The late JFK, Jr. used to eat here all the time. Nowadays, hardly a weekend goes by without a few noteworthy sightings of celebrities, usually locals from the entertainment industry. This institution has been around since the emergence of Tribeca, and started as a pie company. (You can even order pie online.) Homey and seemingly unchanged since then, this diner would be but a diner anywhere else in the country. Instead it is one o...

The late JFK, Jr. used to eat here all the time. Nowadays, hardly a weekend goes by without a few noteworthy sightings of celebrities, usually locals from the entertainment industry. This institution has been around since the emergence of Tribeca, and started as a pie company. (You can even order pie online.) Homey and seemingly unchanged since then, this diner would be but a diner anywhere else in the country. Instead it is one of the best brunch scenes around, and you don’t have to be a Tribeca local to enjoy down-to-earth American grub. The menu’s plastic and often sticky; include traditional breakfast and brunch specialties, and the all-inclusive egg/bacon/pancake platters at under $15 are popular. Be prepared to wait (although the hostess usually overestimates waiting time so that twosomes can usually be seated within 15 minutes). Breakfast and early brunch tends to be populated by families, while late brunch is the place to be for a younger and often hung-over crowd. Bubby’s is also open for lunch and dinner, when it offers American home cooking, from meatloaf to burgers and barbecue specialties. Bubby’s expanded in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn at the end of 2003, and has recently started showcasing local musician.