On some level, Chinese food is a foreign flavor to an American tongue, but at Clifton’s Fortune Noodle House, the foreign gets authentic with a big bowl of beef tripe noodles. Conveniently located on the corner of Calhoun and Clifton streets, Fortune is perfectly situated for international students at the University of Cincinnati to get a taste of home and for locals to try something new. Inspired by classic Chinese noodle houses, owners Steven Sun and his wife Rachel serve a La Mian-style of handmade noodles, a practice that dates back to the 1500s. The noodles are hand-pulled and stretched out into strands, then paired with everything from vegetables, squid and shredded pork to the aforementioned beef stomach. The texture and folds of the tripe, along with the chewy and dense noodles, soak up the complex flavors of the soup. Other uncommon menu items include selections like a marbled tea egg, sliced lotus root, pig ear, beef tendon and even the chef’s special sautéed pig kidney. A caveat: After eating the tripe noodle stew, you may or may not sweat it out in your sleep. Fortune Noodle House, 349 Calhoun St., Clifton Heights, 513-281-1800, fortunenoodles.com.
We write these words not to encourage the fine proprietors of Over-the-Rhine staple Senate to raise their prices but to acknowledge that without such a deal many of us would not often indulge in such fare. The “$25 wood-grilled, dry-aged ribeye” — which costs just $24 — with marrow butter and truffle fries is kind of like getting half-off a badass fancy meal. You can spend the other 20 bucks on the restaurant’s excellent beer, wine and cocktail lists. Or, if you’re one of those people who uses a budget app to make yourself feel guilty about how often you eat out, go with the $17 seared scallops or slum it with a $10 award-winning street dog until you’re deserving of the full steak treatment. Senate, 1212 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, 513-421-2020, senatepub.com.
Some might argue that any good restaurant on the West Side is a hidden gem, but Sakura truly takes the cake. Located off I-74, this Japanese steakhouse is really hard to find from the street and must be accessed from Old Rybolt Road past the BP gas station or via Rybolt Road past the Holiday Inn, near the closed (we hope) Imperial House Hotel. The adventure continues inside, where patrons can choose from a seat at a Teppanyaki grill table or a spot at the sushi bar for classic rolls and rice dishes. If the music and lights emanating from the adjacent Hillside Gastropub tempt you, just head next door for drinks, jams and dad dancing. Sakura Steakhouse, 5510 Rybolt Road, Dent, 513-574-9666, searchable on Facebook.
Very few things beat waking up in the morning as a kid and sliding twin Pop-Tarts into the toaster for a morning jolt of sugar. Benjamin Arington, owner, creator and chef of Fat Ben’s Bakery, has taken that childhood nostalgia and updated it for 2017 (and for grown-ups) with the creation of his pastry pockets. The pockets are rectangular crusty pastries filled with classy flavor combos like strawberry cheesecake, blackberry thyme and pineapple rosemary. And if you don’t feel like adulting quite yet, Arington also offers flavors like milk and cereal, chocolate PB fudge and Girl Scout Cookie. While you can only order the addictive pastry pockets online for now, a Fat Ben’s storefront is coming soon. Fat Ben’s Bakery, 917-628-8202, fatbensbakery.com.
