As simple pleasures go, charred beef bookended by a fresh bun will always be right up there with sunny days in Central Park and snagging a seat on the morning F train. Not that New York hasn't tried to tart things up. A holdover from that bygone era when investment bankers ran the city (sooo 2007), Wagyu, truffle, and foie gras adulterations of the humble hamburger can still set you back as much as $175. We have no carp with T-Bone or Kobe burgers, but are those rich cuts really best enjoyed all ground up? Straightforward patties have more character, at their best blending texture, fat, juice, and flavor into the bites human taste buds have been craving for ten millennia. The Corner Bistro and JG Melon have long camped out on many a city's best burger list. Newer players like burger joint and the Shake Shack have justifiably rabid followings (and legendary lines to match). At the extremes of unaffected burgerdom, Zaitzeff and Blue Smoke bring smooth refinement without sacrificing heartiness. For the city's absolute best-tasting, juiciest, most well-proportioned masterpiece, the fresh-ground Grade A chuck patty of Rare sets the standard. When you want to check back in with the simple life as the good life, a quick hit from the grill is the perfect cure for the "market correction" news that ails you. (And, come to think of it, a side of fries and a pint of beer won't exactly spoil the experience.)