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Every time we run across a superb bowl of pho, the Vietnamese beef noodle soup staple, it makes us wonder why we spent so many years trying to napalm the country back to the Stone Age. Miss Saigon—a lovely little neighborhood joint (complete with Vietnamese pop on the flat screen) nestled into a strip mall—offers an assortment of affordably enticing Vietnamese items, but the pho is all we need. The small bowl ($5.99) with eye round and well-done brisket arrives in an ample bowl and with all the usual accouterments: bean sprouts, jalapeño slices, fresh mint, limes. The broth here is a tad too salty and could be heartier, but the cuts of lean meat are above those found in traditional pho houses, possibly Westerned up for palates unaccustomed to tendon. Add an order of goi cuon (2 for $3)—spring rolls of shrimp, pork, cabbage, and bean sprouts—that get made about 10 seconds after you order them to nosh on during the five minutes it takes to assemble your pho order. And, of course, an entire tray of hot sauces is already waiting for you on every table.

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