So what IS "modern Vietnamese cuisine"?

Having heard that diners enter Indochine Grill at the EpiCentre uptown (210 E. Trade St.; 704-688-0078) expecting Chinese-American food -- or Indian food, or (in the case of a few who see the Vietnamese in its subtitle) a pho-soup-only place -- I suspect a mini-primer on Vietnamese food may help stem confusion.

First, a little geography and history: Vietnam is in Southeast Asia, on the eastern side of what's called the Indochinese Peninsula, south of China (and east of India). A long, thin country, it also borders Laos and Cambodia. China, through a thousand years of colonization, and France, in a century or so of occupation, strongly influenced the nation's cooking. Stir-fries and noodles, sausages, baguettes, rich soups and more continue to show this heritage.

Vietnamese native Duc Tran, who owns Indochine Grill, has two Atlanta restaurants. Here, he emphasizes the influences of Japan (sashimi, for example) and the United States (the use of gas-grilled items) as well as France and China in his menu.

So, traditional cha gio (fried egg rolls) are joined in the starter list by sashimi rolls and "Japanese short rib" (marinated and grilled), and a signature salad that mixes greens with green mango, green papaya, Fuji apple, fish vinaigrette and grilled meat or shrimp. There's a tuna ceviche and a tuna tartare next to the traditional noodle soup called pho and the rice vermicelli with meats called bun. And specialty dishes include riffs on the traditional Vietnamese dish called "shaking beef" using lamb and ahi tuna. (The meat doesn't shake; the dish -- thit bo luc lac -- is named for the cook's need to shake the pan as the meat sears.)

French La Lot is what Tran calls the grape leaves rolled around grilled beef or duck and garnished with roasted peanuts; traditionally, this is made in Vietnam with wild betel leaves. And Japanese-Seared Tilapia is the name for a sushi-grade tilapia fillet pan-seared in herbed oil.

Tran is careful to credit the influences on Indochine's take on Vietnamese cooking, which makes the place both interesting and educational.