service and are flummoxed when this is not the case.

“In 2012, every restaurant has every ability to allow reservations,” says Rich- ard Niman, a lawyer who has no patience for lines.

“How is it possible at this stage of technology that we have decided to accept and endorse a regression to a less efficient and more annoying fashion of doing things?”

There are very simple reasons why many new restaurants do not take reservations, thus causing the lineups.