The Film Center Café has been around since the ’30s, and has the look of one of those Deco hangouts where Bacall and Bogie were certain to turn up. It’s casual but sophisticated, and nothing says film-colony glamour like big leather booths and banquettes. But now it’s time to shift reels, for the Film Center Café is really all about New York, servicing the needs of legions of Broadway fans (it’s open plenty late for after-show dining) and ever more office workers bursting forth from the towers that continue to pop up along the avenues west of Times Square. The menu here is just what they want, from the signature Super Burger on down to the home-style meatloaf, mushroom risotto, pastas, pizza, and roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. The scene might be set in Hollywood, but the movie being filmed here every day is all about giving Gothamites the kind of comfort food that Americans across the country can’t get enough of.

Cobb salad
Classic black Angus burger
Margherita pizza
Home-style meatloaf
Roast turkey with stuffing
view full menu here

Anywhere in the long, sexy room is great, but booths are a major score. It’s where Betty and Humphrey would have sat.

The actual Film Center, a masterpiece of Art Deco modernism, is right across the street from the café. It was designed by the architect Ely Jacques Kahn to house production facilities. Ayn Rand once worked there while researching her famous book about an architect, The Fountainhead.

Mon.–Wed. 12 noon–2 AM; Thurs.–Fri. 12 noon–4 AM;
Sat. 11 AM–4 AM; Sun. 11 AM–2 AM
brunch: Sat. 11 PM–4 PM; Sun. 11 AM–5 PM

$10 (veggie burger) to $18 (hanger steak)