Big Biang Theory - Join the Biang Gang

The yellow brick road journey from starting a food truck to turning it into a realized physical location is fraught, and most people don’t make it. Even if you have the brain, the heart, and the courage, you are beset by many challenges. Only a handful of Oklahoma City food trucks have been able to be lucky enough to follow it through to opening a restaurant successfully. Big Biang Theory’s Davy Sangouanesy is one of them.

After moving from Fort Worth, Texas, to Oklahoma City a decade ago, he eventually decided to leave IT work to follow his passion: selling noodles. Davy grew up helping in the kitchen as a child. “My mom would make me roll hundreds and hundreds of egg rolls for parties as a 6-year-old,” he recalls. For the last 15 years, he’s been experimenting making everything from pad Thai to egg noodles from scratch, and in 2018 he discovered a relatively obscure style that would change his path.

Biangbiang noodles are a local delicacy in Xi’an, the capital city of the Shaanxi Province in Northwest China. They are a hand-pulled, thick, and chewy variety. It took Davy hours of research and development to get them down; not only the pulling method, but the right ratio of high-protein and high-gluten flour and water to get the consistency right.

“The noodles are not something you’d see here,” Davy explains. “I have a saying that ‘they’re perfectly imperfect.’ You have to stretch these noodles that are two to four feet long, sometimes five, that don’t have an edge. Sometimes they’re thicker or longer or irregular. That’s what makes it so good, you never know what your next bite will be like.

“It goes down to science, that’s what I’m teaching everyone here,” he continues. “One day, if it’s humid outside and the doors are open, that dough is not going to respond the way it did when it was perfect last week.”

By 2019, he had figured it out enough to open the Big Biang Theory truck, and made his debut by booking it at two back-to-back food truck festivals. They were both smash hits, selling out both nights. The word spread quickly, leading to constant demand for a unique dish.

“You have to market a product that’s truly unique that people will enjoy,” Davy describes as his winning philosophy. “Not just like, ‘Oh, that’s cool, it’s a different noodle.’ You put it in your mouth and go ‘Oh, that’s good.’ You have to make sure your product is good all around.”

Similar to its noodles, Big Biang Theory stretched to a point where a brick and mortar was viable very quickly. Opening in 2023 in Film Row, the permanent building allowed a wider menu and a bar, and its urban location, the appeal of being in a walkable district, was very important to the concept.

Murals and framed martial art film posters line the original rustic brick facade interior, creating a casual and comfortable dining experience. The bustling lunch rush of downtown workers eager for a hearty meal is a signal of its success. In the evenings, patrons are enjoying Lao beer, sake, or a craft cocktail (you can enjoy them at lunch too; nobody’s gonna snitch on you).

“I have a saying that ‘they’re perfectly imperfect.’ You have to stretch these noodles that are two to four feet long, sometimes five, that don’t have an edge. Sometimes they’re thicker or longer or irregular. That’s what makes it so good, you never know what your next bite will be like.”

The bar program has a rotating seasonal menu with happy hour specials. Its philosophy is craft cocktails that are not too fussy and affordable, but still shaken or stirred. With bar hours expanding until 2 a.m., Big Biang Theory is looking to insert itself into the OKC nightlife scene, not merely remaining a noodle shop (though an excellent one).

As far as the truck, it continues to make the rounds and can be spotted at local festivals. That is still a core component of Davy’s mission, to bring biangbiang to the masses. It’s a more slimmed-down menu by necessity, but the Film Row location is constantly refining and rotating its dishes to offer a wider variety. The cooks are encouraged to be creative and hone their craft.

“At first, I wanted to have a dedicated noodle puller, but a lot of my cooks took a liking to it. They can pull mighty fine noodles and drop them like I do, and that’s what melts my heart,” Davy gushes. Being able to employ people and work together to get better is a passion. “The money we make here is for the people who work here. Everybody that works will get a piece of that. If they don’t make a good life’s work, I’m not happy about it.

“The reason I did this was to bring more enjoyment to Oklahoma City. I’m looking forward to the evolution of our food and the nightlife,” Davy says.

In all, the primary mission of Big Biang Theory is to make people feel good and push the boundaries of Oklahoma City’s ever-broadening food scene, one bowl of noodles at a time.

> Big Biang Theory, 704 W. Sheridan Ave., Oklahoma City, bigbiangtheory.com, (405) 404.3111