* veselka

Blessed with 24-hour service and a perfect location for feeding the East Village's après-club crowds, Veselka has become the stop for late-night diners. Few surprises here: Veselka serves coffee, eggs, pancakes, burgers, pies, and Ukrainian specialties like borscht—hot and meaty, or cold, with buttermilk, cucumbers, and hard-boiled eggs—and bigos, a hearty "hunter's stew" of kielbasa, pork shoulder, and cabbage (delicious, although the kitchen occasionally fails to serve it warm). But you don't come to Veselka for fine dining—you're here to extend the evening with a coffee-fueled carb-fest among friends, and, happily, that's exactly what you'll get.