"Xi’An Famous Foods has quickly become a mini empire, with locations throughout the city. The spicy cumin lamb noodles and “burger” sandwiches are about as good a spicy cheap meal as you can find. Xi’an’s presence in Midtown is great because this area desperately needs more cheap and delicious things to eat for lunch. If you spend your weekdays here, you’re already aware of this. And if you don’t, screw you and your perfect life. As a matter of fact, I hope that free artisan salad you eat in a beautiful loft every day puts your start up out of business. I mean it. You don’t know this kind of suffering. Do expect lines. Food Rundown photo credit: Emily Schindler Liang Pi Cold Skin Noodles An excellent cold noodle dish served with seitan (wheat gluten). This is actually a pretty tame option in terms of spices, and it’s really good. Vegan too. photo credit: Emily Schindler Spicy Cumin Lamb Burger One of the “famous” things from Xi’an Famous Foods. This little “burger” is more like a Chinese English muffin stuffed with fragrant lamb, but it’s good no matter what you call it. And at $3 each, you’ll probably want more than one. Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand-Ripped Noodles Another notorious dish. This is the same meat as what you’ll find in the burger, but instead mixed in with some jagged looking noodles that are a little al dente and amazing. It’s greasy, but it’s good. photo credit: Emily Schindler Stewed Oxtail Hand-Ripped Noodles in Soup A beefy, brothy soup, this one is an excellent move on a cold day. Anything oxtail here is actually a pretty solid move. Spicy Hot Oil Seared Hand-Ripped Noodles This dish will pretty much blast your face off. These noodles are slicked in spicy chili oil, to the point that your lips will be numb in a few seconds. We love it, but don’t say we didn’t warn you. Spicy & Tingly Lamb Face Salad That’s right. A lamb face salad. That’s served cold. This thing is delicious." - Chris Stang
