Tottenville Tavern, New York

You wouldn't exactly be wrong in calling the plates at Tottenville Tavern bar food, but there's more to the menu of burgers, fried snacks, and bar pies than first meets the eye. For instance, the fries are hand-cut, the pizzas are topped with clam or buffalo sauce, and the eggrolls are stuffed with the contents of an entire reuben sandwich. You can get the classics more or less straight-up, too. The house-made corned beef inside the eggrolls is also the star of its own sandwich, joining a slate of double-handers such as chipotle-barbecue pulled pork (called "outstanding" by the Staten Island Advance) and a half-dozen steak burgers. Guests can pair a thin-crust bar pie with one of several microbrews, available in bottles or served from eight draft selections, creating America's favorite combination after ketchup and everything.

The clientele is as diverse as the crowd-pleasing menu would suggest. A kids' menu and a tolerance for the word "why?" makes family gatherings easy, and occasional live music ranges from rock to harmonically precise covers of Hank Williams and the Louvin Brothers.