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The odd, boomerang trajectory of Craftsteak (it's one of the few celebrity chef's restaurants to originate in Las Vegas and come to New York, not the other way around) is emblematic, of course, of our brand-happy, supersize era. Yet for anyone who's familiar with the mannered, hyperprecious mood that prevails in the original Craft, dinner at Craftsteak can be strange, even a little startling. Everything about the new production echoes the old one, only in a bigger, brassier, somewhat less original way. In theatrical terms, it's like watching the glitzy, overheated traveling production of a first-run Broadway show. The new room is roughly four times larger than the one at Craft, and the ceiling about one and a half times as high. The bar is made of rough-hewn slate, and it's as long as a city sidewalk and about as wide. The woodsy tables are the same at both, only there are many more of them at Craftsteak, and several are ringed with leather banquettes designed to facilitate the consumption of many large and profitable steak dinners.

You could call Craftsteak a steakhouse, but that would be an understatement. The menu is printed daily, and it's as big as a bath mat. Colicchio has also grafted a raw bar onto his Craft concept, kept variations of popular dishes (excellent braised short ribs, tiresome varieties of artisanal mushrooms), and thrown in several obsessively delineated categories of steak (corn-fed beef aged four different ways, Hawaiian grass-fed, several pricey gradations of Wagyu) along with a couple of random soups (try the lobster bisque). Before you even think about steak, you can enjoy sweetbreads as large as a lady's fist (they're too big), a roasted lobster tail (it's too expensive), and an entire lobe of duck foie gras (I didn't dare). There are also ten excellent varieties of salad (order the fava beans with crushed hazelnuts), and a battery of inventive tartares, like salmon belly with lemony crème fraîche and caviar or hand-chopped Wagyu. — Adam Platt

A reception at Craftsteak is an exercise in customization. Start with cocktails in the lounge, a cozily modern room with a raw or dessert bar and a drinks bar. A floor-to-ceiling glass wine rack separates the lounge from the dining area, where 150 guests can enjoy whatever you’ve picked from the dizzying Craftsteak menu. The Waygu skirt steak and the braised beef short rib are main-course favorites. After dinner, head back to the lounge for music and dancing.

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New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (6/19/06)

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• Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)