Cafe Ronda

Location:
249 Columbus Ave (bet. W71-72 St)

Fave Dishes:
Burgers ($9.50-12.00), they only have four kinds (it's a Latin-American restaurant not a burger joint strictly) but they're all excellent. Best two
-Drunken Mushrooms:
red wine cognac sautedd mushrooms and swiss melted cheese (plus I think iceberg lattuce and tomatoes)
-Kofte "A house specialty"
spiced parsley beef sirloin, grilled onions and sliced tomatoes
(they also have a regular cheesburger and one with apple smoked bacon and blue cheese)

All burgers come with:
-pickles
-hand cut french fries

Ambiance:
Cozy with a touch of New York Mag style-pages. Indoor and (limited) outdoor seating. Mixed crowd, overall nice, dogs etc (it's the Upper West Side...). Waiters are polite, the hostess is very nice.

Detractors:
The french fries were a tad soggy. And the music can at times be loud.

I recommend you go back after trying the burgers and branch out a little: the menu says "all of our dishes are hand-crafted to order and meant to be shared" and it's true! Great tapas, emapanadas, deditos, seafood-based appetizers, chorizo, platos de serano, rich salads, desserts (try the vanilla crepes).
The place belongs to the same peeps of Cafe Frida, near the American Museum of Natural History.