Midtown Lunch

Although we have a couple of spots serving banh mi and other basic Vietnamese dishes in the Financial District, A La Saigon is the only place down here with a more extensive menu. I had previously tried their bun lunch special, and it was decent, but on a recent day when I wasn’t feeling well I decided a bowl of pho was just what the doctor ordered. If you dig deep into the menu, you’ll see the shop on Liberty Lane (btw. Maiden Lane & Liberty St.) offers a few types of pho, and I headed over to see how theirs compared with the solid version from nearby Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches.

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We don’t have much in the way of Vietnamese specialties in the Financial District other than a couple of banh mi sources that also offer serviceable bowls of pho and bun.

Seemingly overnight, Eight Dumpling House morphed into A La Saigon much to the confusion of at least three customers I overheard trying to order their fix of General Tso’s chicken.

What I can report is the $8 lunch special I tried was pretty good, and a welcome counter to all that Americanized Chinese food of fried chicken in gloppy sauces.

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If you tried to eat at Dumpling House on Liberty Place (btw. Liberty St. & Maiden Lane) Monday, you may have been in for a surprise as it’s not only closed, and turning into something different.

The space is becoming A La Saigon and will be serving Vietnamese food, which I for one am pretty happy about. With the exception of Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches, the Banh Mi cart and Baoguette, we don’t have much in the way of Vietnamese specialties in the Financial District. And really, Dumpling House wasn’t anything special, so fingers crossed that the reincarnation will be an improvement.

Update: This place opened up the day after this post. Expect a review in short order.