LOCAL FLAVOR: J.G. MELON

As virtually any Upper East Sider will attest, the best burgers in the world can be found at J.G. Melon at the corner of Third Avenue and 74th Street. Founded in 1972, five years before J.McLaughlin opened its first store up the street at 77th, Melon's (as it's affectionately known) is the go-to-place for bacon cheeseburgers, fried pickles—and pink watermelon cosmos, of course.