byKeir Graff
Poor Mom. If you remember Mother's Day at all, and if your gift supersedes flowers for actual face time, odds are she's got to go to brunch with you once again. Whether or not you've made reservations, you arrive at your destination eatery to find a thronged parking lot, a line out the door and a sweltering cadre of matrons wearing corsages, colorful nylon and starched grins. You and the saint who brought you to life are funneled into a chute where you pick up plates and begin the trudge down sneeze-guard lane.
About seventy-five minutes later, when you've eaten your fill of eggs, sausage and cinnamon rolls, when you've pleasantly deflected her career concerns and heard all about the relatives you've lost touch with, blood pools in your butt cheeks and you could really use a nap. You pick up the check and waddle out, mission accomplished.
I'm not saying Mom doesn't like to eat, and I'm certainly not suggesting she doesn't care to be treated - after all, how else will she have tangible evidence you're earning money and not just pretending to have a job? But, though our dear mothers may often seem stuck in ruts to us, they appreciate a change of pace as much as anyone. So how about a smooth move that will leave your stomach happier and really impress the one woman who will always worry about you? Take her for tea at the Drake.
The Drake Hotel, built in 1920, is the sort of edifice sometimes referred to as a "dowager"; its Italian Renaissance-inspired facade and dueling-pattern interiors are excused as elegant primarily by virtue of the Drake's status as a Chicago institution. But an institution it is, and that's precisely why you should escort Mom there, to sip and nibble in the Palm Court, a mix of true class and misguided seventies remodeling.
"Tea for two?" the hostess asks, forcing you to restrain your urge to break into a musical number. Once you're seated at a couch and knee-high table, the waitress will likely repeat the refrain, as she unstacks your china and unfolds a tiny napkin atop your knees. A harpist plucks "Autumn Leaves," the fountain bubbles gently, and the namesake fronds droop overhead. Even the babies rolling by in strollers look rich.
There's a choice of ten Twinings teas, from English Breakfast to Russian Caravan, Earl Grey to Red Hawaiian, and for those of you seeking some sort of value, they're offered with unlimited refills. Once the tea arrives, you're presented with a three-tiered tray that, though it appears to be glass from a distance, is really plastic; oh well, at least it's got doilies. What's on it is delicious. At bottom, jam and whipped cream (in England, it'd be clotted cream) for the scones and banana bread in the middle. Atop this pyramid of plenty are finger sandwiches, little crustless beauties that may make manly men somewhat uncomfortable: roast beef, bacon and lettuce; tomato, cucumber and cream cheese; egg salad with crunchy celery; and ham and asparagus, rolled up like aspiring sushi.
Poised on the couch, you're comfortable but not too; like sitting rooms of yore, the ergonomics seem designed to keep you awake. When you're ready, out come the pastries: a swan cream puff, a fruit tart with kiwi and raspberry, a Napoleon custard and a chocolate Žclair. If you can put it all away, then you're a tee totaller of the first rank, but even a bite of each should satisfy the most sugar-covetous.
The bill arrives, $17.95 per person (if you add a glass of champagne it's $23.95), which seems like a lot for something that's not an official meal but which is easily worth it as a "one time" experience.
Caffeine percolating in your system, your stomach surprisingly full, you leave feeling both conversationally and comestibly sated. The elegance doesn't quite live up to its billing, but then again, the experience is truly Chicago rather than L.A. or New York, a balm to Midwestern moms.
Afternoon tea at the Palm Court is also one of the only places you can get into without a reservation on Mother's Day, providing your group is small. They take reservations for parties of eight and up, and everything else is first come, first served. So, it would behoove you to be on time (they serve from 2:30-5pm) or even early. Show up at 4:30 and you'll probably have to take mom to McDonald's.
You may wish to note that you can get a classy tea at other places, most notably the Greenhouse at the Ritz-Carlton and the Conservatory at the Four Seasons, but not on Mother's Day - they'll be serving brunch.
Palm Court at the Drake Hotel, 140 East Walton, (312)787-2200.
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.