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Like the hodgepodge of floppy teddy bears plopped along its windowsill, this Upper West Side family favorite is much-loved and a little shabby. It does brunch best and its signature dish best of all: a browned bulbous pastry with a steaming hot, eggy inner lining and hollow center, meant to be pulled apart and smeared in strawberry butter. These popovers luckily resurface as accompaniments for otherwise ordinary American offerings of salads, omelettes, and sandwiches. Vegetarian and health-watch options help round out the heavier diner fare. Playful puns and curious references—a What's Up Waldorf salad, Eggstras, orange juice 'squoze' on the premises—sprinkled throughout the menu hint at the café’s easygoing attitude and familiarity in dealing with youngsters. Gaggles of kids, harried parents, and doting grandparents, and the occasional cliques of local tweens and teens, pile into the booths in the elevated seating area up front, the large dining room in back, and the corridor in between. Apart from paisley half-curtains and teddy bears, there's little décor of note until you arrive in the slightly dimmer main room, arrayed with low-hanging triangular copper lamps, striped cushions, and the odd oil painting. — Kate Appleton

Popover, $2.50; lemon twist pancakes, $9.95; baby spinach goat cheese salad, $15.75