So it was time to cash in on another Groupon (if you don't know what Groupon is, see note*). My husband said that I'm only allowed to have only 3 gift certificates, Groupons, restaurant.coms, etc. at any given point in time. Ricidulous! Using Friendship's 5-course Chilean Sea Bass Groupon put us at 4 (shhhh, don't tell).
Well, first off, I had a couple of blunders to start. Don't show up to Friendship with your leggings and Uggs thinking this is a casual Chinese spot. I was surprised to see white linen tables, warm lighting, and several button down and sports coat combinations in the crowd. It was definitely nicer than I imagined. Though don't get too carried away, nice jeans and a respectful shirt will do fine. Also, I'll have to double check the restaurant spreadsheet. I thought they had a full bar but I was mistaken. They have a beer bar but no wine. Wine is BYO - thank you local neighborhood liquor store on corner! (Note that menu states that wine will be coming soon to its bar.)
What I had mistaken during the 1st 5 minutes, however, was certainly not the case once we moved onto food. Seeing as I have 1, yes, count it, 1 Chinese restaurant that I even feel is worthy to eat at (hollaaaaahhhh Yu's Mandarin!), Friendship had a lot to prove. Our 5-course meal started with a wonderful creamy lobster corn bisque that was amazing. I know this is blasphemous but it might have been the best lobster bisque I've ever tasted! It was missing some of the richness that other bisques seem to have that overwhelm the delicateness of the lobster. I find myself only having a few bites and not being able to continue. Not here, I could have easily made an entire meal of this soup. Second course, we had a warm unagi (yes eel) chip with a guacamole/ceviche/tartare combination on top. The unagi was breaded, then fried, and almost tasted like a fish plantain cake. Very tasty! We ordered the Asian bbq bourbon ribs off the regular appetizer menu. Don't ask me what bourbon has to do with Asian cuisine but it worked. As you can tell, this place combines elements of Chinese cooking with contemporary American flavors, a combination that worked well (although dessert was a little TOO much for me). For the main courses, we had 3 items: Mongolian Beef (again the best I've had. The meat, extremely well cooked. It was actually tender, not the typical chewing on an old shoe toughness. Very rare for Asian restaurants), General Tao Shrimp (with an excellent burn. Beware if you don't like heat), and the highlight item, the Chilean Sea Bass, which was again prepared just right. A delicate, melt-in-your-mouth, flaky piece of fish steamed in a wonderful sauce of what tasted like soy sauce, sesame oil, and wine. Add a few springs of cilantro and there you go - heaven!). Dessert was also fantastic, don't get me wrong, it's just they totally lost me on any element of Chinese flavors, or even Asian, with the chocolate molten cake. It was decadent and would have been great at any other restaurant, but I was expecting something more than a few little sauce dots of mango puree to be considered Asian.
Overall, I was really pleased with Friendship. It was definitely a nice surprise, in more ways than one. I will definitely be going back to try a few more dishes on the menu, especially since Yu's is still so far from home. When craving Chinese, Friendship will be a close second.
Overall rating: 3 stars / 4
Friendship Chinese Restaurant
Logan Square
BYO wine only (bar has beer)
Delivers
Specials: Tuesday (all entrees $8.95)
http://www.friendshiprestaurant.com/
* Note: Groupon: daily deals, pay less and get more, often has restaurant deals ($25 for $50 gift certificate). If enough bids, deal is on: http://www.groupon.com/chicago/
Restaurant.com: gift certificates for less (usually $10 for $25 worth or $25 for $50 worth). Read the fine print. Has more restrictions than groupon: http://www.restaurant.com/
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