This cuisine is capable of so much sensory stimulation, so many aromatic peaks and succulent, complex valleys, that even the least mind-blowing renditions tend to turn people on for life. In that case, Que Huong may well convince you to just sell the store and move to Vietnam for good. At first glance, it seems like any other Chinatown restaurant, beaten down and caked with dust and grease. But this eatery is in fact superlative. Order by numbers, or better yet, bring a Vietnamese friend and tell them you’ll eat anything their grandmother would eat.

The usual suspects like pho and banh mi are passable but not special. Start with goi ngo sen tom thit, a cold salad of julienned crunchy lotus stems, plump shrimp, and tender sliced pork laced with cilantro and a punchy vinaigrette. For less-adventurous eaters, banh hoi bo lui nuong is a good introduction, with assertively grilled beef that’s meant to be rolled into the accompanying rice paper with carrots, radish, basil, and mint, then dipped in fish sauce, giving the entire package a strikingly sweet-umami finish. Quails simmered in honey and soy balance sweetness with light gaminess. Lemongrass and chilies do a sprightly dance in a dish of tender squid that transports you to the other side of the world…but you may find yourself booking a ticket anyway.