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"On a recent weekday night, this nearly century-old staple was the busiest stop along King Street, its decade-old makeover preserving Art Deco roots—tin ceiling, textured green walls lined with gallery-quality art, and soft crimson booths meant to resemble an intimate jazz club—while an open kitchen in back sends out American comfort foods for modern-day carnivores, vegetarians, and pescatarians. Some things haven’t changed, including the neon-lit vertical marquee dating to the 1930s. Starters like fried artichoke pieces with a pickled zing pair well with smears of whipped pimiento cheese on toast, and creamy crab Rangoon is a smart $6 bite. Regulars rave about the hanger steak frites ($36) and the meats across the board, from prime filet mignon ($59) to the namesake burger ($23); to sample widely, you can build a four-course dinner for $49 that spans oxtail baklava, mussels, and coriander-spiced salmon. The glam wraparound bar packs out for the popular weekday happy hour, but by 7 p.m. a nook usually opens up, and there’s a sense of history in the old-timey staff photos on the walls and the scent of real sunflowers and chrysanthemums arranged in glass vases at the bar and even in the bathrooms." - Tierney Plumb
Gourmet comfort food in updated diner setting, Mediterranean avocado toast