Everything on the Xi'an Famous Foods Menu, Ranked

" I keep thinking about that noodle , " a friend said to me , day after I first inaugurate him to Xi’an Famous Foods . " I do n’t suppose a noodle has ever done that to me before . "

The menu at Xi’an ( pronounced she - ahn ) Famous Foods has both range and profundity , boasting more than 30 item , including soup , burgers , and salads – but what you really do here for is the noodles . Made overbold and hand - pulled before your very center , the noodles are up to 4 ft long , thick as a belt , and covered with Xi’an Famous Foods ’ house sauce – a fragrant mix of soybean sauce , garlic , acetum , and chili oil color . Not , in other Logos , for the dainty eater . Famous Foods serves westerly Taiwanese street food , after all , and opened its first placement in a subterranean intellectual nourishment court inFlushing , Queens .

When Famous Foods of late spread its 10th location ( on Kenmare St in Nolita ) within walking distance of the Thrillist office , I was dictated to use up single every item on the menu . If you ’re like me , you ’ve mystify your regular order – mine , over the years , has been bitch or lamb noodles , Charles Lamb dumplings in soup , and cucumber salad – but I wanted to get to know the rest of the menu , beyond my usual . And after dozen of trips over the course of a couple month , I conceive I have it sorted out . Here ’s everything on the Xi’an Famous Foods carte du jour , ranked . Next time you go , try something newfangled .

Cole Saladino/Thrillist

31. Lamb offal soup

This soup offer the rarified chance to consume lamb offal – specifically trash , liver , and lung – in a bone stock with mung bean vermicelli noodles . Though if you need to experience thewonders of offal , I ’d sooner commend the offal skewers offered at Xi’an Famous Foods ' flagship sit - down restaurant , Biang ! in the East Village .

30. Lamb meat soup

Same as the Lamb Offal Soup , except sub kind - of - dry shredded dear discs for offal .

29. Mi Pi cold rice noodles

This is the choice if you ’re vegetarian and gluten - liberal , since this is the only bean dish that checks both boxes . If you ’re not vegetarian and gluten - free , greater delight expect you .

28. Mt. Qi pork hand-ripped noodles

This cubed porc runs on the ironic side , and can be fatty , without great grain ( though the noodles are still great ! ) . calculate for other attic selection .

27. Mt. Qi pork hand-ripped noodles in soup

Here ’s what you want to think about if you ’re wondering whether to get your noodles in soup or not … is it a cold twenty-four hours ? You might require the soup . Are you taking your noodles to - go ? You by all odds want the soup . As signs post in every Xi’an Famous Foods store will enjoin you , the dome are well eaten immediately ; they lose heat quickly , and their idealistic texture along with it . But the best way to get away with not exhaust these attic right away is to get them in soup , which retains the heat better and keeps the noodles closer to their idealistic form , for as long as possible .

26. Spicy & sour spinach dumplings

It ’s impressive how much prickly-seeded spinach is crammed into these dumpling . So much , however , that you do n’t get much of the spicy and sour sauce look . Mostly just spinach plant .

25. Spicy & Sour spinach dumplings in soup

Not gon na make much difference whether you get these in soup or not – though fear not , vegetarian , it ’s a vegetarian broth ! In fact , the stock is actually the same water system that the noggin are fix in . Which may fathom a tad smooth – and you probably would n’t want to sip it bare , on its own , but combine with all the spice and seasoning that top the dumplings , this broth is just hunky-dory .

24. Rice cake with honey

This dessert choice presently on particular is a nice , delicate capper on a repast . The embarrassing , mildly cherubic clod of rice is fill with dates and juju beans and assist at way temporary worker . A lotus leaf wrapping ( removed before serving ) makes it try out like a chewy cup of tea .

23. Stewed pork burger

This Warren E. Burger comprise of just shredded porc on a roll , without any sauce or garnish , so it ’s dry for a Warren Burger – but that also cause it middling tidy as an on - the - go food . And you ’re paying less than $ 4 , so you ca n’t beat the price .

22. Stir-fried cold skin noodles

It ’s amazing what different flavors amount out in the cold hide noodles when they come arouse fried ( social club A2 ) versus when they do n’t ( govern A1 ) . The ado - fried dome are served blistering and are thus more solid and fitting as a main order , but they ’re better - take account cold , which is how they are meant to be eat .

21. Concubine’s chicken hand-ripped noodles

This bone - in dark - meat chicken tastes pretty … chickeny . There are better essence selection , even among the white meats .

20. Lamb Pao-Mo soup

A very traditional soup from the Chinese urban center of Xi’an , this is the same sliced lamb and vermicelli noodles from the lamb soup above , with the addition of cubed pieces of dough ( which come from the Warren Earl Burger tush ) . The gelt softens in the soup but still holds its flesh , and makes a perfect conduit for the broth .

19. Spicy hot oil seared hand-ripped noodles

This is the good way to prize the hired hand - ripped bean for their own merits , with no meats or sauces to distract . And boy are they in force .

18. Stewed pork hand-ripped noodles

The shred , stewed pork varies greatly from bite to insect bite … too dry in one mouthful , flavorful and succulent in the next . The ironical piece are almost worth dealing with , or picking around , to get to the ease of the perfectly tender pieces , which steep in a lightly blue sauce containing its own pork juices . A great compliment to the noodle .

17. Stewed pork hand-ripped noodles in soup

The soup is a welcome add-on because it can bring some forgiving moisture to the porc , which can once in a while be ironic . But then the spices and juices from the pork itself become a bit debase into the stock , so you deliver the goods some you lose some .

16. “Liang Pi” cold skin noodles

This insensate , crunchy , refreshful mantrap is best eaten as a side , and comes with chopped cuke , cilantro , sprouts , and a skillful spongy seitan that soaks up the sauce well . The factual noodles go down slow , but do n’t make a mistake of thinking you ’re getting the helping hand - rip noodle .

15. Chang-an spicy tofu

I do n’t even care tofu , and even I can see why tofu - fan regain this so habit-forming . The sauce is risque than most dishes , which seems to be a idea for the vegetarian side of the card , and the bean curd is melt - in - your - rima oris soft . wait on in a cupful , this is a good , cheap side item .

14. Tiger vegetable salad

The Tiger salad is a pleasantly simple mound of putting surface , consist mostly of chop cilantro and shave celery , plus the hack White of gullible onions , and dressed with vinegar and sesame vegetable oil . It ’s a sweet , bright counterpoint to have as you eat most anything else on the card , and an especially practiced pick as a refreshing roof of the mouth cleanser if you ca n’t handle much spice .

13. Stewed oxtail hand-ripped noodles

An employee deary , the oxtail is super tender , if a little awkward to exhaust with chopstick . If you ’re an oxtail fan , this is a great rendition . And if you ’ve never strain it , this is a expert place on the menu to get adventuresome .

12. Stewed oxtail hand-ripped noodles in soup

Besides the antecedently notice benefit to the noodles ' length of service , the soup does n’t fundamentally change anything here .

11. Mt. Qi vegetable hand-ripped noodles in soup

The Mt. Qi noodle win the accolade for sound vegetarian main detail on the card . The exact vegetables can differ from Clarence Shepard Day Jr. - to - day , put expect to see some combo of carrot , Solanum tuberosum , jicama , mushrooms , fleeceable beans , doorbell peppers , seitan , or even chickpea plant . Regardless of the intermixture , the texture of the vegetables is almost - perfect . The sauce is one of the spicier I on the carte du jour , but it ’s well - balanced and not scorching .

10. Mt. Qi vegetable hand-ripped noodles

Soup or no soup , there ’s not much advantage one means or the other on this one except , again , that the noodles contain up well in the spicy stock if you ’re taking them to go .

9. Spicy cucumber salad

This spicy , brisk salad is the complete compliment between bite of the cloggy , comforting items on the rest of the menu . The cucumbers are refreshful and nipping and amount in the Xi’an FF Greco-Roman sauce . If you ’re ordering with a admirer , you should eat get your own noodle , and the cuke salad to carve up .

8. Spicy & tingly beef hand-ripped noodles

You could go age use up little else off the computer menu and be dead happy – I make out because I did it . Despite the name , this is n’t overly spicy or tingly ( rate it blistering if you want to up the ante ) , but you will get a bit of a tingling or dull whiz coming from Sichuan peppercorns in the sauce .

7. Spicy & tingly beef hand-ripped noodles in soup

The stamp chunks of beef cattle hold up well in the stock , which make this an ideal choice if you ’re looking for noodles in soup .

6. Spicy cumin lamb burger

The dear burger has bring home the bacon accolades as some of thebest Chinese Food in New York , and thebest intellectual nourishment in Chinatown under $ 5 - - and for good reason . Costing just $ 3.50-$4 reckon on location , the lamb burger gives any slice of pizza or Francis Bacon - egg - and - cheese in NYC a run for its money as the good on - the - go food for thought in the metropolis . away from Xi’an FF ’s hand - ripped noodles , the spicy Cuminum cyminum lamb – spice lamb sautéed with crimson onion and hot peppers – is the best thing Famous Foods has going for it . And in the burger you get it in all its glory ( and in a paw - confine , light - to - eat flatbread sandwich , at that ) .

5. Spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles in soup

If the hand - ripped noodles , and the spicy cumin seed Charles Lamb are the two ripe parts of the menu , then obviously the two of them together are as skillful as it gets … but more on that later . For now I ’ll just say that the lamb bean are the one big elision to the " noggin in soup are slightly better " rule , because the soup allows the spices to reduce a bit into the stock , and the Charles Lamb is effective with those spices cling at once onto the meat .

4. Pork “Zha Jiang” hand-ripped noodles

The Zha Jiang noodles were , by far , the crowing divine revelation to me on the menu . get dressed in a well - balanced , spicy and lightly sweet sauce with sliced cucumbers , scallions , and celery , the ground pork barrel is far more tender than the Mt. Qi cubed pork , and takes holds onto the flavors of the sauce better than the stewed pork barrel . If you ’ve never strayed from the beef and lamb dome , adjudicate this for certain .

3. Spicy & sour lamb dumplings

These dumplings are so in force they have been responsible , single - handedly , for lifting my mood on multiple occasion . More dour than spicy , its impossible not to feel your spirits rise as the generously stuffed , delicate dumpling unfreeze away in your oral fissure . dumpling are n’t available at every location , cause them an even more particular delicacy .

2. Spicy & sour lamb dumplings in soup

You ca n’t go wrong either way , but I give a slight nod to the lamb dumpling in soup . When eat up dry you could well appreciate the delicate texture of the noodle wrapping and the compliment of spice spatter atop , but let the bone stock sop into the tender reason lamb is the good way to eat these .

1. Spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles

The most popular item on the menu and for good understanding , this is the very best of everything Xi’an Famous Foods has to proffer , and one of the50 NYC foods you need to eat before you cash in one’s chips . Unless you ’ve eaten a lot of Northwestern Chinese solid food , which typically employ this balance of cumin seed and a bit of heat , you ’ve belike never eaten anything quite like this – or quite this good . Located along the Silk Road , the Chinese metropolis of Xi’an had admission to spices of the Middle East , including cumin seed , and was regulate by a sizable Muslim population . The culinary art persists today and finds a delicious and unquestionable embodiment in this dish , which is distinct from the more usual Formosan cuisines find in America . The bits of spiced lamb are sautéed with red onion plant and hot Madagascar pepper , for a zesty , redolent mix that clings perfectly to the noodles . I ’ve taken many NYC visitors on mean solar day - long eating tours across the five borough , and when it ’s all said and done they most often point back to one thing as the most memorable : these lamb noodles .