Superiority Burger

Superiority Burger is the East Village in restaurant form. Chef Brooks Headley, a neighborhood resident and former punk drummer who made his name as a pastry chef, started it in 2015 as a tiny six-seat takeout counter on Ninth Street, then in April 2023 moved into the old Odessa diner space on Avenue A, between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place. He kept the diner bones, including the tables, the soda counter and Odessa's original bar, and layered on menus and placemats designed by Tamara Shopsin and Jason Fulford, East Village ephemera on the walls and a soundtrack of The Jam and The Fall. The food is entirely vegetarian, often vegan, and the Michelin Guide has recognized it.

New York Turk came for a lunch here in 2025, and the menu is a joy to explore. The namesake Superiority Burger, the vegetarian patty that made Headley's name, comes dressed with pickles, muenster, mustard, roast tomato, iceberg and mayo. Beyond it, look for the collard greens sandwich with Cooper sharp cheese on housemade focaccia, the yuba-verde sandwich, the twice-baked potato and the burnt broccoli salad, though dishes change with the seasons. Do not skip dessert; this is a pastry chef's restaurant, and Michelin's inspectors singled out the peanut butter pie and the seared malt cake with cream cheese gelato. Reservations are taken on Resy, and the restaurant also hosts parties.