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Whether you want a booth in back or a spot at the long, carved mahogany bar, prepare to wait in line. The crowd isn't queuing up just for the $3 mugs of McSorley's or for the scruffy old bartenders plying their trade with seen-it-all stoicism. What everyone's really here for is the Bistro Burger: an eight-ounce slab of juicy grilled beef piled several inches high with melted cheese, bacon and raw onions. Served on a paper plate that invariably turns into a greasy pulp, it's one of the heftiest, messiest and, at $6.75, cheapest chunks of cow you'll have in this town. The chicken sandwich and grilled cheese are equally tasty, if not exactly healthy, alternatives. — Jenifer Van Vleck

If you call yourself a New Yorker, consider it your civic duty to have a beer and a burger here at least once. If you're really a New Yorker, you'll know that the best time to do that is a weekday afternoon, when Corner Bistro's timeless tavern charm feels as warm as the sun streaming through the front windows.

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