1. Shake Shack
2. Big Nick's Burger & Pizza Joint
3. Blue Smoke
4. Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien
5. Peter Luger

And you gotta love Richman for some of his inspired wandering within his blurbs. On Big Nick's:

Thank goodness for the internet. For almost two decades I’ve been sitting in the same scarred booth at Big Nick’s, under a medley of obscure celebrity photos, secretly harboring a crush on Vicki Darnell, an impressively endowed starlet. I never knew anything about her until now—I just Googled her and learned that she played the role of Sugar in the 1990 classic Frankenhooker. (If you see this, Vicki, dinner at Big Nick’s is on me.) I love this place, New York City’s signature dive. The half-pound burger is surprisingly good: Well-seasoned beef is cooked on an indoor grill and served on a so-so bun. Order it with a milkshake, the real thing at Big Nick’s. If you’re used to the fake ones at fast-food joints, you might mistakenly complain that this one is too thin.

Google Vicki Darnell for yourself: http://www.google.com/search?q=Vicki+Darnell

Related

"2 for 1 Burgers": Blue Smoke on the Cheap
AHT Shake Shack coverage