Saigon Kitchen on West State Street in Ithaca is where I go when I want Vietnamese food cooked by people who are not making concessions to anyone. The pho is built correctly — long-cooked broth with the layered fat and spice that distinguishes the real thing from the approximation, served with fresh herbs and chili that you add yourself rather than having pre-wilted into the bowl. The bánh mì is the right bread at the right texture.
Five stars for a kitchen that operates in its category with conviction. Ithaca's food scene benefits from the university population bringing genuine demand for international food cooked at an actual standard, and Saigon Kitchen is one of the clearest beneficiaries of that quality threshold. The portions are generous, the prices are honest, and the room operates at the casual pace that a counter-service Vietnamese restaurant should operate at.
West State puts you about five minutes from Moosewood, half a mile from the State Theatre, and walkable from most of downtown Ithaca. Saigon Kitchen is the practical answer to the question of where to eat before a show or after a walk through the gorge if you want something filling, fast, and genuinely good. I've been coming back for years and the consistency is the thing.
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February 2, 2023
