Pony Up

With restaurants, unlike in Hollywood, sequels can be even more inventive.

Raising the curtain on a sequel to glorious beef: Josef Centeno, and his hotly anticipated Tex-Mex haunt, Bar Ama, now open.

Centeno’s the guy behind downtown super-raunt Baco Mercat, one of Bon Appetit’s best new restaurants of 2012. There, the focus is on bacos — i.e., sandwiches — with Spanish and Mediterranean flavors.

Bar Ama is basically Baco Mercat 2: Tex-Mex United. 

Ensconced within warm, reclaimed wood walls and indigo tiles, Centeno is focusing on south-of-the-border fusion and family recipes — like Nana’s lengua chile con carne, crispy chicharron (pork belly), and fideo (Spanish vermicelli) with octopus and kielbasa.

Tacos, like the carne guisada, are served in a puffy shell that’s similar to those shells used for salads, and shredded iceberg tops most dishes. Don’t miss the slow-roasted pork molcajete, served with warm soft tortillas.

At the bar: tequila- and mezcal-based cocktails, with Mexican beers on tap.

Here’s betting you’ll have one, and then a sequel.