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Xi'an Famous Foods
What if I told you about a city that's over three thousand-years-old and it used to be the eastern-most city of the Silk Road. And it's the home of the famous Terracotta Army? That cit would be Xi'an, or Chang'an as it used to be known. Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi provence in China. I guess it's also the source of inspiration for Xi'an Famous Foods. They've been on a roll lately since being featured on Anthony Bourdain's show. They used to be only in this basement mall in Flushing and then they added a stall in the Flushing Mall, and then they added a hole-in-the-wall in Manhattan's Chinatown and now they've finally added a location on Saint Marks. This was huge because there's way more non-Chinese people in the East Village. Sounds insane but it's cool to see Chinese food work its way through to the masses. Even though the menu is dominated by hand-pulled noodles, I think the one thing that really stands out at Xi'an Famous Foods is the cumin burger. Two reasons for this is because one, you generally don't find much cumin in Chinese food. And you also don't find many burgers.
The cumin burger caught my eye because it's only $2.50, it's easy to take it to-go, and I've had it in Flushing so I knew it's fucking great. And the one in the East Village was exactly like that, fucking great. It was delicious although I remember it being even more delicious the first time. There's nothing like the first time, right? The thing about this burger is that it really hits you over the head with cumin flavor. If Old Spice wants to make a cumin scent and get this guy to promote it... he would be holding a Xi'an Famous Foods cumin burger. Now back at your man. Now back at me...
They also have a pork burger that's 50 cents less, and more balanced in flavor. It's juicy and not involved with cumin. So it's not strong, but it's still very good. I kind of prefer the pork burger to be honest, but there's no picture because I ate it too fast. Oops. Now what's left is to try their famous lamb face salad and their hand-pulled noodles. It's great to see regional Chinese cuisine catch on in Manhattan. It's important that it's not in Chinatown yet it still seems to maintain integrity in flavor. They stick with the same menu they have in Chinatown and people still flock to them. Much props to Xi'an Famous Foods for representing.
Xi'an Famous Foods East Village
81 St. Mark's Place.
New York, NY 10003
Map
Sign up to the feed and never miss a post!Posted by Danny on July 21 2010 at 12:07 pm
nice.. I've been meaning to try this place ever since seeing it on No Reservations, but was too lazy to go to flushing.
stphn on July 21 2010 at 4:54 pm
Danny, I can't believe you forgot to use the 'c' word in this entry
Fred on July 22 2010 at 10:42 am
@stphn
I hear the one by East Broadway is spicier... so if you like it spicy, either head down there or make sure they give it to you with fire in the EVill.
@Fred,
Minor oversight, what can I say?
Danny on July 22 2010 at 10:48 am
I've only had those fanfuckingtastic lamb noodles at the E.Broadway location and must say it's one of my favorite meals in town.
I also have to say, thank you so much for making me grin big and even laugh out loud with your posts. I love food and I love reading about your FIM experiences! It's like I'm right there with you for the "complete" dining experience. Keep up the great work, Danny.
Traven on July 26 2010 at 1:24 pm
I too am a bigger fan of the pork burger. I enjoy the lamb more when it's in that glorious spicy broth, with knife noodles and all that goodness. For me the real standout there is still the cold lianpi (flavor explosion!). Last time I was at the Chinatown location, I ordered black bean noodles, which were great (and surprisingly nothing like jia jiang noodles).
Speaking of lamb and cumin... my buddy has told me more than once about a basement food court in Flushing that almost exclusively composed of xinjiang vendors. Not sure if I could handle something that intense, but it sounds like something worth checking out...
James on August 3 2010 at 5:18 pm