Here's one New York institution housed within another: The city's most famous seafood joint lies in the world's greatest train station, beautifully renovated Grand Central Terminal. The restaurant is looking spiffy, too, with a main dining room sitting under an impressive curved and tiled ceiling, a more casual luncheonette-style section for walk-ins, and a wood-paneled saloon-style room for smokers.

Upstarts like Aquagrill have surpassed Oyster Bar on the culinary front in recent years, but it's still a terrific place to dine, especially if you want a classic New York experience. A new menu is prepared every day, because only the freshest fish is served. The oysters are irresistible: Kumomoto, Bluepoint, Malepeque, Belon -- the list goes on and on. The list of daily catches, which can range from Arctic char to mako shark to ono (Hawaiian wahoo), is equally impressive. Most dinners cost between $20 and $25, though it's easy to jack up the tab by ordering live Maine lobster or one of the rarer daily specialties. But it's just as easy to keep the tab down by sticking with hearty fare like one of the excellent stews and pan roasts (from about $10 for oyster stew to $20 for a combo pan roast rich with oysters, clams, shrimp, lobster, and scallops) or by pairing the New England clam chowder (at $5, an unbeatable lunch) with a smoked starter to make a great meal.