Downtown Crossing is about to get a lot spicier with the addition of Xi’an Famous Foods, New York’s celebrated noodle parlor. There’s also delicious news in the suburbs, with the expansion of a prolific French bakery and the launch of an Italian cafe.
Openings: New York City’s iconic noodle shop Xi’an Famous Foods is slated to make its downtown debut (255 Washington St.) within the next two to three weeks, says CEO Jason Wang. Wang says to expect a “grand opening event with promotions and free dishes for our fans.”
Xi’an is beloved for hand-pulled, spicy noodles in chili oil; last year, it opened a ghost-kitchen brand in Roxbury (94 Shirley St.)
This version has 49 seats and will be open daily from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. The menu is similar to its New York siblings: hand-ripped noodles with cumin lamb or pork, noodle soups, spicy and sour dumplings, and stewed pork burgers.
In Arlington, Colette opens on Friday, Oct. 16. The popular bakery (681 Massachusetts Ave.) also has branches in Boston, Medford, and Melrose. Visit from 7:30 a.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 8 a.m. on weekends for macarons, eclairs, cheesecakes, croissants, and sandwiches. With 20 seats, it’s larger than the other locations.
In Winchester, restaurateur Phil Frattaroli (Cunard Tavern, Ducali, Filippo, Ristorante Lucia, and The Pine Bar) opens Caffe Ducali (959 Main St.) next week.
On the menu: espresso, pastries, lunch salads, and Roman-style pizza. It will also offer weekly cooking classes and space for private events. There are provisions, too: beer, wine, olive oil, and spices.
Frattaroli lives in town; his family’s flagship Winchester restaurant, Lucia, opened in 1985. Frattaroli closed Cunard Tavern last month, saying he planned to focus on the upcoming Ducali.
Pizza at Winchester’s Caffe Ducali.Brian Samuels
“Italian and Italian-American are the things I know best,” he said. “Part of doing Cunard was venturing out from that, but in some ways, with the new Ducali, we’re circling the wagons around what’s most familiar to us and part of our heritage.”
Nocturnal diversions: Alden & Harlow in Harvard Square launches a late-night menu from 10 p.m. until close: Swill $9 martinis alongside $4 smoked short-rib tacos and $19 steak frites every evening.
Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her @kcbaskin.
Dining and Cooking