CORNER BISTRO • WEST VILLAGE, MANHATTAN
[Corner Bistro is part 12 in a series of tidbits from the chapters of my book Bars, Taverns and Dives New Yorkers Love, published by the good folks at Rizzoli Publishing. You can order it online now at Powell’s, Amazon, Rizzoli, and Barnes & Noble.]
I’d been told about the Corner Bistro since before I even moved to New York. Countless times, usually by younger friends who loved to go a-boozin’ in the Village. And they always, always sang the praises—operatically, even—about the burgers. The burgers! The burgers! OH MY GOD, the burgers! They’re hot! They’re juicy! They’re reasonably priced! They’re served on PAPER FREAKING PLATES, hot and fresh when you really need them: late, after a night of drinking! Starch and fat! Starch and fat! STARCH and FAT! The Burger The Burger The Burger!!
Kind of like that.
And I wrote it off as happy drunk talk (well, sober at the time, but essentially talk inspired by past happy drunkenness), so I didn’t really give much credence to their praise, and didn’t make it to Corner Bistro until years after moving to NYC. But eventually, I got there.
Best Times to Visit: Right after work on a weekday. Enjoy the crowd and have a couple drinks, like a civilized human being, then order your burger and stay for dinner.
Best Seat in the House: The ledge in the Corner Bistro front window, facing the corner of Jane and Fourth. Especially during a precipitatory event.
Drink: Get a beer in one of those thick, heavy glass mugs with a handle. They’re the best. They have eight taps to choose from, so start off with something on the lighter side. How about a McSorley’s Ale, a nod to another Great Good Place just a mile to the east. Next drink: Well, you’re going to need something to wash that burger down, aren’t you? Go with a classic: a cold mug of Yuengling lager, from Pottsville, Pennsylvania since 1829, making it the oldest operating brewing company in the U.S.
Next up: Cronin and Phelan’s of Astoria, Queens, another chapter of my book Bars, Taverns and Dives New Yorkers Love, which you can order right here. Limited-edition signed prints of the bars are available here.