Chinese Impressions: Fortune Noodle House
Posted Saturday, June 10, 2017A strange phenomenon most of us experience manifests shortly after we learn a new word or phrase: we soon thereafter see that word everywhere: on TV, in books, on the web --it's as though it'd been planted in our everyday routine to reinforce what we'd never before heard or seen.
Jianbing, the name for a popular crepe-like Chinese street food, was our latest new word.
Fortune Noodle House, located in Clifton on the corner of Calhoun and Clifton, served as the vehicle for our word reinforcement. The restaurant opened early last year in the space formerly known as Papa Dino's, Curries and Raj India.
Fortune specializes in La Mian, a Chinese noodle prepared by a chef who dramatically stretches, folds and pulls dough into strands of noodly goodness. According to the menu, La Mian is a five-century-old technique dating back to the Song Dynasty.
We stopped in one weekend afternoon to witness this technique for ourselves. Seated diners can gaze through a prominent window into the kitchen, watching the chief noodle maker on display, setting a notably authentic ambiance. You're in good hands here, and they're pulling the hell out of your noodles.
Fortune's menu offers three primary varieties of pulled noodle dishes: as a soup, pan fried or mixed with sauce. There are also stir fry bowls mixed with a minimum of five veggies, meats or seafood, as well as a host of both authentic and Americanized items most of us Gweilos are familiar with, like fried rice, rice bowls and General Tso's Chicken.
My girlfriend and I both chose from the pulled noodle soup selection. She chose the sliced beef noodle ($9.49) while I opted for the veggie noodle soup ($7.99).
On the chalkboard near the kitchen entrance was a small list of daily specials. One of these was a Chinese crepe-like concoction with egg, crunchy fried wonton, sauce and beef that I would not have known much about had we not recently learned the word, "jianbing." We eagerly ordered one to share ($6.95).
Sliced beef noodle 
Veggie noodle 
Beef jianbing (crepe) The bowls arrived quickly and the fresh noodles were indeed impressive. Large hunks of beef and bok choy rested on a heaping mound of them, partially submerged in a very rich, silken broth. My veggie soup featured bok choy, cabbage, carrots and the coveted noodles in an equally full-bodied, hearty chicken broth.
The jianbing came neatly folded and cut into three pieces. This was a very spicy variant; the bean paste sauce was a fine match for the shredded beef and eggy wrapping, and there was a wonderful, satisfying textural crunchiness thanks to the prodigious square of fried wonton. We could have devoured two of these.
Fortune Noodle House offers great, hand-made noodles with a visually engaging kitchen sideshow and daily specials I hope will eventually find their way onto their regular menu.
349 Calhoun St., Cincinnati, OH 45219513-281-1800
Rating: 3.0 out of 4
= Outstanding
= Fair
= Poor
The best TACO joint in the city. I go there as a treat to myself every Monday. TEX MEX TACOS are delicious culinary treats that look beautiful and taste great. I'm so impressed with this place that I never explore the other items on the menu. If you don't get your taco fix here, you're losing in life.
posted: Tue., Apr 27th, 2021 @ 2:37 PM
My Wife and myself dined at Ferrari’s on Saturday and the Food and service was great/ I had the Butternut Squash Ravioli with misc nuts and sauce and it was the best meal I’ve had there/ My wife had the Fish and Vegetables and was very happy/ I also got a couple of their pizza and olive loaves of bread/ The bread is always a hit at work.
posted: Mon., Nov 23rd, 2020 @ 1:14 PM
@Rick: Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have to remember to give them a try.
posted: Sat., Nov 21st, 2020 @ 9:06 AM
Try Joe's Pizza located at Airway and Smithville Rd. You might like it...That's one of favorite haunts. I definitely think it beats Cassano's.
posted: Fri., Nov 6th, 2020 @ 4:19 PM
Hands down the best Indian in the area. I have yet to find their yellow Punjabi dish anywhere. It is my favorite, and what keeps me coming back time after time. I think I have been here over 100 times. I love this place.
posted: Thu., May 28th, 2020 @ 12:03 PM
I found a gyro I keep thinking about
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tazikis-mediterranean-cafe-cincinnati
their lamb gyro is about 2-3 bucks higher in cost than a gyro elsewhere - B U T - it is made with whole pieces of lamb meat, not the lamb and beef loaf that all other Gyro joints in Cincinnati seem to do
it is a chain. A minus for me, and I suspect for you as well.
But its good.
really, really good
one caveat: skip the baklava as it is not made in-house
posted: Mon., Dec 9th, 2019 @ 12:43 PM
I'll take your word for it, then.....it is fairly close to work so it'll be an upcoming lunch
I also need to try out this little taco wagon near Quatmans in Norwood
posted: Mon., Sep 9th, 2019 @ 6:21 PM
Hi @TJ - We were pretty impressed with the quality of the items, which I think justifies some of the pricing. I really liked the house-made tortillas and their salsas. Chilero offered some extra little touches that were a pleasant surprise. :)
Just by way of comparison...that same week we'd tried the new Mazunte location downtown...and our experience at Chilero beat them out.
posted: Thu., Aug 29th, 2019 @ 10:18 PM
Great food and fantastic atmosphere
posted: Wed., Aug 28th, 2019 @ 8:29 PM
Seems very pricey for a mostly carryout/counter-service joint
posted: Wed., Aug 28th, 2019 @ 5:51 PM