Corner Bistro East has real plates. The original location, in the West Village, has gotten away with paper since 1961. Besides that, though, the East Village outpost of this burger-making institution is a near carbon copy, and if you told us it had been there forever, we’d probably believe you. Like its predecessor, it’s also cash-only, also teeters on the edge of being a dive bar, and is also home to a no-nonsense burger with a loyal following. Everyone gets theirs with bacon—that’s called the Bistro Burger, for the uninitiated—and nobody can fit their mouth around the thick patty with cheese, iceberg lettuce, a slab of onion, and a slice of rather mealy tomato. You could theoretically opt for a grilled cheese, but why would you? Just get a burger, some fries or tater tots, and sure, the house salad (approximately 50% cheese and bacon). You can’t smell the decades of beer in the walls here like you can in the West Village, but the beer is still exceptionally frosty, and the strong, straightforward martinis are a good choice, too.