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Restaurant Sun May 31 2009
Great Sea = Great Chow
Holy Jebus! I just ate the best Wonton Soup of my life. This was accompanied by some life changing chicken wings and some unusually light and fluffy shrimp fried rice.
I've been having tummy issues and when my favorite internal organ isn't happy, neither am I. The one food I am able to consume, no matter how miserable my guts are, is Wonton Soup. I am convinced it has powerful healing properties. My latest slurp of this medicinal goodness was simply amazing; hence, I felt compelled to share. Likewise, I always know when I am truly sick when wine doesn't sound good. So, something is seriously awry in my belly, and rest assured I will take this up with my docs. But enough about my GI track...
Get thee to Great Sea restaurant post haste. This joint has some sublime Chinese chow. Now, I have no idea if its authentic or regional or anything like that. I just know its good. Upon first glance at the menu, its nothin special. Just your usual Chinese take out fare. But lordy lordy, the execution of these dishes really sets this place apart.
Take for example, the Wonton soup above.(Apologies all around for the crappy quality of my phone pics.) Its lightly salty, chicken-ish broth is nice, but its all the added goodies that blew my mind. Wide chinese noodles, tiny shrimp, greens, and wispy threads of egg are in generous quantity. Even the mushroom slices had real texture. Now, there are no dumplings in here per say, but who needs em when you have all the ingredients in tastier form swimming in the bowl?
Oh, and I bet you have an opinion on chicken wings. Really, who doesn't? The Spicy Sweet Chicken wings here will blow your mind. First off, they are trimmed and fried to make a lolipop is crispy chicken form. The sticky glaze is sweet and spicy as advertised and plentful, which makes for a nice drizzle on a side of white rice. Not only are these little treats unbelieveably tasty, but way less messy than you average wings or drummies. The trimmed bone as handle keeps your fingers free of sauce. Next TV viewing party I host, I'm totally ordering up a ton of these. Start angling for your invites now, or hustle to Albany Park for your own.
Great Sea
3254 W Lawrence Ave
(between Sawyer Ave & Spaulding Ave)
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 478-9129
Mike Doyle / June 1, 2009 2:47 AM
I just ate the "Spicy Sweet Chicken Wings, aka Little Hotties on Sunday at Take Me Out (the Pilsen eatery opened in 2008--and then reopened after a sudden fire--by Karen Lim, daughter of Great Sea's proprietors.)
As I sat there with my friend, I tried to explain where the hot wings came from. Now I can just show him the review. Talk about timing!