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Refreshingly unconcerned with its appearance, this weathered diner in the shadow of Union Square offers no trace of retro gimmicks—or a crowd that cares for such pretense. Formica tables bolted into the floor are topped with sprigs of fake flowers, while a faint fried-food smell never quite goes away. The oversize menu with the inevitable typos (“coffe”) reads on and on. Go easy on the appetizers: Fried mozzarella sticks (emphasis on fried) can leave an oily aftertaste, while the delicate calamari struggle vainly against the thick batter they’re swathed in. The meat-lover’s omelette, swollen with ham, sausage, and fatty curls of bacon, lives up to its name, though the accompanying home-style potatoes tend toward mealy, and you’d need a magnifying glass to find the onion bits. Punch it up with a dash of Tabasco—or better yet, ask for the crisp fries instead. The diner’s only real pretension is its claim to serving the “best cheesecake in New York,” a boast that the dense wedge with a lemony tang doesn’t quite back up, though it’s impossible not to finish. — AnneLise Sorensen

Meat-lover’s omelette, $6.85; hamburger with fries, $6.45