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Brooklyn steak auteur Peter Luger has spawned more sequels than Rocky and Harry Potter combined; former headwaiter Wolfgang Zwiener offered one of the first with his Park Avenue restaurant, a blockbuster beef palace that soon begat its own Tribeca follow-up. With a street-smart waitstaff apparently right out of central casting, the dramatic dining room resembles a prototypical NYC steakhouse stage set, complete with mahogany paneling, exposed brick, and arched ceilings adorned with mosaic tiles (a nod to the Guastavino work at the Park Avenue original). A parade of sizzling platters boast the menu’s star players, butter-drenched porterhouses in servings meant for two or more. But other cuts, like the tender, well-marbled rib eye and a 3½ pound lobster, deserve equally enthusiastic reviews. Supporting players don’t stray too far from the original script, either: Start with a piece of the thick, chewy bacon, with tasty cameos by creamed spinach and German hash-browned potatoes. Desserts like the slightly tart key lime pie blanketed with the signature schlag (dense, German–style whipped cream) guarantee a walloping good, if cholesterol-drunk, finish. — Kathleen Squires

Porterhouse steak for two, $81.90; rib eye, $39.95; bacon, $2.95; key lime pie, $8.95