Attack of the clones: Fatty Crab

The original
Since 2005, Zak Pelaccio's artfully disheveled West Village roadhouse—an Asian restaurant with a dive-bar sensibility—has been serving the chef's fiery, down-and-dirty takes on traditional Malay cuisine. 643 Hudson St between Gansevoort and Horatio Sts (212-352-3592)

The sequel
The enormous new Fatty Crab, the spiciest restaurant on the Upper West Side (the menu comes with a disclaimer), looks like it must be a test run for the concept's Las Vegas debut. The place is vast and clean, with a well-mannered staff, nightclub lighting and a sprawling bar. The famously succinct downtown menu has been expanded, which means if you order strategically, the new Fatty Crab can seem like an entirely different restaurant. Despite the relaxed, comfy digs, the food—still deftly executed and assertively seasoned—hasn't been tempered for mass-market tastes: The new dishes, it turns out, are just as inspiring as the old ones. Pelaccio has filled in the holes in his classic Malay repertoire, adding satay skewers (chicken or scallops) with a superlative chunky peanut sauce; a pitch-perfect version of Hainanese chicken-rice (a staple among Malaysia's Chinese community) featuring silky poached chicken on aromatic rice with spicy ginger and sweet soy sauces for dipping; and a succulent whole fish (ideally eaten with your hands) served on a banana leaf with a side of soy-chili sauce. There's also one new auteur triumph, the Fatty Dog, featuring slices of unctuous pork sausage infused with XO sauce, piled on a bun with hot chilies, aioli, shrimp paste, cilantro and cucumber. Like a banh mi crossed with a frankfurter, the new sandwich deserves a place in the Fatty Crab pantheon alongside other classic creations like the Fatty Duck (available at the new location as well).

More clones
Fatty Crab | Boqueria | Shake Shack | 'inoteca

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