Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Good Fortune, one of the most hyped and most anticipated restaurants of 2018, will change course in 2019. The eight-month-old restaurant will temporarily close for a few days after service on December 29 and reopen a few days later with a simplified menu of “familiar Chinese American Bites, Baos, and Bowls,” according to owner Corey Smale, a strategy that's “more focused, more approachable, and more fun.”
In a release, Smale admits, “we’ve found our home and kitchen, but never quite nailed our concept.” He told SLM he never thought Good Fortune would replace someone’s favorite Chinese joint "and never will, but at least we wanted to be in the rotation."
After two years of fizzled announcements and unrealized venues, the restaurant opened this spring in Botanical Heights. Four partners conceived of the restaurant, but by the time it opened there were two: Smale (founder of Strange Donuts) and chef Ryan McDonald (Byrd & Barrel, Juniper, Truffles Butchery).
Good Fortune is a local restaurant like no other: two businesses in one—a take-out joint in front and a dine-in restaurant in back. The narrow full-windowed front façade screamed the former and gave no indication of the latter. The oversized kitchen served as a buffer between the two areas. The original menu took liberties with Chinese classics—the rangoon, for example, contained salt cod and were rolled rather than pinched; the mapo tofu strayed from the traditional Sichuan preparation; kung pao chicken was presented in whole pieces. The noodle bowls, the shumai, and the riffs on fried rice were creditable.
SLM’s Dave Lowry, an Asian-food traditionalist, gave the retooled renditions a measured endorsement. The non-professional reviews were mixed, many of the negative ones resulting from inferior pick-up or delivery orders (a problem unto its own).
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Long before the doors opened on Friday, April 13, social media was made aware of the restaurant’s whimsy and playfulness when the public got to weigh in on the offerings at a series of pre-opening pop-ups. After eight and a half months, they can do so again.
For three nights—December 27, 28, and 29—Good Fortune will host seated dinners highlighting the culinary talents of Chef McDonald. In sync with their playful nature, the duo has dubbed the pop-up “Finding Fortune.” Call it a celebration of the restaurant’s present and future.
After a New Year’s hiatus, the Good Fortune reboot will re-open on Friday, January 4, but without McDonald, who says he wants to focus on his personal life. (As is the case with many in the industry, he will miss a portion of the family’s holiday festivities.)
According to Smale, the new iteration will feature “familiar Chinese American Bites, Baos, and Bowls,” all under $10, and available for take-out and delivery (via Postmates, GrubHub, and UberEats). The restaurant’s best seller—the salt cod rangoon—will make the jump as well.
The Bites section will include rangoon, ribs, wings, and more; the Bao section will feature char siu pork belly, kung pao fried chicken, mushroom, and more; and under Bowls, beef and broccoli, cashew chicken, mapo tofu, and a few more. The concise food menu rounds out with fries, pickles, and ferments.
Smale hit the refresh button on the beverage list as well: cocktails are $10, canned beers are $5. “Part of the issue was us having so many different menus,” Smale admits. “Now there’s one menu, all the same, all the time.” And that sometimes a restaurant needs to step back to step forward.
Smale, who's arguably the best restaurant marketing guru in town, summed up the changes succinctly: “Music’s louder. Light’s darker. Number’s the same.”
The price for the Finding Fortune dinners is $100 per person for eight courses (plus tax and gratuity). A $40 wine pairing is also available. Tickets are available through Eventbrite (Thursday, Friday, Saturday). Past pop-ups have sold out quickly, likely this one will as well. Smale has also catalogued the restaurant's genesis and progress in an 80-page photo book, available Tuesday, December 18, here. The release is limited—only 50 copies were printed.
