Down the street from my house in Oakland, nestled in with the ramshakle TV repair place, Sid Campbell's karate studio and a store selling second-hand pagers and cellular phones, there has forever sat a forelorn Round Table Pizza. Their fare may be considered "generally-satisfying" but the decrepit chain restaurant facade was never tempting enough for me.

Today I discovered that ye olde Round Table Pizza has been replaced by a bright new Vietnamese Pho noodle joint. Hallelujah! I'm tickled by the prospect of having beef brisket and rice noodle soup garnished with lime and chilis, or perhaps grilled pork and tangy fish sauce, within walking distance. If ingredient and preparation quality are equal, it's more entertaining to dine regularly on Vietnamese than pepperoni and cheese with creamy ranch.

You can probably measure the relative affluence and "hip-factor" of many California neighborhoods by their position relative to sushi restaurants. I can't even think of where the nearest sushi restaurant is yet here. Maybe in Grand Lake. Or Montclair.