Xi'an Famous Foods 西安名吃 | Upper East Side

"Xi'an Famous Foods is another great addition to the UWS for authentic Asian eats. Even though this place is a chain now, rapidly popping up all over NYC, it's stayed true to it's roots for inexpensive authentic Chinese food. On any given day, you'll find hoards of local Chinese students from Columbia and everyone in between. It's a great place to grab a quick bite of hand pulled noodles and dumplings. My two favorite things to get are the Sweet & Sour Spinach Dumplings and Tiger Vegetable Salad." - Ken Pao

"Are you going to bring a date to Xi’an Famous Foods? Probably not. But this isn’t a first date guide. It’s a guide for where to sit down and eat a great dinner without spending more than $30, and this place is perfect for that. Like every other Xi’an location, this one is counter-service and extremely casual, and there are some stools that you can sit on while you eat an excellent plate of chewy hand-pulled noodles with chunks of cumin lamb. You can also add a beer and some dumplings, and still come in under-budget." - bryan kim

"Best Asian Noodles in New York City My vote for the best bowl of Asian noodles in New York City goes to Xi'an Famous Foods, which also won over Anthony Bourdain, food critics, and countless locals. The family-run business celebrates signature spicy dishes from its hometown in western China. Most of the locations are small—you will likely wait—however, once you dig in to your bowl of spicy broth, stewed pork (or lamb, or oxtail) that falls apart on your fork because it's so tender and hand-ripped noodles, you will understand. Do yourself a favor, skip the available cans of soda and instead opt for their homemade cold jasmine tea (sweetened or unsweetened). It perfectly cuts the heat.There are more than 10 locations, including the original in Queens. They do a brisk business at lunchtime; visit for a late lunch or early dinner to improve your chances of getting a seat."

"Lamb is an important ingredient in Chinese cuisine, particularly in the north and in Sichuan, but you wouldn’t know that by examining most Chinese menus in the city, where pork and chicken hold sway, with more beef than lamb. But Xi’an Famous Foods changed all that, and lamb is the king of the meats there. Check out N1: spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles, based around wide wheat noodles similar to pappardelle, tossed with swatches of tender lamb and napa cabbage in gallons of chile oil gritty with Sichuan peppercorns. This dish will blow the top of your head off, especially if you ask for the highest level of spiciness." - Robert Sietsema

"Xi’an is one of the only NYC chain restaurants that has the ability to boost a neighborhood’s street cred. So you should absolutely take advantage of the location on 78th Street. We like to order the spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles whenever we want to remember what it’s like to feel something (they’re delicious, very spicy, and cost $10). You should do the same." - Hannah Albertine, Bryan Kim