A three-course meal: first flush, second flush ...

A small feature in Time Out Chicago this week (can't find it on their site to link yet) checks in with "what local chefs are doing with tea." The items:

• A chai cocktail — Darjeeling tea with honey and vanilla vodka — at the Dana Hotel.
• Green-tea dusted diver scallops, "gently" using matcha tea powder, with a pea puree at Boka!
• Chamomile ice cream at Takashi. The pastry chef steeps the flowers in cream first, then uses that to make the ice cream and serves it atop pistachio sponge cake and lemon curd.

Sounds like a complete meal to me!

(Time Out also has this ol' list of five great teahouses in Chicago.)