Elizabeth and Michel Enjoy Tea for Two

A week and a half ago, I had the opportunity to do some travel for work.  I spent three days in the Poconos with my Chicago co-workers and fellow Year Up-pers from around the country planning, collaborating, and aligning our goals and processes.  It was a lot of work and a lot of fun.  However, Michel and I wanted to do something a little special when I got back, so we decided to go on our second date from How About We, the website through which we set up our anniversary dinner.  This time we decided to do afternoon tea at Jolly Posh, a British specialty foods store in Lakeview.

Despite having to hunt for a parking spot due to it being opening weekend for the Cubs, we just made it to our 2:00 p.m. tea time.  The store is tiny, and the walls are lined with every sort of British tea, preserve, candy, and cookie imaginable.  If you are more interested in the savory than sweet, you can stock up on bangers, puddings, and meat pies as well.

The "tea room" was basically 4 tables in the middle of the shop, and there were two other groups having tea besides us.  We ordered immediately upon arrival and were quickly presented with piping hot cups of P. G. Tips tea, a nice tea along the lines of Lipton.  And then we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  We waited so long, the little girl at the table behind us was in tears from being so hungry.

Let me pause for context:  I love afternoon tea.  A lot.  I always felt so grown up when I got to go to tea with Mom at the St. Regis, and I've asked for a tea party for several major occasions in my life.  I introduced Michel to high tea when we were on our honeymoon in Spain.  We spent 3 days in Madrid, and I really wanted to have high tea at the Ritz Carlton.  Michel was a game.  He left the Ritz that day a total high tea convert, and clotted cream is still one of his favorite things.

So we were willing to wait for really good tea.  Finally our sandwiches, scones, and pastries arrived.  The sandwiches were ham, salmon and cucumber, and English cheddar and mayo.  The sandwiches were all good, even if the bread was rather stale.  Raisin scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves were next, followed by the sweets: vanilla and chocolate macarons, sticky toffee pudding, and lemon squares.  I quite liked the lemon squares, but the rest of the sweets were nice and unmemorable.  The clotted cream was rather disappointing; it didn't even have enough flavor to be bland.  It just existed.  But the scones!  The scones were delicious!  Hot out of the oven (and the reason for the long wait), fluffy, and filled with juicy raisins, the scones alone redeemed the rest of the average tea.

 

Despite the scones, however, it was not a particularly impressive afternoon high tea.  If you really want to do tea right in Chicago, go to one of the big, old hotels like The Drake.  It's honestly not that much more expensive, and it's a quality tea experience.  That being said, it was fun to visit a new shop and have the special day date.  And if you want some good British snacks and treats, this shop definitely is your place!