Sometimes I have the urge, I'll give it a try and eat at some foreign targeted joint where the ambiance is upscale with pictures on the walls of major cities and you can order a long island iced tea.  I doubt most people know about Long Island and its awful traffic.  These joints usually have a menu that offers something unusual like burritos or maybe tries to cater to everyone by having the now all too common itialian-mexican-american-vietnamese menu.  9.9 out of 10 times, I'm sure to be dissapointed and left with the bloating feeling of regret for paying too much for it.

 

To many locals this might be appealing to experience somthing different, but for me it's the food and drinks that matter!  Paying $4 for a burrito in San Francisco is okay, though paying that fare in Saigon is four times the cost of a dish on the street which is usually much much better!  While I don't fault the locals for trying to bring other cultures to Saigon, I do feel there's a simple rule to go by.  If you're paying extra for non-local food you're usually not going to get what you pay for.  What I mean by this is pizza is not pizza, a hamburger is not a hamburger and burrito is definitely a burritio in Vietnam!  What you're getting is the best attempt to replicate this food thousands of miles away from its origin along with the western ambiance sometimes marked by the establishments catchy name like manhattan burger.

 

So if you're craving something other than Vietnamese food you can look through the local Timeout magazine for the many expat establishments, but if it's a good meal you're looking for I recommend sticking with local food in the less fancy card table, flourescent lit, plastic stool type joints since the locals have been serving their dishes for ages, their food is cheap and it's really delicious!  However, if you're on the hunt for a good enchillada be careful because you'll probably not get what you're paying for!