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Chicagoist needs your help. This weekend, we were getting ready to go out for some delicious Chinese food on the north side when we had a realization; we have no idea where to go out for Chinese food when dining north of Chinatown.
In the past we've sung the praises of Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and so on, but when it came to finding a Chinese restaurant to head to on a Friday night, we felt completely flummoxed.
In searching for a Chinese restaurant that meets the qualifications of "good" in our world, we are looking for a few things. First, take it easy on the gloppy brown sauce; being able to tell what vegetables you are eating is a positive, not a negative. Second, a good portion of the meat options should not be fried. We love orange chicken as much as the next person, but ... no. Three, we don't want to see anything Japanese food on the menu; Chicagoist doesn't trust a sushi chef with moo shoo pork, and we don't trust a Chinese chef to know how to cut a piece of hamachi. Four, it can't have any ill effects on our digestive system the next day. Pretty simple, right?
Leave your suggestions for fantastic north side Chinese restaurants in the comments. We'll take a trip to the one with the most/most convincing comments.
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Laura, Pingpong on the North Side (3322 N. Broadway) definitely fits your request for "telling what vegetables you're eating" and "easy on the gloppy brown sauce." In fact, the sauces are very light but still flavorful, MSG and corn-starchy-free, the vegetables are big and crunchy (not overcooked and soggy,) the chicken is free range, and the fish is good and meaty. A bit on the pricier side, but definitely better than your average Chinese food joint, plus they have Thai options.
Pine Yard in downtown Evanston is great. Fresh, not gloppy, well made Chinese food, with a nicer atmosphere than most Chinatown places. Their lunch specials are a bargain.
Friendship in Logan Square - two nice points: their delivery comes in fun cake boxes and their sweet and sour chicken is made with an excellent fruit-based sauce. We tried a lot of places before this one but never found anything better on the North side.
Regarding Friendship above - here's a quote from their website (http://www.friendshiprestaurant.com):
"When I hear people referring to the art of Chinese cooking as now being represented by
the popularity of Chinese Buffets...
I weep bitterly."
Silver Seafood at Broadway and Lawrence - good Chinese!
Chinalite on Southport has good chinese with great veggies.
Yen's on Clark between Diversey and Wellington.
A real treat.
I don't eat Chinese food on the north side. I'm sure there are a couple good places I've yet to find, but Chinatown is so easily accessible that I don't understand why people wouldn't head there.
That said, I love PingPong, but it's not a Chinese restaurant. Pan-Asian is the only description that fits. Off the top of my head, they serve Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Korean dishes. They're a solid neighborhood restaurant, even if they're not Chinese, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there.
I would agree that friendship has good food sometimes, but its WAAAAAYYY too expensive and fancy if your looking for the standard chinese stuff. I have been looking for some good cheap chinese in Logan Square and so far have had nothing but belly aches.
I agree w/ #6- Silver Seafood is good and pretty authentic. Chinalite is also good and a healthier option, but not nearly as authentic.
Dee's on Armitage. I think the food is quite good there.
i'm so on board with this. my favorite dish is sesame chicken.. bamboo garden at clark & belmont does a very good variation with peanut sauce, but the rest of their stuff is mediocre. i don't know how many times i've passed by yen's without noticing it.. will have to check it out.
"Chinatown is so easily accessible that I don't understand why people wouldn't head there."
Yes, when I'm itching for good Chinese in my Ravenswood apartment, I simply jump on the Brown Line, take it to Belmont, switch to the Red and (barring and delay) head swiftly to Chinatown!! Likewise, all my Greek food is consumed in Greektown, Italian in Little Italy, ..etc...etc.
I tend to eat Chinese out of a white box. To be fair (and less asshole-like), a trip to Chinatown might be nice to eat in (a restaurant). Still searching for consistently good delivery.
For super, no-frills, take-out only, ready-in-five-to-ten delicious food, I cannot think of a better place than Canton Express, right next to Jack's on the corner of Belmont & Halsted. Lunch specials are around $5 and dinner specials are about $7, including fried rice, egg roll, and fortune cookie. The whole menu board is written by hand and they have one of those cash registers from the early 70's.
For a charming old-school-Chinese sit-down restaurant feel, Wing Hoe at 5356 N. Sheridan does the trick. The food is consistently good. I recommend the pork and string beans. Plus they have red bean ice cream and a full cocktail menu. Mmm... red bean ice cream *drool*
Definitely second that for Pineyard!
Ah yes, Yen's ... I forgot about that place. I haven't been there in years, but I do recall it being pretty good for dining in. Their food is much worse when it is delivered, as is the case for so many Chinese restaurants.
I would also recommend Shine Morida (for dine-in), but they serve sushi, so they're not qualified, I guess.
To Guest #9--Friendship is too expensive and fancy? Entrees are like $1-2 more than comparable dishes at a takeout shack and are exponentially better. I don't get it...
I agree with Yen's. They do their vegetarian dishes wonderfully as well -- the tofu is cooked absolutely perfectly, and when you ask for things to be hot (spicy) they really make them hot.
Nice people there too.
Why will no one admit that there is NO - and I mean NO - good Chinese food outside of Chinatown. Even chinatown ain't all that.
I bash NYC for all sorts of things but they do have really really good chinese food in flushing, queens, and chinatown.
I think it's an immigrant thing.
Also you can't get a good taco in new york to save your life so it all balances out.
Friendship is pretty good, but the one time I went there (on a Saturday, at around noon), it was completely empty.
Sweet and sour pork
with a side of eerily
quiet. Mm, Friendship.
Being on the South side, I have the opposite problem. I'm close to all the good (and bad) eats in Chinatown, but get all this sucky Thai food.
I recommend Yen's on Clark, as well...especially their sizzling rice soup.
I second China-Lite and I also like Chen's on Clark in Wrigleyville. Yeah, they do serve sushi as well, but I've never had any problems, and it's probably one of the nicer and cleaner Chinese restaurants I've dined at...
I say go to chinatown and go to Emerald City. Try out their hong kong steak and salt and pepper pork chops. mMmMm delicious
Another vote for Friendship and Pine Yard.
Also, I'd like to throw Lincolnwood's Kow Kow into the mix. Skip the entrees (they're all covered in gobs of goo), but gorge yourself on the best eggrolls in the entire Chicagoland area hands-down. No joke. They're huge and greasy and awesome.
I also recommend Yen's on Clark and Chinalite, but my two favorites are House of Hunan at Clark & Fullerton, and Chang's, which is on Elston near Waveland. They're the friendliest people at Changs, and all the food is excellent. House of Hunan has the best eggrolls I've ever tasted.
i think i've sampled the veggie eggrolls at canton express and nothing else. judging by the eggrolls, i should dig deeper.. they're definitely different and pretty cravable, with lots of mushrooms. haven't found the staff there very friendly, though.
Vote number 7 for Friendship in Logan Square. They're certainly not overpriced as #9 expresses. Their take on Chinese is refreshing in that there's LOTS of very fresh veggies and not lots of mystery salty brown sauce. My 1 complaint is the lack of greasy pork, cabbage and shrimp filled egg rolls. I like those. But the seafood hot and sour soup makes up for it.
I hafta give my 2 cents on the subject and agree that, yes, Friendship in LOgan Square is pretty darn good. Here's what I wrote about it the last time I went:
Opulent but comfortable: that's the best way to describe both the setting and food at this charming Chinese restaurant. Sleek furnishings, a highly polished wood floor and a wall of identical gleaming Buddhas in the foyer didn't seem to intimidate the roomful of regulars, most of which were wearing jeans. The menu is full of take-out standbys, but all with a twist. Dishes tend towards the sweet and spicy, but no complaints here. My Spicy Garlic Peanut Chicken was Thai-meets-Schezwan in a most delightful way. We started off with crab Rangoon, which appeared with the little bundles in the shape of a ring on a large platter drizzled with sweet-and-sour sauce. It was beautiful to look at and even better to eat. And our server came by with a new appetizer the kitchen was trying out, wonton nachos, and gave us a sample on the house. Prices are very reasonable, with each entree large enough for two people plus leftovers. I'll definitely return.
Chinalite sucks. expensive too...
The best chinese i've had on the north side is actually in Skokie. Mandarin Village on Niles Center Road and Touhy rocks.
I just have to note that any "Chinese" restaurant that offers crab rangoon cannot be taken seriously as a Chinese restaurant. Cream cheese is not Chinese.
Being from the Bay Area, CA, nothing Chicago has to offer can compare. I hate to be snobbish, but I've all but given up on finding good, authentic Chinese food here.
I remember when there were countless chinese options in Lincoln Park, but now they've all been replaced with dozens of Thai and sushi places instead. While I certainly love those options, I wish there were a couple places where I could get a decent order of Orange Beef!
The best I've had so far in Chicago is at Lau Szhewan in Chinatown. The best on the northside I've found so far is at Shine/Morida. Anybody have recommendations specifically for Orange Beef? This is my favorite chinese dish, so I use this as my benchmark to judge any Chinese restaurant.
Really Chinalite is not that good. Expensive and really underwhelming. I found that their food was generally pretty flavorless too.
since when is authenticity a requirement for any kind of food to be good? I like Taco Bell, but its not like I think I'm getting authentic Mexican while I'm there.
I also love it when Americans debate what is most authentic from another country. Newsflash: if you're not from there, you are almost definitely not an expert. And sorry, but you're two week business trip staying in a Hilton or your backpack excursion after college doesn't count.
These are helpful tips. I live on the North side and so far I've only figured out which Chinese places to avoid and which ones are tolerable.
Joy Yee in Evanston is good, but its billed as "Pan-Asian" cuisene so its not quite the same. I also think Ken's Mandarin on McCormick Blvd in Lincolnwood is pretty good (but far from the best).
I'm surprised at how few Broadway/Argyle recs there are here.
Sun Wah on argyle is very good - good peking duck, good crispy noodles, garlic pea leaves are wonderful when they are in season.
We also get delivery from Mei Shung on Broadway. It arrives at our place in Ravenswood hot and fast. It won't knock your socks off, but it's quite good for northside chinese. Dry-cooked string beans are my favorite.
I have heard good things about Tank and Silver Seafood and I plan to try them soon.
here are some Argyle search results for LTHForum - this will help
The best Chinese restaurant in Chicago is Mei Shung in Andersonville. The soups are beyond compare.
Wokkit on Fullerton near the red line stop (around Halsted?) Cutest place, with 4.95 giant lunch specials and cheap bubble tea!
my mother is an immigrant and is one of those chinese mothers that makes a full five course dinner every night.
that being said, Mei Shung on broadway just north of argyle is her favorite place to go.
Hi---I'm Chinese-American (Cantonese), born/raised in Chicago (now live in Brooklyn, NY). The only places we used to go to outside of Chinatown to eat Chinese were in "New Chinatown" aka Argyle in Uptown-which is now a mixture of Chinese, Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian shops. There was Furama (for dim-sum mainly) on Broadway (near Argyle), Sun Wah BBQ (simple Cantonese fare and bbq) on Argyle and Hon Kee (same as Sun Wah and also on Argyle). HonKee-a great name, eh?
My dad was a chef who worked at a well-known "Chinese" restaurant in Lincoln Square, but to real Chinese standards, it was "Americanized", and my Mom would say, "yuck!....don't eat at your father's workplace!"...haha.
Dee's on Armitage is one of the best Chinese places. Everything on the menu is very light and the meat is very tender.
"And we don't trust a Chinese chef to know how to cut a piece of hamachi."
Don't you realize how many sushi restaurants are run/owned/staffed by Chinese or other Asian ethnicities?
I guess they all look alike. No? Then stop with such an ignorant statement. It does a disservice to all those toiling behind the scenes. From the Chinese guy at the sushi bar to the Mexican working in Italian restaurants.
Here are my top 2 on the north side:
1. Mark's Chop Suey (3343 N Halsted St)
I love this place. Its great food and at
great prices!
2. Wing Hoe (5356 N. Sheridan Rd)
This is my favorite place for take out. The
mushroom fried rice with pork is the best!
I second the Argyle recommendation--my parents and I were born in China (I moved here as a kid), and outside of Chinatown, Argyle, also known as "New Chinatown," is the only other place we would go. There is also a good selection of Chinese groceries there for really decent prices there. Friendship in Logan Circle is okay, but just not authentic tasting.
Yen's on Clark--yes! Always consistent, generous portions, liberal use of ginger and garlic, loads of fresh veggies. I've been eating in and getting delivery from there for at least 15 years and it's never wavered in its quality. I love it.
Silver Seafood? I have to take this opportunity to rant. Very authentic, I grant you, but at a cost. Every time I go there I feel I'm being racially profiled. One time a friend and I ordered the dinner for two from the "Chinese" portion of the menu, printed on pink paper, and then we received the dinner for two from the "American" side of the menu (on white paper), which featured--you can probably guess--syrupy, sticky, god-awful sweet and sour chicken and featureless fried rice, "the Chinese food Americans like," instead of the tofu with pork and spicy squid dishes we were expecting. Tensions grew as we began the diplomatically laborious negotiations required to send it back, with my friend and I insisting that we had ordered from the pink menu and our server steadfast in her assertion that she had brought us what we ordered. We eventually got the meal we wanted, but not without a great deal of pouting from the offended server. The only reason I've ever been back since then is that it's often the only place open late and it's conveniently located right across the street from the Annoyance Theater.
Also, their sauces often have that slippery MSG feel so I suspect, but am not certain, that they're still using that old, discredited seasoning.
Chen's (on Clark, S. of Addison) has the best Chinese food on the north side, hands down.