Saigon 39 is the best Vietnamese restaurant I've ever been to in Kansas City. I love their food, especially their fantastic nouveau cuisine spring rolls. They are not fried and the filling is made entirely of fresh, crisp vegetables. They are served cold, with peanut sauce for dipping. You may never eat spring rolls like them anywhere else. I know I haven't. I don't know the names of any of the other dishes, since I never went there with anyone who knew anything about what we were eating, but everything I tried tasted great. I ate lunch there many times when I worked downtown. Saigon 39 is not downtown, but it is close, near KU Medical Center.
Send me an email if you are ever in Kansas City and I'll compromise my anonymity to introduce you to Saigon 39. Actually, even if you don't like Vietnamese food, if you're in KC, send me an email. I'm not picky enough to be a connoisseur, but I've tried almost every kind. I also can recommend good music spots, churches and other useful stuff. I love this city, even though it isn't much in the grand scheme of things.
Adapted from my comment in this very tenuously related thread at Dean's World.
