Junior's Restaurant & Bakery • 1950

At the corner of Flatbush and DeKalb in Downtown Brooklyn sits the original Junior's, where Harry Rosen opened his family restaurant in 1950 and created what would become New York's most iconic cheesecake. The sprawling diner serves towering pastrami sandwiches, matzo ball soup, and ten-ounce steakburgers alongside its legendary dessert—a dense, creamy slice on a sponge cake base that inspired crowds to chant "Save the Cheesecake!" when the restaurant caught fire in 1981. Order a slice of the original cheesecake or its twelve flavor variations beneath the ginormous red flashing signage that has welcomed presidents, celebrities, and generations of Brooklynites for over seven decades.