Lunch Out @ Fortune

Last weekend, while house hunting, Sarah said she wanted to go get some spicy food.  She wanted something Asian.  Probably Thai.  We headed for Nida's - my favorite Thai spot so far - only to find that they were closed at lunch time on Saturday at their Short North location (we should have just gone down to North Market). Well, a similar scenario this weekend led us to Fortune, which I'd heard great things about. It did not disappoint!

The Food: The menu is a bit overwhelming because there are so many options - and we had to ask for the full menu because they first just brought us a lunch menu without any of the Szechuan offerings.  And then it's tough because so much sounds good!  We went with some mala string beans to start, and asked them to mix in a bit of the Spicy Pot of Gold (fried tofu).  It cost $2 more but it was fantastic.  There must have been half a head of sliced garlic, several jalapenos, and a handful of dried red chiles.  Add the Szechuan peppercorns (not super fresh, so not much numbing) and well cooked beans and we were excited!  Then we ordered some cold noodles, which frankly weren't that good (too vinegary, but soon forgotten, because...).  The pork in garlic sauce - sweet, salty, nice texture differences with strips of celery, very savory - was a suggestion from the waitress and very tasty.

The Ingredients: Nothing of note in terms of organic, local, etc. that we're aware of.  We'll have to ask next time, but doubtful.

The Story, Setting, & Service: It's going to take some time to get used to so many good things coming in strip malls.  The ambiance here is nonexistent, but the people were very nice (a menu change took help from a 2nd server).

The Last Bite: We're feeling pretty confident that this place is going to be consistently making us happy, and we're already looking forward to returning.  I almost went for lunch today, the day after.  If you don't like spicy food, be careful.  But, the taste is wonderful!