B & H Dairy

This kosher lunch counter is the kind of classic New York place that makes us say, “goddammit I love B&H Dairy” every time we pass by. It’s been open since the ’40s, and your overstuffed tuna sandwich will come on their baked-in-house airy and sweet challah. If you order pierogies (the cheese or sauerkraut and mushroom are delicious), the people working the counter will yell to the back kitchen, trusting the cooks will get the memo across the noisy, extremely narrow room.  There are some tables, but sitting at the counter is the move. Order off the long menu of breakfast classics and Eastern European staples (things like matzo ball soup, stuffed cabbage, and blintzes), and watch someone else’s breakfast cook on a griddle that’s forgotten more about eggs than you could ever possibly hope to know. Feel free to bring your own newspaper and tattered hat for a full New York experience.

photo credit: Alex Staniloff