District Saigon

This Vietnamese restaurant in Astoria serves both traditional dishes and modern updates, all made with locally sourced ingredients. Perhaps you’d like to start with a cocktail. The Mawashi, a combination of shiitake-infused blended scotch, Aperol, black currants, smoked syrup and cardamom bitters ($12) or the Old G, a martini made with cucumber-basil vodka, house green juice, Szechuan peppercorn syrup, rice vinegar, absinthe and celery bitters ($14) might intrigue you. The menu includes street snacks like pickled mango summer rolls ($7) and chicken satay with peanut sauce ($7) to start. For the entree, order pho with wood- and herb-smoked brisket ($13), vermicelli with soft-shelled crab salad ($15), Hanoi-style pork belly ($12) or a crispy whole sea bass with pineapple puree ($24). Room for dessert? You might go for the grilled rum pineapple with coconut sorbet ($6), an avocado milkshake ($6) or the Bangkok Backpacker, a Thai iced tea spiked with cachaça and absinthe ($14).