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Straddling the border between Morningside Heights and Harlem, Toast offers locals a hearty selection of dishes with a gritty view of the elevated subway. Its stark, loft-like space is low on comfort with hard wooden chairs, sparse décor and a no-frills bar with a TV perpetually tuned to sports. However, Toast's lack of style doesn’t extend to its kitchen. During the day, patrons leisurely munch away on sandwiches and salads punctuated by fresh skirt steak, chewy Portobello mushrooms and creamy goat cheese. A number of burgers are also on the menu, including the savory Danish, which is stuffed with blue cheese so the meat is infused with its pungent flavor. A small roster of simple entrées is also available, but the artists and Columbia students who tend to frequent the spot prefer sandwiches to salmon. At 5 p.m., happy hour kicks in and that's when Toast really heats up. The stereo starts to blare, the stools start to fill up, the shots start to pour and by nightfall, Toast has transformed into a full-on college hangout. — Raven Snook

Sun-Wed, 5pm-8pm and 11pm-1am; Thu-Sat, 5pm-8pm and midnight-2am; $1 off well drinks and beer, $4 house wine

Portobello,zucchini, roasted peppers and pesto sandwich, $8.95; mesclun grilled skirt steak salad, $11.95; French burger with goat cheese and fresh chives, $10.95

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