Stop by  Xi’an Famous Foods for the hand-pulled lamb noodles. Stay for the “spicy and tingly” lamb-face salad, the stewed pork “burger”, the liang pi “cold skin” noodles with sesame sauce and chili oil. Amazing what this tiny little storefront noodle stand can do, from pulling its own thick, stretchy, lusciously sopping noodles right at the counter, to frying up small English-muffin-like sandwiches piled high with stewed pork and cuminy lamb, and juggling a near-constant line. If it were just the novelty factor (lamb-face salad? Dude!), the crowds would have thinned out by now. But the noodles and all the slow-cooked lamb and pork permutations (spicy or cumin-tinged; hot or cold; in soups or salads or sitting on mountains of the handmade noodles) are spectacularly tasty. Just note: There’s no place to sit, unless you luck into one of the two cramped counter stools facing the window—and you don’t mind random passersby stopping and staring through the glass at you as you eat, which seems to be the way things roll at Xian. For more seating, hit one of the Flushing locations or the newer branch on St. Marks Place.
Xi’an Famous Foods: Chinatown: 88 East Broadway #106 at Forsyth St. (on Forsyth St. side of the bridge); no phone. East Village: 81 St. Marks Pl between First and Second Aves. Flushing: 41-28 Main Street Bsmt #36, and Flushing Mall, 133-31 39th Avenue #FC10.
Prices/Features: Cheap