Los Angeles

It doesn't happen often, but some sequels best the original -- Empire was far more accomplished than Star Wars, and Meatballs II had an alien in it. For the juiciest sequel yet, hit Father's Office 2.0, open...now.

The second branch of Santa Monica's venerable gourmet burgers & craft beer joint, the new Office is upping the ante in nearly every conceivable way. Cases in point:

The Space: 3X the square footage, enough for spacious leather booths, an outdoor patio, a semi-private rentable back room, and a large men's room with a floor made of broken beer bottles, coated for your protection, then coated again in pee.

The Booze: The original's 36 taps have been replicated, forming two walls of brewy goodness, but the new spot also offers 8 Cali wines on tap and a rotating list of artisanal cocktails. Gin-&-tonic-style standards come deconstructed -- allowing you to satisfy your malarial thirst for quinine without awkwardly requesting "more tonic, please".

The non-alcoholic liquids: All mixers (bitter lemon, ginger, and tonic) are from the hand-picked premium brand Fever Tree, and both still and sparkling water's distilled in-house via reverse-osmosis mechanisms that make the water so pure, David Archuleta could drink it without sprinting off to church.

As for grub, the food menu's currently the same (The Office Burger, Sweet Potato Frites, Spicy Oatmeal Stout Ribs), but the chef's promising additions shortly -- opening the door to some miscues, though you're unlikely to see anything as bad as Meatballs III.