Friday afternoon I grabbed a quick lunch at Xi'an Famous foods in Chinatown, the third outpost (first in Manhattan) of the popular Flushing restaurant, that was visited by Anthony Bourdain on his show "No Reservations". I read a brief write up about this spot by Sam Sifton, restaurant reviewer of the New York Times, and it definitely seemed worthy of a trip.

The place is really just for take-out, it is extremely small. There is maybe enough space for three people to eat on a small metal counter, so don't come here expecting to sit comfortably. I will tell you that what I ordered was powerful, flavorful, and great!

I had the savory cumin lamb burger with jalapenos, onions, and scallions, and stuffed into a crispy warm bun. For $2.50, this not only one of the best bangs for my buck I have ever had, it was also one of the best "burgers" I have ever had. There was so much flavor packed into this bun I was completely satisfied.

I also ordered the spicy and tingly beef hand-pulled noodles for $5.00. This was spice-boiled slices of beef served with their house hot sauce and Chinese pepper powder with hand-pulled noodles. Again, this was a great dish with a lot of powerful flavor. This dish was not for the weak though, it was pretty spicy and did make me tingle with sweat, but it was great! The noodles were perfectly cooked too, made right in front of me, so I saw how fresh they were.