Oibek Dzhuraev, the co-owner of the excellent Laghman Express, has only lived in New York City for a couple of years. But sometimes, he feels like he's spent every waking moment of that time either building out a restaurant or feeding his South Brooklyn neighbors the Uyghur food of his homeland—most notably the titular laghman, hand-pulled long noodles smothered in meat and vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and onions.
"I grew up in Kyrgyzstan, right in the middle of Central Asia," Dzhuraev told Hell Gate. "We are the neighbor of Kazakhstan, we are the neighbor of Uzbekistan, we are the neighbor of Tajikistan, we are the neighbor of Xinjiang, in China. And in all those places, laghman is the most popular dish." He added, "Everyone likes this food."
Hell yeah we do. In early 2024, Dzhuraev and his uncle Kamalbek Jurayev opened their first Laghman Express on 20th Avenue in Bensonhurst, and, after raves from yours truly in Brooklyn Magazine and my man Chris Crowley on Grub Street, the place then landed on last year's 100 best New York City restaurants list in the New York Times. While the customer base remained mostly South Brooklyn locals, lines of people waiting to order predictably followed.
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