The Paramount, Boston MA

Imagine you are walking down the quiet and regal streets of Boston's Beacon Hill and suddenly you hit a long line of people waiting for something on the street... what is this place? are they giving away free stuff? is it a restaurant? can we put our names down some list? how long do we have to wait in line? why are we waiting if there are so many empty tables? what the f@#%! is going on?!?!?
You will find the answers to all these questions as you wait 45' to an hour for your breakfast. And, if you've already been to The Paramount before, you will get to answer most of them as desperate first-comers try to understand what's going on. So, here they are: The Paramount is a restaurant that has been operating in Beacon Hill since 1937. It has a cafeteria-style breakfast where you wait in line to order your food (with a tray in hand) and not until you have the meal on your plate and have paid for it can you head for a table. They guarantee that there will be a table waiting for you. I've been there three times already and it has always been the case. Furthermore, you can play a game while you wait, and try to find a party that doesn't have a table ready by the time they leave the cashiers. Has not happened either... That's the reason for the line. A line that reaches the door will take about 45' to reach the cashiers. A line that extends to the street means about one hour of wait. You do not write your name anywhere and by no means you seat while waiting.
Waiting in line may sound like a deterrent.... but if you think carefully about it, it's not so bad. You would still wait for 45 minutes to an hour in any other place in downtown Boston on a Sunday. At The Paramount, at least you are under a roof, playing the game I described before, and constantly updating your meal choice as you continually check out the trays of those who successfully made it to the finish line.
The wait is worth it and you can work out a good appetite while at it. If not, ask Fernando, our guest for the week, who ordered not one but two brunches!!! 1- Breakfast sandwich (egg and cheese in a bagel) with sausage (inside) and homefries. 2-French toast. He didn't leave a crumble of these two very generous servings... In addition, he ordered a glass of carrot juice mixed with apple juice. The servers were really nice pointing out that they only had fresh green apple juice which may not taste as good, but he went for it and was great.
Diego and I opted for a "lighter" fare :). I had the breakfast special, which includes two eggs (over easy for me), homefries, toast and coffee; a bowl of super tasty fresh fruit (definitely one of The Paramount's most popular sides) and a large glass of carrot juice mixed OJ. Awesome!

Diego changed his mind a couple of times while we were waiting, because everything everyone ordered looked so delicious. He ended up ordering three yummy pancakes topped with fresh fruit (he said they are as good as those at Centre St. Cafe) and a side of sausages. He steered away from the carrot juice (which raised the curiosity among those waiting because it looked so orange and great) and ordered simple OJ instead.

It might not be the perfect brunch in the sense that it is not the most relaxed experience, with all the wait, the trays and the people staring at you while you eat. But the food is great, the staff super nice and the experience unforgettable.