Replacing the shuttered Green Papaya, this Asian fusion restaurant serves elevated Vietnamese, Lao, and Thai dishes prepared by Iron Chef alum Michael Bao Huynh (who racked up more than a few awards as a chef-restaurateur in New York City for decades). The pretty dining room evokes Vietnam’s French colonial era, with wood trim, pale green walls, cane bistro-style chairs, white tablecloths, and vintage photos. Our group soaked up the atmosphere while enjoying inventive cocktails and some stellar appetizers. The marinated and smoked baby back ribs were plenty flavorful on their own and  even better with the accompanying green chile–cilantro sauce. Escargots with red chile butter— a tasty Thai twist on the French classic—came sans shells, flanked by toast to sop the spicy sauce. Equally delicious were fried beef dumplings, plump with gingery ground beef and topped with a well-balanced black vinegar sauce. A green papaya salad (with octopus) was mercifully mild, relative to the common tongue-searing versions. As for mains, we much preferred the spicy red curry to the rather tame green curry. A standout entrée was a bowl of pho, with rare roast beef slices and a rich, aromatic broth infused with star anise. Capping our meal was a crème brûlée that fused French and Asian classics; the silky green custard was flavored with pandan—a fragrant Southeast Asian plant—and served with Thai black sticky rice, coconut sorbet, and fresh fruit.