Xi’an Well-known Meals, NYC’s cult Chinese language chain identified for its hand-pulled noodles, spicy cumin lamb burger, and one serendipitous go to from Anthony Bourdain, breaks into the D.C. marketplace for the primary time this spring.
20 years in, the family-run enterprise makes good on its plans to lastly develop exterior of NY into regional cities — and now we all know the nation’s capital is one among them. As a substitute of a brick-and-mortar debut, Xi’an Well-known Meals will supply its menu for takeout and supply solely out of rising ghost kitchen 4 Mile Meals Co. (1033 W. Glebe Street, Alexandria, Virginia).
“We’re excited to have them onboard. They need to be launching inside the subsequent few weeks,” a rep from 4 Mile tells Eater.
Xi’an Well-known Meals’ humble origins date again to 2005 as a small basement stall in Flushing, New York. And of all of the eating places in New York Metropolis, Xi’an Well-known Meals arguably benefited essentially the most from an Anthony Bourdain seal of approval. Whereas filming a part of a No Reservations episode on NY’s outer boroughs, an impromptu go to from the then-Journey Channel host modified Xi’an’s trajectory in a wild approach.
After the episode aired in 2009 — wherein Bourdain gushes over the lamb burger (“I’ve by no means had something like this,” he mentioned) — Xi’an exploded in reputation and measurement from there. Xi’an presently has over 15 areas scattered throughout New York, with extra on the best way. The pandemic received in the best way of Xi’an’s long-overdue enlargement plans to cities like D.C., Boston, and past, however now the James Beard-nominated enterprise is lastly able to bust out of the Huge Apple.
Owned and operated by father-son duo David Shi and Jason Wang, Xi’an’s household recipes pull from the Shaanxi province of northwestern China. Hits embrace biang-biang noodles, dumplings doused in its signature dipping sauce, and vinegar-y chilly noodles (liang pi). Its incoming menu at 4 Mile contains all of these.
Xi’an joins a roster of 20-plus distributors, together with D.C. soul meals favourite Oohh’s and Aahh’s, NuVegan Cafe, and Taste Hive — a Mexican meals truck that went viral after a TikTok meals influencer Keith Lee dug into its “Strolling Taco Chips Bag” final yr. Taste Hive simply revealed plans to open its first standalone location in Annandale this summer season. Xi’an’s future enlargement plans within the space stay unclear for now.
At 4 Mile, every restaurant operates independently below the identical roof on the industrial-styled setup with no sit-down eating. Clients can place to-go orders on-site from a kiosk contained in the foyer, order on-line, or by most main supply apps.
