Grub StreetNew York

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Given the almost cultlike following of Woodside Thai shrine Zabb, the opening of its Manhattan branch hasn't inspired the kind of celebration one might expect. The Roosevelt Avenue location became a beacon thanks to the food's intense flavors and incendiary spicing. The grub is almost as good, if not quite so radioactive, at the East Village outpost. So why aren't more people eating there?

Maybe it's the dumbed-down all-English menu, the kind you might see in any Manhattan Thai restaurant. Also, the place doesn't exactly look new: It's basically a rebranding of the old Chaa Chaa, a place nobody was really thrilled about. But let it be said that it's still worth a visit or three.

244 E. 13th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-529-8770.