The Friendly Tavern

290 S. Main Street

Zionsville, IN 46077

(317) 873-5772

The Friendly Tavern

 

My coworkers were kind enough to go out with me to lunch on my birthday. I was craving wings and I had not been to The Friendly Tavern in a few years, probably since college. This post is another semi-dedication to @ArtWalter to who makes The Friendly, a "must eat restaurant" when he is home. Since our palettes are pretty much the same, I had to ask for a recommendation. I knew one was going to be the wings, the other suggestion was the shaved prime rib sandwich. I'll get to the food later, but. There are essentially two dining areas, one with the bar, and an elevated area with larger tables. Our service was okay, but a little on the slow side. I guess that would be our fault for having 8 people come to lunch during peak hours. It was better the first time, the second time it took a while to get our checks. The food was so good, it overshadowed the lackluster service.

As I mentioned we got the wings. We went with two orders for the table the first time we went. We got "The Friendly's Famous Wings" and the Honey Apple BBQ Chicken wings. Both wings were superb. @ArtWalter was not wrong when he said that these were the best wings he has ever eaten. The Famous Wings are breaded and un-sauced. You get to choose 2 sauces. We went with the hot sauce and bleu cheese. Even without sauce, these wings amazing. I do like how you get to control the sauce. Often times the sauce will take away from the crispy wing, but not these. Each wing had plenty of meat, was seasoned well, and there were a copious amount of them. Both orders were enough for the table to have a fair share. The Honey Apple wings were pre-sauced, but they were still very crispy. This was a good contrast to the spicy wings. The sauce was unlike any other type of BBQ sauce. It was sweet, tart, and very mild. This is perfect for those who do not like heat, as these have no heat. The wings are what prompted Round 2 the following week. My coworker, Matt, and I were so spellbound by these wings, we ONLY order the wings. Maybe I just can't eat like I used to, but a whole order of wings is pushing it for one person. I think we both agreed that it would be best to split an order the next time through.

I will forever trust Artie when it comes to food. The prime rib sandwich was a piece of beauty. Although I find Adam Richman annoying, I had been watching his "Best Sandwich in America" show. I am going to steal his rating scale for this sandwich, his "B.I.T.E. Scale" if you will. The "B" stands for the bread. It was crusty, yet soft, the two things I look for in bread. The "I" stands for interior. There was a good amount of shaved prime rib. It was so thin that each bite was tender. The grilled onions and mushrooms added good earthy flavor. You can't have a good steak sandwich without melted cheese. The cheddar bound everything together, encapsulating the ingredients so each bite contained all the aforementioned goodness. There was a side of horseradish sauce, I only used it sparingly. I would have preferred an au jus of some sort, because near the end of the sandwich, it was a little dry. The "T" stands for taste. This was a very tasty sandwich. I prefer it over any other steak sandwich I have ever eaten, your move Penn Station... The "E" stands for eating experience, and I have already spoken to how the service was slow, but I will not let that keep me going back.

I promised Artie that he would be able to guest post on The Friendly, so be on the lookout for the first entry not written by your's truly. He was also the most recent winner of "Lunch on EAting Indy"

"Everything I EAt has been proved by some doctor or other to be a deadly poison, and everything I don't EAt has been proved to be indispensable for life. But I go marching on" - George Bernard Shaw