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Xi'an Famous Foods

Been a long while since I have posted.  A complicated life has not allowed for restaurant trips.  But I totally have to say this is some of the best food I've had in a long time.  Had a head cold so I thought some spicy noodles would help shake off the gunk.  The hand-torn noodles in house-made chili crisp knocked my socks off.  Went back the following week for more and added in a few other dishes.

Apparently Xi'an Famous Foods is a big NYC brand which has been branching out.  The Clarendon location is less than a month old and already has lines around the block.  There are a few kinks.  You cannot, yet, order online for pickup.  At the actual location they literally put a sign up asking for patience with long wait times.  Place was so crowded on my first visit the "wait for food" line merged with the "order food on an iPad" line (and some folks, who couldn't figure out how to work the iPads, left).  It was about 20 minutes after ordering food when my dish got up.  Got there five minutes after opening on the second try and things were significantly more civilized.

Back to the food.  Ordered the hand-torn noodles again, as well as the Spicy Sour Spinach Dumplings and the Tofu Custard.  The "Tiger Salad" was a no-go for a second round.  The picture indicated some sort of soaked vegetable, but what I got was a huge handful of Cilantro with a tasty sauce -- onions, etc.  Had the salad had, you know, vegetables rather than just condiments, it would have been good.  The Tofu Custard was up second.  Again, fooled by the picture, which showed a large block of tofu with some sauce over it.  Turned out to be a kind of soup with the tofu inside.  Yes, the taste was great and the tofu, silken as the day is long, ~did~ taste like "custard".  Never had anything like that.  Wild.  Would order it again but maybe pour over noodles or rice.  The Spice Sour Spinach Dumplings were exactly as expected.  Six dumplings with spinach in the dough and packed with enough tasty spinach to cover your vegetable quotient for the day.  And yes, they are a perfect balance of spicy and sour.  The heat, the tang?  Delightful.  And then some noodles.  Yes, for the meat eaters in the crowd, they have a large variety of toppings I didn't try -- pork, lamb, beef, and more.  

Outside of the opening jitters, the prices are shockingly low (for this area) and no tip is required.  They actually pay employees more than $20 an hour. 

I will totally be back.  Probably not next week ... or ... well ... if I have time ...

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