Big Nick's Pizza Joint

Nick’s has burgers. Nick’s has pizzas. Nick’s has omelets, nachos, matzo-ball soup, reubens, ravioli, and barbecue-charcoal beef ribs. Nick’s has, in total, 28 pages of menu stocked with the world’s cuisine. And while Nick’s can surely sate any appetite other than Slash’s appetite for destruction, what it excels at is burgers and pizzas. Some 60 burger varieties—such as the classic Big Nick—sprawl on kaiser-roll buns, whereas some 20 types of pizza slices—such as the decadent mac ‘n’ cheese—join individual and large pies.

Inside Nick’s original location on Broadway, cozy booths, tables, countertops, and walls plastered with celebrity headshots have accrued half a century of charm, keeping true to the aesthetic of the restaurant’s first years. In 2012, Nick’s received a City Council citation to honor its 50-year anniversary, serving as a landmark in owner “Big Nick” Imirziades’s culinary odyssey, which began during his childhood in Athens. There, his mother laid the foundations for his kitchen principles by using high-quality oil in her cooking and making sure every other ingredient followed suit. Today, Nick’s stays true to his early lessons, keeping his ingredients fresh and his meals plentiful.