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BYOB: Friendship Chinese Restaurant
The spot: The menu at Logan Square’s Friendship Chinese Restaurant boasts that this place is “180 degrees from ordinary Chinese.” Over the past year, owner Alan Yuen has been transforming the space, which was once a traditional chop suey house and has been in his family for 26 years. Now very Zen-like with a chic, modern dining room sporting low-hanging blue lights, a copper-colored back wall and a parade of silver Buddha heads in the foyer, Friendship is a popular spot for young, neighborhood folks looking for a romantic night out. Yuen has also transformed the cuisine, which he calls “gourmet Chinese.” We like the coconut wasabi chicken, wok tossed with Asian greens in coconut wasabi and white wine ($12.95). The house-made lo mein ($11.95) with a choice of beef, chicken or shrimp for an additional $1 is a bestseller. On “$8.95 Tuesdays,” every entree is—you guessed it—$8.95. Corkage fee is $3 per wine bottle; no fee for beer.
The bottle: Yuen recommends pairing beer rather than wine with Friendship’s cuisine. That’s easy enough to find across the street at Crown Liquors (2821 N Milwaukee Ave. 773-252-9741), which stocks a decent selection. A six-pack of Tsingtao, a Chinese lager, is $7.99. If you insist on wine, Yuen suggests going for a sweeter variety. Crown doesn’t have an extensive wine selection, but the sweetness of the 2005 Schlink Haus Riesling ($9.99) should temper the heat of the wasabi chicken and other spicy dishes. --By Emily Hiser Lobdell
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