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Today’s Nibbles introduces diners to Saigon District One, a year-old Lafayette eatery with connections to Colorado’s first Vietnamese restaurant.
Plus: A Boulder dining deal, a middle school chef contest and a nostalgic look back at Boulder’s favorite eateries.
— John Lehndorff
The book-like menu at Saigon District One reads like an influencer’s guide to the immersive, IMAX-for-the-diner experience that is authentic Vietnamese food: tart, spicy and funky broths; slurpable noodles; bright, crunchy salads; and herb-forward pho steam that wakes up your nose.
Mai Vu, the restaurant’s owner, just wanted to offer a taste of home.
“I grew up in Vietnam, in Saigon District One, so I named the restaurant after my hometown,” she says. Vu immediately leaves the table to get us dark-roasted Vietnamese drip coffee poured over sweetened condensed milk with ice.
Vu emigrated to the United States in 1995. Following a career in computer systems, she bought and operated New Saigon Restaurant on Federal Boulevard in Denver.
Thirty-plus years ago, New Saigon helped introduce the fare to a populace totally unfamiliar with the cuisine, my palate included.
For several decades, a glowing review I had written for the Rocky Mountain News hung in New Saigon’s entryway until the eatery closed several years ago.
Saigon District One channels and reinvents that tradition. The Lafayette eatery offers the greatest hits from pho and banh mi to spring rolls and noodle plates. But taste bud tourists can also explore Vietnam’s regional specialties: crispy savory pancakes, deep-fried whole sea bass, stuffed bitter melon soup and betel leaf-wrapped grilled beef. Tabletop chili crisp in oil amps up the flavors.
One plate offers a wealth of seafood — shrimp, scallops, squid and mussels — over crispy noodles. Another tops broken rice with grilled ribs, shredded pork skin, pork patty, fermented pork roll and fried tofu skin.
A sandwich and the sound of home
Before I took my banh mi home, I snapped a few images for Nibbles. Mai Vu asked if she could shoot a video of the sandwich to use for the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations starting Feb. 17.
She ran to her computer and changed the music to what sounded like a pleasant Vietnamese pop song.
She smiled, swayed and sang along as she created the video.
“This is a traditional song about New Year. For us, New Year is very important for the family. On the first day we pray for our parents – relatives who have passed. The second day is for blessing the business, and hoping for good luck,” Vu says.
On an earlier visit to Saigon District One with friends, we enjoyed five-spice grilled chicken thighs and cua lột chiên bơ, a heaping platter of deep-fried soft-shell crabs, onion rings and veggies drenched in garlic butter sauce.
As we departed, I recognized some fellow diners — chef Natascha Sherman Hess and her family. Hess owns Ginger Pig, the Asian street food eatery in Boulder and Denver that has earned Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition.
Given her schedule, Hess rarely gets out to eat. She also will admit to being very picky.
“After spending a month recently in Vietnam, I’ve been chasing authentic Vietnamese food in the metro area. Saigon District One is my favorite place to take my family for lunch, and it might be my favorite restaurant right now,” Hess says.
Eating at Saigon District One had many highlights but the one I sighed over at home was banh mi. The restaurant’s house-baked loaves are spot on, moist and chewy with enough heft to hold a roster of fillings from traditional cold cuts and grilled meats to sardines, beef curry or fried eggs.
“I bake all the bread myself. I won’t let the staff know any of the recipes,” owner Vu says.
My Hà Nội-style banh mi sandwich was layered with tender grilled pork, carrots, cucumbers, cilantro and jalapeño slices, a perfect balance of filling to bun. I added some hoisin.
With a gleam in her eye, Vu told me she just got in a case of ripe avocados she will blend into a batch of banh mi dough.
“The bread will be green. It’s a good taste,” she says.
Needed: Sigma middle school chefs with rizz
If your foodie middle schooler has ever dreamed of competing in one of those TV cooking competitions, apply now for the 2026 Middle School Iron Chef Competition sponsored by the Boulder Valley School District.
Teams of two to four middle schoolers and an adult mentor must submit a recipe by Feb. 13. The five teams chosen will compete live on March 11. Details here.
Meanwhile, Boulder County winners at the recent 2026 Colorado Brewers Cup included Blood Orange Kölsch (Crystal Springs Brewing); Colorado Pale Ale (Westbound & Down); American Idle India Pale Ale (Liquid Mechanics Brewing); and beers from Left Hand Brewing and The Post. See the complete list from the Colorado Brewers Guild.
Time travel to Boulder’s classic restaurants
My love of restaurants began as I chopped, sauteed and deep-fried my way through a dozen Boulder restaurant kitchens, including Potter’s, Pearl’s and the Greenbriar Inn. I lasted one night on the grill at The Sink.
If you recall the taste of the babka at the New York Deli, the aroma of the Good Earth’s spiced tea, the fun at Fred’s Steakhouse and the phones at Round the Corner, flash back in time with me on Feb. 9 at the Museum of Boulder.
Joining me are veteran Boulder dining critic Clay Fong and restaurateur Bryan Dayton. Dayton operates OAK at Fourteenth, Corrida and C Burger. He was a bartender at Juanita’s Mexican Food.
We’ll reminisce about landmark eateries and chefs from the 1960s to the 2000s. The event includes audience participation, a Q&A session, images of classic eateries and historic recipes. Tickets here.
The Boulder-based Brewers Association announced that the Great American Beer Festival will move to Denver’s Levitt Pavilion on Oct. 10 and 11.
List your local food and beverage events, classes, festivals, tastings, tours and contests in the Boulder Reporting Lab’s event listings.
Frugal dining: 20% off Bourbon Chicken
Nibbles’ focus on frugality in our food life includes finding legit local dining deals.
Chris Rubeck, owner of Ruby Ru’s Street Eatery in Lafayette, is celebrating the restaurant’s fifth anniversary by lowering prices by 20% on the entire menu. Ruby Ru’s most popular items include its famous bourbon chicken bowl, as well as a Philly cheesesteak, cheeseburger sub and Nashville hot chicken platter.
Send details about ongoing or special dining deals at independent Boulder County eateries to nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org.
“I feel like there should be a rule in America. If you hate immigrants? No immigrant food. And when I say no immigrant food, I mean nothing. No Mexican food. No Asian food. Only potatoes.” – Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show
Want more Boulder bites?
New cookbook celebrates Colorado’s immigrant chefs redefining local cuisine
C Burger opens in Boulder with premium Colorado beef at fast-casual prices
Check out recent editions of Nibbles:
☕ At CU Boulder, students engineer coffee, chocolate and beer
🥧 Boulder’s delicious secret: The origin of National Pie Day