Lan Zhou Handpull Noodle
Building on the noodle craze that's been taking Manhattan's Chinatown by storm, Lan Zhou Handpull Noodle in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, elevates noodle making to a loftier and consequently tastier level. Noodle masters prepare the goods from scratch right before your eyes. Lumps of dough are cut off from the giant mother lode batch and kneaded a little bit with oil. Next, the noodle master flours the table and starts stretching the dough into amazingly long strands, usually in batches small enough for just a few servings. The resulting noodles are then slapped against the table to remove excess flour resulting in a large crack...similar to a gunshot! Be sure if you have children in toe to cover their ears!
Named after the capital of Gansu province in northwestern China, this tiny shop with precious few seats, also distinguishes itself from the competition by concentrating on only one kind of noodle and offering a superior assortment of condiments, that when added judiciously to the soups, greatly enhance the interplay of flavors. The menu is a barebones offering of 15 varieties including beef, tendon, oxtail, lamb, pork, duck soups. Vegetarian option is greens and fried egg. My favorite is the hand-pulled noodle soup with beef ($5), a steaming bowl of deeply flavorful broth, tender meat, spinach, Chinese greens and tender satiny noodles. Get off the N train at the Eighth Avenue stop and walk yourself down to # 5924 between 59th and 60th Streets.