Barney Greengrass

Barney Greengrass opened in 1908 and has held its Amsterdam Avenue corner since 1929, still run by the founding family, still calling itself the Sturgeon King with a straight face it has earned. The appetizing counter up front sells smoked fish to go; the little dining room behind it — worn wallpaper, formica tables, waiters who have seen everything — serves the eggs scrambled with nova and onions that generations of Upper West Siders consider a birthright.

Weekend mornings bring a line out the door and a room that sounds like a family argument in the best way. Go on a weekday if you can, order the sturgeon or nova plate with a toasted bialy, and don't rush. Almost nothing in New York has changed this little, on purpose, for this long.