Better the Second Time: Food Sequels That Rule

2170 Broadway, New York, NY 10024 (map)

Fatty Crab, Zak Pelaccio's funky downtown tribute to the flavors of Malaysia, is a flawed venture, despite the manifest wonders of its food. For one thing, the place is tiny, the noise level is sky high and you can barely move without tripping over another sweaty gastronome. The second outpost on the Upper West Side solves those problems at a stroke. The menu is expanded, a larger kitchen allows for more reliable cooking and service, and volume is lively without being deafening. Thankfully, the same funky vibe still persists, making the new Fatty Crab the best of all possible worlds.

113 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012 (map)

For over 20 years, Soho hot spot Balthazar has been the defining bistro in a city obsessed with bistros. But while it continues to do a huge business (along with its sisters Pastis and Schiller's Liquor Bar) owner Keith McNally never got his New York Times three stars until Minetta Tavern, his old-school steakhouse re-do in Greenwich Village. Thanks to a legendary dry-aged burger and what are uniformly recognized as some of the best steaks in the city--if not the best!--Minetta has done the unthinkable, supplanting Balthazar as the crown jewel of McNally's New York restaurant empire. Now if only the rest of us could get a table.

207 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003 (map)

David Chang's original Momofuku Noodle Bar was a big hit in a small East Village space, and the masses were naturally curious as to his next venture. When the bigger, sleeker Ssam Bar launched as an expensive dud of a project dedicated to "Asian burritos," the New York foodie naysayers were smugly affirmed. But once Chang and his inventive co-chefs began to transform the restaurant from a burrito bar to a late-night workshop for pork-centric gastronomy (and the cooks started coming in after-hours), the lines of adoring public followed. The rest, as they say, is history.