This one is simple, but I like it. Use -X command to launch a local x11 session for a given remote application. Works for Linux and OSX machines with x11 installed.

>ssh -X user@remoteserver.com will connect you. >gedit file.txt

will launch a remote instance (viewable locally) of gedit with the remote file.txt loaded and ready for editing. Especially good for those who don't like command line editors (note: gedit must be installed on the remote machine for the example to work.)