Banh mi ban!

Lamb Burger | Xi’an Famous Foods

Don’t head to the Golden Mall food court in Flushing expecting to find Sbarro or Cinnabon. Flushing’s subterranean collection of food stalls is straight out of China: clanging pans, distressingly tiny stools, Mandarin chatter and all.

Luckily, you don’t have to be bilingual to sample the zi ran chao yang rou jia mo—aka savory lamb burger—at Xi’an Famous Foods. Framed photos of dishes titled in English hang on the wall like a makeshift art project, and odds are that the friendly owner will guess your order before you can spit it out. He’s not psychic—nearly everyone walks away with a compact plastic-wrapped sandwich.

What you’ll get is a delicious cross between an untoasted English muffin and a pita stuffed with juicy strips of cumin-seasoned lamb punctuated with stir-fried onions and pickled green chiles. ($2.50).

Suitable sub? 4 stars. The only thing holding this Silk Road sandwich back from perfection is the lack of one essential ingredient: salt. BYOS (bring your own sodium) and enjoy.

Xi’an Famous Foods (Basement stall No. 36, Golden Shopping Mall, 41-28 Main St., Flushing; 718-885-7788)