That all being said, if you live in the right area for Vietnamese food, get Pho. It's a soup made of hot beef broth which the customer puts meats, veggies and noodles in...just skip the noodles. Around here a "small" order of pho is still more than I can eat/drink in one sitting, usually costs 3-4 dollars, and has fresh herbs, meat and veggies that put most restaurants to shame. Pho is my new favorite LC discovery...

I was living in Little Saigon for 12 years and for some reason afraid to step into an authentic Vietnamese restaurant but now I wonder what I was afraid of.

Yes Pho qualifies as fast because of course they make the broth ahead and get your order together quickly.