If memory serves (and when doesn’t it?), the best Vietnamese we ever had was dispensed from a tiny restaurant converted from a convenience store specializing in Night Train. It was tucked under the “L” tracks in a city where the dead outvote the living. The pho—steaming on a chipped formica table stationed on a floor with curling linoleum tiles—quivered every time a screeching commuter train went by.

Saigon Block is different. Somewhat. It’s large and spacious with rows of laminated tables sporting a wood grain that would look swell affixed to disco-era wall paneling. It comes off in a solarium-meets-pool-hall sort of way. Large flatscreen TVs broadcast sports and scenes from Vietnam. A portable water wall burbles near the door. You might think this sort of compelling atmosphere would upstage the food. It doesn’t.

Saigon Block serves delicious Nhung Dam fondues (served with vinegar broth) for beef, shrimp, squid, fish, etc. You can feast on a seven-course beef dinner that includes fondue, beef sausage, and beef congee. There’s also a sublime baked whole catfish. But mostly, Saigon Block offers the stalwart staples you’d expect: crisp and supple spring rolls, a lengthy list of tasty vermicelli dishes (bun), and grilled rice plates. Oh, and pho that’ll melt the screech right out of your Night Train brain.