My good fortune at Fortune Wheel in Levittown
Peanut wontons (pork wontons in a spicy peanut sauce) are a special at Fortune Wheel in Levittown. Credit: Newsday / Erica Marcus
Fortune Wheel has been serving some of Long Island’s best Chinese food since 1993 — in one of Long Island’s least prepossessing locations. When it opened in the Nassau Mall in Levittown, it was sandwiched between Pathmark and Rickel Home Center. Twenty-one years later, those stores have given way to Best Buy and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Fortune Wheel endures.
This is a restaurant favored by Chinese customers who, in turn, demand quality and authenticity from the kitchen. I was wary of a daily special, “peanut wontons,” but am very glad I took a chance. These were delicate, pork-filled wontons served in an addictive sauce of peanut butter and hot-pepper oil (similar to what you find on dan-dan noodles) and topped with slivered scallions. Wow.
Next up: a sizzling-hot ceramic casserole of bone-in chicken chunks, mushrooms and sweet Chinese sausage. Another winner.
It’s not clear to me why I don’t go to Fortune Wheel once a week.
Fortune Wheel is at 3601 Hempstead Tpke., Levittown, 516-579-4700.
