The Constitution guarantees all citizens life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. During the four years that Americans spend in college, this "pursuit of happiness" becomes "the pursuit of free food -- screw the first two rights." Unfortunately, sometimes our constitutional rights are taken away and we must actually spend money on food. In order to try and confront this breach of legality, Pho and Caf‚ Saigon offers an array of Vietnamese entr‚es for no more than $5.75.
Bringing a little bit of Chinatown into West Philly, Saigon is located at 43rd and Spruce, replacing what used to be Campus Epicurean. The space is small it's hard to accommodate parties larger than six. Fancy d‚cor doesn't pay for itself; the cheap prices clearly translate to a Spartan atmosphere. If you can put on blinders and content yourself to stare at the plate in front of you, you will not leave disappointed.
In order to spare unilingual Americans the embarrassment and the waiters the grating noise that comes each time someone butchers their native language, you order "McDonald's style" -- by number. You won't find a 99-cent fajita, but you will find number 26, a rice stick with grilled beef and lemon grass for $5.50. The dish has too many vermicelli noodles and is sparing on the meat. The pho -- a large bowl of soup with beef and vermicelli noodles -- stacks up well against those in Chinatown and is better than the rice flake dishes. The shakes are great, though comparatively expensive at a "steep" $2.50. Saigon also has take-out, making it a good alternative to Won's or Beijing if you live further off campus.
