Sonny’s (CLOSED)

A clean interior, friendly staff and a menu of dressed-up comfort classics please both Brooklyn natives and arty newcomers. Burgers are on big brioches and open-faced hot turkey sandwiches are on focaccia; meat loaf with a touch of tomato has spinach and egg baked inside; and the soup of the day might be cauliflower puree with bacon. Though Sonny (the owner’s uncle) might have balked at a watery chicken potpie and a sticky cheesecake drowned in cinnamon sauce, he probably would’ve loved the old-fashioned soda fountain, and the walk-up window for sundaes and shakes. Sparkling-clean floor-to-ceiling windows and patio dining make the diner a perfect fair-weather meeting spot.