New Saigon of Des Moines, IA: Not Recommended

The squatty, off-white building that houses New Saigon looks more like a laundromat or a convenience store than a restaurant. Fortunately I have driven past it enough times to know better, and I was excited to try a new independently owned restaurant. Moving from a Chicago suburb to Des Moines, Iowa didn't exactly thrill me, but with a little effort one can find an abundance of small, delicious, and cheap restaurants. This excitement was quickly dampened when my boyfriend, Tyler, and I walked through the door: ten eyes were trained on our every move as a table of five Asian teenagers stopped all conversation and stared at us unblinkingly. We glanced at each other nervously and sidled over to a nearby empty booth when no one came to greet us or guide us to a table. In addition to the table of unfriendly teens, there was one man and his two children on the other side of the restaurant. The numerous empty chairs and booths resulted in a sea of glaring, garish maroon vinyl upholstery that made New Saigon's unpopularity painfully obvious. Considering it was a Saturday evening around six o'clock, this did not bode well for our taste buds.

Eventually a stout woman walked over to our table in baggy sweatpants, a dingy t-shirt, and bedraggled house slippers. I assumed she was a kitchen worker judging by her slovenly clothing, but she introduced herself as our waitress and welcomed us to New Saigon. She went to get us glasses of water and we began to read over the options of the advertised Vietnamese, Chinese, & Thai Cuisine, chuckling at the misspellings that were rife throughout the descriptions.