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I think you've nailed it exactly: Corner Bistro provided the quintessential NY late night post-drinking burger experience. The burger itself? In and of itself, never that great, but the entire context? Wonderful.

Bagel with cream cheese, lox, tomato, onion alongside fresh orange juice and coffee.

Bagel with cream cheese, lox, tomato, onion alongside fresh orange juice and coffee.

Azuri Cafe.

Oasis in Williamsburg, Waterfalls on Atlantic Ave are tops in their neighborhoods, but not quite as good as Azuri.

The $25,000 for 5 bottles of wine or $100 truffle carpaccios don't seem quite as ridiculous to me as the $12 bottle of water, $9 cappucinos, $55 milanesa, $14 parmesan chunks, or $39 spaghetti. I suppose it's either because I'm not as familiar in the market for enormous truffles and expensive vintages of wine, or because the markup on the luxury items may be a larger dollar value, but a smaller percentage of the cost of those items.

Also, How to Cook Everything by Bittman. Simple, straightforward and useful.

Two Boots is not great pizza, especially not for the traditionalist and certainly not worth going out of your way for-- but I do like a few of their specialty slices. In particular, the Mr. Pink. And the cornmeal crispy crust is nice. But it's not up to par with the best pizzerias and it's not a real authentic NY-style slice. It's its own style.

Cheeseburger (or little cheeseburger) with tomatoes, pickles and ketchup. Sometimes onions.

In general do like lettuce on my burgers, but Five Guys' iceburg lettuce is always disappointing.

What makes the shack burgers work so well-- especially compared with an inferior burger of a similar style like Five Guys*-- is the balance between the beef, bun and condiments. The leaf lettuce and tomato used in the Shack Burger are just the right amount. Five Guys' iceberg lettuce doesn't add the same flavor. And the potato bun at the Shack ties it all together. The Five Guys bun is too thick-- it overwhelms the burger. And the brisket/sirloin blend in the Shack's patties gives it a more interesting and complex flavor.

I hope that Shake Shack uptown will have the same balance of burgers without the insane line in the park. This classic post from AHT remains my guideline for when to wait on line and when not to bother.

*Not to say that Five Guys is bad-- I enjoy their burgers and they have great fries, but their burgers don't have the same balance that the Shack's exhibit.