Revisit: Twisted Tea Party at Commons Club

When Brandy last visited Commons Club in the (at the time, newly opened) Virgin Hotel, she was mightily impressed with the extensive and creative menu of tea based cocktails and the delightful sweet and savory bites in a rather chic, yet comfortable setting. "It's harder than one would think to find a good tea service now adays," as she likes to say, "Either they're too traditional or they're so off the mark that they're unrecognizable."

Hearing that the service had changed somewhat since her last visit, Brandy decided to grab her good friend Starr (otherwise known as Chicago Foodie Girl) and bring her along for some afternoon sipping and noshing.

The cocktails had been themed on the Seven Deadly Sins (a leftover from October, with a holiday transition due imminently) and rather than coming served individually, they now came in a much different form: each concoction is presented in a chilled silver tea pot with either liquor or champagne served on the side so that the drinker could customize the mix to their own liking. Each tea pot contained enough mixture for about two and a half cocktails, making the decision of whether to share a single pot or order a personal one the main dilemma.

In the end, Brandy and Starr decided to order a different pot each so that they could switch between them. "We should have thought to bring more people so we could sample even more of these cocktails!" Brandy exclaimed. First, they tried the Gluttony cocktail, made with brown butter infused rum, chocolate syrup, a caramel flavor black tea from Rare Tea Cellars, with a peanut butter chantilly cream and a flask of champagne on the side. At first, the system was a little confusing to Brandy, but after she had mixed together the cocktail base and the champagne and added a dollop of the cream, she suddenly felt as though she were at a proper tea service, putting sugar and cream into her cup of strong black tea. The flavor of the cocktail was rich and decadent, especially with the cream, and did invoked the spirit of a certain chocolate and peanut butter candy, but in a very playfully sophisticated way.

Secondly, they sampled the Envy cocktail, this time combining vodka with sour grape juice and a house made crabapple liqueur, all poured into a matcha green tea. This one was much more crisp and refreshing, yet still very bold in flavor. Brandy especially enjoyed the experience of pouring the evergreen liqueur into the tea and watching it swirl into a magical potion.

Of course, no tea service is complete without finger sandwiches, scones, and various nibbles. The food had certainly been stepped up a bit since Brandy's last visit, being upgraded from a two-tiered to a three-tiered service tray. The finger sandwiches remained, now represented in Salmon and Cream Cheese, Egg Salad, and a very English tasting Relish and Cheddar. Instead of the expected cucumber sandwich though, there was a bit of pita bread with a smear of spiced humus, a chunk of radish, and the aforementioned cucumber.

Moving on to the sweets, which were abundant, Brandy started easy with a soft and tender chocolate chip biscotti, then she nibbled on a delightful raisin dotted scone. The middle tier held a whole host of deliciousness, like fudgy brownies, gold dusted walnut tarts, scrumptious apple cinnamon cupcakes, and delicate chocolate praline opera cakes. Adorable gingerbread whoopie pies were a favorite, but perhaps the most interesting item was the apricot napoleons with mascarpone and crisp filo.

"There's a philosophy we live and die by back home," said Brandy, finishing her last little bite of cupcake with an indelicate lick of her fingers, "There's no problem a cup of tea can't solve. Well, when your tea contains a decent amount of champagne, I think that old adage is especially true."

The writers of this blog were invited to dine at the restaurant free of charge in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

The Commons Club or High Time for High Tea

The Slow and Savory Review

Brandy sighed, gazing out her window on a cold, rainy Chicago spring day.  She was missing England.  "I do love The Windy City," she moaned, "But sometimes one just longs for things like the smell of sea air, a walk through a foggy moor, or a decent cup of good British tea."  Unable to shake her homesickness, Brandy phoned up her old friend Brocco Leigh Binto and asked if he might be able to invent something that would make her feel better.  "Well, that could take years of research, development, and testing," he told her, sympathetically, "But I did hear that the Virgin Hotel just started up a high tea service.  Maybe a little taste of your home land would cheer you up."

Brandy decided to take Brocco's advice and enlisted him to accompany her to The Commons Club on the second floor of the Virgin Hotel.  The space boasted impossibly high ceilings, a playful library, and a semi-casual dining area surrounding an ornate bar.  Much like its downstairs sister restaurant, Miss Ricky's, the space had just enough rock and roll feeling to it to make it stylish without being obnoxious.

Upon browsing the menu, Brandy discovered that the tea service had a little twist: it featured not only traditional tea time snacks and pots of hot tea, but also six seasonal cocktails, all featuring different Rare Tea Cellars teas.  "They're calling this an Upside Down Tea Party," Brandy observed, "Presumably because you'll be upside down under the table when its over."  "It's a good thing the Virgin Hotel features a Bow Truss Coffee in room pour over service then," Brocco smiled.  And so encouraged by that useful feature of the hotel, Brocco and Brandy threw caution to the wind and ordered round after round of tea cocktails until they found they'd (somewhat) accidentally tried them all.

Gentry Cove (on the right)- gin, vermouth, strawberry, lemon, and Earl Grey Brandy likened this one to a Pimm's Cup, in that it packed plenty of punch with a nice fruity finish.  This was light, infinitely drinkable, and perfect for a spring day.

Pomp and Circumstance (on the left)- gin, aloe liqueur, butterfly pea tea, corn flower, passion fruit This was probably the most stunningly presented cocktail of the day, as its top layer was a vibrant blue, the middle was a royal purple, and the bottom a sweet shot of passion fruit nectar.  The taste was a little too vegetal for Brandy's liking, but Brocco enjoyed it.

Fields of France- vodka, anise liqueur, Campari, tonic, honey, lavender tea Not normally a fan of anise flavored things, Brandy was surprised to have enjoyed this drink, which had a lovely floral quality to it.  This concoction was probably one of the better showcases for the tea that inspired it, which is flavored with various berries and flowers.

Bold as Love- rum, mint, green tea, lemon, verbena This one was both Brandy and Brocco's least favorite of the bunch.  It was a tad too herbacious for their liking, and baring a slight resemblance to a mojito, Brocco wished it would have been a little sweeter.  "Maybe Bold as Love is the wrong name for this," as he put it, "I'd call this the Bold as Like-quite-a-bit-but-not-in-Love."

Sunny Day in London- gin, brandy, sherry, black tea, honey, cream Although most of the other cocktails came adorned with colorful flowers, this one came simply presented over crushed ice in a pretty tea cup, and made Brandy burst into laughter when she saw it.  "What's so funny?" Brocco asked.  "It's called a Sunny Day in London, but it's cloudy.  Get it?" Brocco did not get it.  Regardless, Brandy thought this was the best cocktail for enjoying with the food because of its rich, sip-able flavor.

Spring Fling- vodka, St. Germain, lemon soda, jasmine green tea The last cocktail of the afternoon was also one of the prettier ones, having a vibrant green color which set off the flowers floating on the top and reminding Brandy of a pond covered in lily pads.  Its flavor was bright and fruity with an almost melon like flavor that Brocco quite enjoyed.

As for the food, the offerings were pretty traditional: a few finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, a couple bite sized pastries, and a cookie.  Brandy was a tad disappointed that there weren't more modern takes on the nibbles to match the creativity behind the cocktails, but she thought everything was quite lovely all the same.  The Crab and Shrimp Salad Sandwich was a nice change of pace from the more traditional Smoked Salmon and Cucumber sandwiches, but all three were delicate and tasty.  The scones were tiny indeed, each one about the size of a bite or two, with flavorings like walnut, pistachio and cherry, and cinnamon raisin, while the jam and cream came adorably presented in a tiny tea cup and looking like some sort of dessert in and of itself.  "Whipped cream?  On your scone?" Brocco questioned upon spying the confection.  "No dear, clotted cream," Brandy corrected him, "It's sort of like a buttery spread.  Go on, try it."  And with one scoopful of the stuff, Brocco was a changed man.  The little pasties were nice, especially the rich chocolate tart with candied hazelnuts on top, but the dainty financier with cherries and almonds had its own rustic charm too.  Brandy simply adored the presentation of the shortbread cookie, which had its lower half dipped in chocolate, as it was shaped like a tea bag and even had string tied to it, making it perfect for dipping.  "Sadly, we've neglected to actually order any actual tea," Brandy observed, and then shrugging, she dipped the thing in one of her cocktails.

Whiling away a rainy afternoon with a high tea service at The Commons Club might have normally made Brandy even more home sick for dear old England, but with more than a few cocktails in her system as well as some excellent nosh, she actually felt quite contented.  "Not only did we drink our way through the entire menu, we may have also drunk an entire garden this afternoon," she giggled as she eyed the colorful flowers in her empty cocktail glass, "But I'd say these tea cocktails do make for a lovely change of pace for a tea service.  I can see myself coming back to this season after season as the menu shifts."  Brandy also loved the relaxed, yet refined atmosphere of The Commons Club, where the well dressed servers and bartenders were polite, chatty, and very well informed.  With the tea service only $10 a person and the cocktails coming in at $12 a piece (actual pots of tea were also available for $7, but also several premium selections ranging from $14-$55 for high rolling tea connoisseurs), Brandy also thought the prices weren't too outrageous.  "Well, it certainly wasn't the most traditional tea service I've ever attended," Brandy said grandly as she made her way down to the hotel lobby, "But I do have to admit that I feel quite a better going out than I did going in."

The Short and Sweet Review

Miss Ricky's or Keep Calm and Brunch On

The Short and Sweet Review

Brandy has done a lot of jobs in her time, some glamorous, some slightly illegal, and some so secret that if she told anybody what they were, entire countries could collapse.  One position she long ago held was that of a nanny for a young boy known as Richie Nicky Charlie.  Though she wasn't in the employ of the family for long (at the time, Brandy was bouncing back and forth between several positions, including go-go dancing, playing bongo drums in a poetry cafe, and something involving narwhal research), apparently she did exert a bit of influence in his life.  "Be a generous man and you'll always feel rich," she used to tell him, "And never stop dreaming about reaching for the stars."  As it turns out, that young man grew into quite a successful business man who never forgot his inspirational nanny of old, so when the dear boy opened his first hotel in Chicago, it was no surprise that Brandy got a chance to preview one of its signature restaurants.

Located just off the lobby of the new Virgin Hotel on Wabash is Miss Ricky's, the casual diner inspired restaurant that just opened last month with a fanfare all across social media using the hashtag #QuickWithRicky.  Entering Miss Ricky's is a bit strange at first, as one is simultaneously confronted with icons of both Britain and the USA; the host stand is a giant red London phone box  while the opposite wall is a colorful collage of ties and skirts, which gave off a sort of Carnaby Street in the 1960's vibe.  "Ah, reminds me of my days as a high fashion model," Brandy told the polite hostess, "I would have done it for many more years if that little interloper Twiggy hadn't revealed my real age to Vogue." The rest of the restaurant was straight up Americana diner with chrome, Formica, and a very simple, yet hip design that somehow gave off the subtlest hint of rock and roll, which was very much in line with the Virgin Hotel aesthetic.

For her savory entree, Brandy ordered the Smoked Corned Beef Hash Benedict, which, much to her surprise, came served in a skillet.  There didn't seem to be any kind of bread element, but there was plenty of buttery potatoes, big chunks of beef, and two poached eggs with a Hollandais over them.  Though the eggs were excellently poached, the lack of anything to soak up the runny yolk sort of defeated the purpose of having them prepared in such a way and Brandy actually began to wish they had been scrambled instead.  The meat was beautifully tender, melting almost instantly on the tongue, and while it definitely did have a smoked flavor, it didn't overwhelm everything else.

For her sweet entree, Brandy simply had to have an order of Ina's Heavenly Hots.  As implied by the name, these beautiful little hot cakes were originally the creation of Ina Pinky, Chicago's former Queen of Breakfast ("I'm happy to take a lesser title in that court!" as Brandy likes to say).  When Chef Rick Gresh was designing his menu, he knew he wanted to include Ina's signature item, so he called her up to get the recipe.  Ina explained that there was no way she was giving up her secrets over the phone and actually came in to show Chef Gresh how to make them in person, presumably then forcing him to swear an oath of silence on pain of death.  The result is these dense, custard like little circular pieces of ambrosia, served with a simple berry compote and fresh maple syrup.  Brandy was indeed so excited to try them that she completely forgot to snap a picture of them before she dug in.

Brandy simply loved the comfort concept of Miss Ricky's, from the familiar food to the un-ironic appreciation of old school diner decor.  The prices didn't seem outrageous (most breakfast and lunch dishes were right around $10) and though Brandy was there during the initial launch when the menu was somewhat limited, the full selection of items had several exciting things such as stuffed donuts, boozy milkshakes, and twisted appetizers like potato skins filled with mac and cheese.  "So glad to see little Richie Branson is doing well for himself," said Brandy as she headed out into the lobby of the Virgin Hotel, "Though I always suspected he'd be alright.  That boy had the best head of hair I'd even seen on a five year old."

The writers of this blog were invited to dine free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

The Short and Sweet Review