As I was driving home from work the other day, I passed by Vietnamese Top Noodle. I noticed the “open” sign was off during normal business hours and I immediately suspected they were closed. The next day I drove by again and saw “For Lease” signs in the window, confirming my suspicion.

As a foodie, I find it saddening when a local restaurant closes. At the same time, I start to wonder what could possibly take its place. For that, I ask, what does Austin need?

I can tell you first what we don’t need: another Mexican restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mexican food, but we already have six Mexican restaurants (no, I’m not including Taco Johns).

We also don’t need another American restaurant, i.e. burgers, hot dogs, and various fried items. Again, I love that kind of food, but we have enough.

In the event an Asian-inspired restaurant should open in the old Vietnamese Top Noodle location, I would hope that it could be another Vietnamese place where I can get some pho or a good bánh mi sandwich. Or perhaps a restaurant that serves Thai-based cuisine. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a good pad Thai or Thai curry dish.

And speaking of curry, why not an Indian restaurant? I hate to say that I have little experience with Indian food outside of tandoori chicken and curry. The question is could an Indian restaurant make it in Austin?

Continuing the ride on the curry train, maybe a Caribbean-inspired restaurant? One of my favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants when I lived in Jackson, Mississippi, was a Caribbean place that served amazing curry chicken and goat. If you wanted to amp up the spices, you could also get some good jerk chicken or jerk ribs that could clear out your sinuses.

But if we’re talking about Caribbean cooking (or spicy food in general), then we have to mention Creole cooking, which leads me to Cajun food. I was born in New Orleans and firmly believe Austin needs a restaurant where gumbo, jambalaya, po-boys and crawfish (not crayfish) are served on a regular basis. I’m tired of having to fly home to visit family to get it.

If spicy isn’t your thing, but you still want some good flavor, then maybe a Greek restaurant would be appropriate. Gyros and kabobs aside, Greek may be a good option for those seeking a lighter dish, like hummus or falafel, which despite being fried is surprisingly healthy.

Keeping with the European theme, I believe a French bistro might be interesting. I’m not sure how well suited the location is for a bistro, but maybe redoing the interior and putting a few two-seater tables outside could give it the right effect. Or if you prefer your fries to be chips served with a fried piece of fish, then maybe a British pub would be in order. Perhaps we could make it an Irish pub and drink a pint while eating a hearty shepherd’s pie on a cold night.

I would even submit, in keeping with the heritage of the area, a Scandinavian restaurant. A place where we can get pork shank, various recipes involving lingonberries and, dare I say it, pickled herring and lutefisk?

So, those are some restaurant possibilities for the old Vietnamese Top Noodle location. Next, we can figure out which restaurant should go in the old Hy-Vee.