I'm blessed in having several real friends, including the woman who was my best friend in grade school, whom I've known since age six, and we were best friends from age seven. We are now several states apart, but when we talk, it is as though no time has passed, and we simply pick up where we left off.
I also have several close friends with whom I have been in a meditation group since 1998, with whom I have studied everything from tarot and astrology to comparative religions, and they collectively helped me through some seriously dark times in my life. I don't know where I would be without them.
Finally, after learning from close friends that a good marriage is really about friendship, I found my own best friend in Marek, whom I've been with for over eleven years, and married for four. He "gets" me on a level i can't even explain, but am grateful for every day.
Acquaintances are easy to come by, even good ones, but real friendship takes an investment of time and heart on both parts.
My number one criteria for friendship is honesty, and if someone isn't honest with you, they are by definition not a real friend. I have chosen my friends, throughout my life, based in large part on their honesty, and I know my real friends won't bullshit me if there is something real that I need to hear. And they know they can expect the same from me.
To find real friends, BE a real friend, be true to yourself and others, and you can't go wrong.