Location: 3500 E. Indiana 38 Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: (765) 838-1975
Cuisine: Asian

I had a lot of people recommend Fortune House as a place to try, and everyone on Facebook was very complimentary so I decided to head out there today to check it out. It’s located over where the Old Country Buffet used to be, by Michaels and Staples and Petsmart. I was skeptical at first, because a number of restaurants have tried and failed in this location.

Upon entering, we were directed to our table and had our drink orders taken. The place is pretty nice inside, with large buffets arranged in the buffet area. The restaurant is clean with lots of tables and there were plenty of people there for lunch.

Our drinks arrived and then we were left at our table with no directions or instructions about how everything works, so we eventually just got up and started wandering around. I wasn’t sure when we got there what the cuisine type was – Chinese? Japanese? Mongolian? And apparently, the answer to those are yes.

The first buffet table was sushi, and I was happy to see two sushi chefs behind the counter, making the sushi and dishing it out. There is nothing less appealing to me than a sushi buffet with who knows how old sushi sitting on a cold plate. At least here, you could tell it was being made fresh and put out for you to try.

There were also several buffets of mostly Chinese food. You had your regular fare of lo mein, chicken with broccoli, and sweet and sour chicken as well as some other options that were new, such as Hong Kong Chicken, Mongolian Pork, and a lot of sea food options as well.

Then the last buffet was a raw meat and veggie station where you can get your stir fry cooked to order.

After wandering around, I chose to start with the Chinese fare and got a plate of that. It was just okay. While I was impressed with the selection, the food itself was nothing spectacular, and the lo mein noodles were really not good at all. I was underwhelmed with the Chinese food.

Next I hit the sushi buffet. It is well documented here that I am no connoisseur of sushi. I always try it, and often like it, but it’s never my first choice and my palate is not very discerning. I got a plate of various choices and they were all okay. Again, nothing spectacular, but nothing bad either.

Finally, even though I was getting very full, I needed to try the Mongolian stir fry area. I had to ask another patron for the procedure here, because there were no instructions. Just a bar of raw meat and veggies and a guy with a grill. So the basic premise is that you fill up one plate with your meats and veggies that you want stir fried, then another plate with your rice or noodles. Then you take them over to the grill and set them down and the grill guy cooks it all up for you. Some people stood and watched, others went off to get other food and come back. I watched him cook. It was cool. He asked if I wanted spice, and I said a “little” and wuhoo, was it spicy. It was good though. As far as the food I ate, that was the best part.

They also had salad, fresh fruit, and desserts as well. There was definitely a lot of everything as far as selections go.

It doesn’t stand out as best sushi, or best Chinese, but if you can’t decide what you want, or have a group that wants different options, it will definitely fit the bill.

Friend’s opinions: From @kristenrielly, “fortune house – 1st Chinese buffet but thought it was good, chicken & steak were tasty. Will try the ‘make your own’ next time.”

Kid Friendly: Yes. There were french fries and other kid friendly items on the menu.

Price: Lunch buffet ist $6.25 – full pricing on their Facebook page.

Restaurant Name: Ah Z

Location: 35 South Chauncey Avenue, West Lafayette, IN  (map it)

Phone: (765) 743-5566?

Cuisine: Japanese

Review:  This review was not originally meant to be a review of Ah Z. It was actually meant to be a review of Maza. I got an email from a reader asking if I’d tried it. I hadn’t, so I looked it up and really wanted to try it out. Tonight, we drove over, sat through all the crazy campus traffic, and attempted to go to Maza. Apparently, though, you can only eat there if you have reservations so we were turned away. I had no idea they were so popular already.

We instead chose to go somewhere else in that area and walked around in Chauncey Village looking for another option. This is how we found Ah Z. It is called a “Japanese Fusion” restaurant. I have no idea what “Japanese Fusion” means, but we decided it was worth a try and went in.

It’s a very small place. Maybe four tables. A counter for ordering, and a big menu on one wall. We spent some time with the menu and it is almost entirely sushi. You’ve got regular sushi, then there’s a big menu for the “Big Ten Rolls” which is kind of neat. Each Big Ten school has a special roll. There is a smaller menu off to the side with a handful of non-sushi dishes.

You order at the counter and then, if you are eating in, they’ll bring your food to you. It appears they do a decent amount of take out orders. We ordered. My husband got one of the Big Ten rolls (I can’t remember which school, but it had Salmon, crab, and avocado) and I ordered the Spicy Chicken. I’m not a big sushi eater, I’m sorry to say. The lady taking the orders was very delightful. Friendly and enthusiastic.

We sat down with our Styrofoam cups of water. (No alcohol here, by the way.) The tables all have baskets with chop sticks, soy sauce,  sauce dishes, and napkins. While we were waiting, a fairly steady stream of people came in and placed to go orders. We were the only people dining in. Also, I was really mesmerized by the big screen TV over the counter playing Japanese pop videos. I couldn’t stop watching!

For the food, I would have to say that this is a probably a good place for sushi. Having shamefully admitted that I’m not a big sushi eater, I ordered the spicy chicken and it was not great. It came out in a Bento box. One square for salad, one square for rice, one square for chicken. It was very pretty and it looked really good. I was really excited about it. I started on the salad which was  iceberg lettuce, sesame seeds, and some dressing. It was just okay. Then I started with my main course, and it was really rather bland. It was spicy, yes. But still bland. There really wasn’t any flavor other than the burning on my lips. I ate some of it, but eventually gave up. After a while of trying to get through it, I just started looking wistfully at all the people in the Taco Bell next door.

My husband, on the other hand, reports that his sushi roll was really quite good and he could have eaten another one.  I would say this is probably a nice spot if you are on or near campus and like sushi or need a place to pick up sushi on the go, but I wouldn’t go there for anything else.

Kid friendly: Not really. (Only if your children like sushi.)

Restaurant Name: Kokoro

Location: 526 Main Street, Lafayette, IN (map it)

Phone: (765) 742-8180

Hours: Tues – Fri: 11:30-1:30; 5:30-9:30; Sat: 5 – 9:30

Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi

Review:

Kokoro, in my experience mostly just referred to as “Tony’s” is a restaurant with outstanding food and sketchy service. That is to say, Tony, expects you are there for the excellent food; you’ll get it when it’s ready. Tony’s wife, a delightful lady, is typically the server (at least during lunch when I normally go). Tony seems to recognize his departure from the “customer is always right” attitude inasmuch as his website is “sushinazi.com.”

The atmosphere is pleasant and the decor is nice. Warning: it’s not cheap. A lunch plate runs $10 on average, and a dinner plate goes for about $20. In addition, Tony has a liquor license in case you want a beer or something.

When I go, it’s primarily for the sushi. I don’t claim to have a discerning palate for such things, but among Lafayette’s surprising number of sushi offerings (for a Midwestern town of its size), I think Tony has the best. I could probably die happy, drowning in his spicy sauce. But, occasionally when I’m in the mood for something else, I have been extremely happy with the pork fried rice.

I wouldn’t recommend taking kids there – in fact, I guess I’m not positive they are allowed since I have never seen any. The wait on the food can be too long for an impatient child. But, if you don’t have to be anywhere, and you want really good Japanese food, Tony’s is definitely a place to check out.

Restaurant Name: Green Sprout Restaurant and Bakery

Location: 102 N. Chauncey Ave., West Lafayette, IN? (map it)

Phone: (765) 269-7393?

Cuisine: Korean

Review: Whenever I get the opportunity to dine out without children, I immediately start searching for places that I’ve never been because I love trying new restaurants. I remembered from back when I reviewed Maru and Fiesta Mexican Grill that there was some kind of bakery place in that area and thought tonight would be a good chance to try it out.

It’s on Chauncey Avenue, just down the street from Noodles and Company. When we arrived, it was fairly empty. It’s a casual environment, tables along a wall with a big bench and big comfy pillows along the bench. In the center of the restaurant was a table of fresh baked bread choices. The entire place was bright and airy with high ceilings and lovely colors. And also, very clean. I tend to check out the floors in restaurants, because often they are just disgusting, but these were quite clean.

It’s not a fancy place. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table on trays. The food is served on paper plates for the most part. Their main draw is something called a Sushi Salad. It’s layers of sushi rice, shredded cooked egg, cucumber, seaweed with your choice of avocado,  shrimp, mushroom, eel, or tuna and your choice of sauces like spicy mayo, wasabi mayo, sweet sauce, kimchi sauce, and soy sauce.

They also offer a variety of hot choices served with steamed rice, the most popular being the Spicy Peanut Chicken. I ordered the spicy chicken and my husband got the sushi salad, so we could try the two specialties.  We also got a pot of green tea to share.

I really enjoyed my spicy chicken. It was exactly as advertised. My husband also really liked his sushi salad. The tea was also very good. We dined with a friend who ordered teriyaki chicken and some kind of beef dish, served with rice, and she was not as pleased as we were with our entrees. Whether that’s because the food wasn’t good or because it didn’t suit her tastes remains to be seen.

Because they claim daily fresh baked breads, I felt like I needed to try the bread before leaving. I went up to the register and had the clerk explain what all the different breads were. The choices included multi-grain cream cheese bread, red bean soboro, regular soboro, and something with coffee in it. I chose the one the clerk recommenced, the soboro bread. It was delicious. It had the consistency and taste of a croissant, but was shaped more like an extra large cookie and was topped with a crumbly topping that tasted almost like a peanut butter cookie. I really liked it.

Overall, I think it’s a nice casual place for a quick meal. I’ll definitely go again.

Kid friendly: It was definitely casual and kid friendly as far as the environment goes. I believe I even saw high chairs. Whether kids will eat their offerings, that will have to be up the parents to decide.

Price Range: We ended up paying about $22 for two meals, hot tea, and bread.

Restaurant Name: Maru Sushi

Location: 111 N. Chauncey Ave. West Lafayette, IN (map it)

Phone: 765-743-2646
Fax: 765-743-2647

Cuisine: Japanese

Review: I was advised by a reader of a new restaurant in West Lafayette, and since I love my readership so much, I immediately set out to try it. Maru is a small restaurant, located on Chauncey Avenue, across from the Noodles & Co. but down a few doors. You have to look for it, because the signs are small.

We arrived at 11 AM and it was completely dead – we were the only people there. As they open right at 11, this wasn’t much of a surprise. We were greeted by friendly staff and seated and given menus, both the regular menu and the sushi menu.

This is where I admit that I am not much of a sushi eater. I  know, I know. I don’t want to be that person. It’s taken time, and I’m finally starting to try it more. Either way, when it comes to reviewing Sushi, I don’t have a lot of experience.

When we sat down, we were offered tea or water. They didn’t offer anything else, so I’m assuming they don’t offer sodas or (gasp) alcohol. I’ll try not to hold that against them. The water came out bottled, and my only complaint is that then I have to be careful not to drink it too fast because I’m sure they’d charge for a third bottle.

The menu was extensive, with teriyaki and tempura boxed lunches, rice and noodle dishes, along with a ton of sushi choices. If there’s a noodle dish to be had, then I will have it so I ordered the Yaki U-Don noodles, which are pan fried u-don noodles with chicken and vegetable. My husband ordered Maki Combo Sushi special, which was 18 pieces of sushi that included California, Boston, and Spicy Tekka rolls.

We were served miso soup and three vegetable dishes prior to the meal. One had cucumber, one had cabbage. Not sure what the other one was, but they were all great. The food came out after and it was really good. My Yaki U-Don noodles were wonderful – and I couldn’t even finish it. Which is saying a lot – I have a large appetite for noodles.

My husband raved about the sushi. I even tried two pieces, and found them both quite good.Their sushi menu was quite extensive, and there were a number of things I’d be interested in trying, including something called a Mango Tango roll and a few other things.

While we were there, the restaurant continued to fill up and by the time we finished, it was packed. PACKED.

Overall, it was a great experience. Friendly service. Excellent food. A warm environment. If you like Japanese food and sushi, I definitely say head over and try it out. Thanks for the heads up, Loren!

Kid friendly: Sort of. They had high chairs, and the environment was one that I would feel comfortable taking kids in. However, there was no children’s menu, and I’m not sure what options on the menu the average kid would enjoy. So use your best judgment.

Methods of payment: Cash or credit.