Señor Wong has to be one of the trippiest restaurant names ever to come out of downtown St. Paul. And that's a good thing, because this sleepy city center needs some attention.

But even beyond its mixed-up name, Señor Wong will catch your eye. Asian-styled, with hints of Latin America, its setting seems to have been assembled by someone with a very specific idea of what they wanted. It offers a long drink list, moody lighting and tasty late-night specials. But there's also a swig of casualness -- a pool table and two dart boards have been dropped into the middle of the joint.

That's just what owner Son Truong wanted. But as he tells it, the whole thing started with a taco.

Truong, 32, and his roommate, Bobby Wong, had mastered their own authentic homemade taco. Every Wednesday the two would invite friends over to share in their chorizo- and pico de gallo-filled delight. They loved it so much, they thought about going into business -- maybe a pushcart in downtown Minneapolis.

Truong found the image of "two Asian guys pushing a cart down Nicollet Mall selling tacos" a bit silly, he said. Instead, he envisioned a funky restaurant and cocktail lounge. He had the experience -- his family has worked in the restaurant business since moving here from Vietnam in 1979. With help from his younger brother, Lam, he decided to stick with what he knew best: pan-Asian food, but with a place for his favorite tacos. Thus was born Señor Wong, named after his roommate, who is Chinese and works at the restaurant. "It flowed better than 'Señor Truong,'" he said.

The Asian/Latino thing is reminiscent of Chino Latino, but everything here seems a lot less manufactured. Truong quietly opened Señor Wong in early February. It's located inside an old diner on the bottom level of a 1970s-vintage high-rise apartment building. Truong kept the diner booths but gave everything else a facelift. Asian art and rice-paper lamps hang throughout. You could say it looks like a downscale Azia.

Truong doesn't mind being compared to that Minneapolis nightspot, or King and I Thai or the Red Dragon. The absence of such a place in St. Paul is one reason he feels he can succeed in the city's quiet downtown.

As far as late-night eating and drinking go, he's on the right track. The menu leans pretty Asian with some specialty tacos mixed in.

"It's heavy on the 'Wong' right now, but you're slowly going to see more of the 'Señor' side," Truong said.

The drink list is strong. There is a good assortment of classic Asian and Latino beers (Sapporo, Negra Modelo and such) along with some surprises, such as the Hitachino XH, a Japanese beer aged in a sake cask. (It's tasty and will run you $9.25.)

If Señor Wong takes off, and I hope it does, it could mean a little less snoozing for this drowsy downtown.

"I want to try to help St. Paul remove that stigma," Truong said.

Yep, Señor Wong to the rescue.