Jackson Hole Burgers

Brothers Jimmy and Chris Meskouris, who grew up in Queens, opened the first Jackson Hole on East 64th Street on the Upper East Side in 1972. The name came by accident: while renovating they found an old National Geographic article about Jackson Hole, Wyoming, under the floor, and they lived in Jackson Heights, so it stuck. The dining rooms carry a Western, Wyoming theme, and the family still runs the business.

The chain became an Upper East Side and Upper West Side institution. Before she was famous, Jennifer Aniston waited tables at the Upper West Side branch, which closed in 2016 after more than forty years; the actor John Ortiz worked for the family too. The Astoria branch is a 1950s prefabricated stainless-steel diner, and it plays the Airline Diner in Goodfellas, in the scene where Henry Hill and Tommy DeVito steal a truck. The family lists Jerry Seinfeld, Denzel Washington and two presidents among its customers.

The burgers are big and come with steak fries. The family says it has used grass-fed beef since 1972, and every burger can be made with the house beef, grilled chicken, bison, turkey or a veggie patty, or turned into a “deluxe” with lettuce, tomato and fries. The toppings lean towards the old New York coffee-shop style: fried onions, mushrooms, bacon and ham, melted cheese, and even a one-pound burger served as an entrée.

A handful of restaurants: the original on East 64th Street, Murray Hill, Astoria in Queens and Englewood, New Jersey.

• Bareburger (United States, since 2009). An Astoria burger bar that put elk, bison and organic beef on the same menu. Also built on beef, bacon, mushrooms and crispy onions.
• Hopdoddy Burger Bar (United States, since 2010). Austin’s burger bar, where the menu runs from bison with fig jam to a rare tuna burger. Also built on beef, bacon, crispy onions and cooked onions.
• Zip's Drive-In (United States, since 1953). The Inland Northwest’s cult drive-in, born feeding the workers of the Hanford nuclear site. Also built on pork, beef, bacon and cheese.
• The Counter (United States, since 2003). The burger bar where you build your own on a clipboard checklist. Also built on beef, mushrooms, crispy onions and cheese.