Primeburger: Great NYC 'Find'

In Manhattan over the weekend we lunched at the Primeburger near St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The Primeburger is nothing sort of legendary: a remarkably inexpensive, old-fashioned "coffee shop" with incredible burgers, sandwiches, platters and desserts.
The Primeburger (at 51 East 51st St. between Fifth and Madison) is open for breakfast and lunch and you won't believe the prices at this place: $3.50 for pancakes with butter and syrup; $2.95 for two eggs with bacon; $2.75 for hot oatmeal; $4.50 for a Belgian waffle; $1.95 for fresh orange juice.
And lunch? More incredible prices: $5.25 for a primeburger; $10.95 for two primeburgers, fries and assorted relishes; $6.50 for a BLT sandwich; $9.95 for a turkey club. Dessert? Try these: $1.95 for pound cake; $2.95 for ice cream; $4.95 for an ice cream sundae.
The Primeburger ain't fancy. But it's wonderfully nostalgic with friendly service and an old-fashioned atmosphere that makes you feel like you tumbled back into 1955.
But don't take my word for it.
Here's what the New York Times says about the Primeburger:
The Primeburger is a relic to relish on the midtown lunchscape. The circa 1965 coffee shop started as an off-shoot of Hamburger Heaven, a pre-War chain of burger joints.
When the HH fleet perished, new proprietors redesigned two of the flagship stores and reopened as The Primeburger. This, the last surviving locale, opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral, recalls a more optimistic age when urban designers and architects endeavored to satisfy the needs of working people. As an alternative to sitting at the long counter, parties of one have the grander option of occupying one of the 24 box seats collectively known as "the track". Arranged in groupings of six, these large, blond-wood sectionals are divided by wide armrests equipped with highchair-like trays. What fun! As forward-thinking as this seating-system was, it's doubtful that the designers thought its appeal would not only last through but also reach a new peak in the twenty-first century.
Yet the shop's 1960s modernism, with its groovy lamps and mineral-textured dropped ceiling, is in vogue. Whereas both first-time and longstanding customers used to beg owner Tony DiMiceli to renovate, now they plead with him not to. The mere changing of a spent lightbulb causes a stir. Among the throwbacks painstakingly maintained by DiMiceli and his sons Michael and John include gentlemanly waiters in white jackets and bow ties, a change maker rather than a cash register, and soft, juicy, fresh-tasting hamburgers machine-shaped on the premises with 4 oz. of – what else – prime meat.
The steak fries are cooked to a well-done crisp; the homemade onion rings just scrumptious. The standard coffee shop fare – challah French toast , say, or golden chicken-in-a-basket with fries – could fairly be described as reliable. George David has worked the broiler since 1954.
At the time of headwaiter Arthur Ward's 1955 arrival, Russell Teal already had five years under his belt as prep man. And Ed Adams has baked his signature apple crumb and sweet potato pies at this address for more than half a century.
BTW: We're told that Jackie Onasis ate here regularly when she lived just one door down at the Olympic Tower with Ari. And more recently, Sarah Jessica Parker was here to film parts of Sex and the City.