We decided to start the day with brunch and then post/text our whereabouts throughout the day so people could meet up with us. Lindsay, Jen and I met at Montrose and Western around 11am to take the Western bus down to the blue line. When we got on the train, Jen headed toward the little cubby at the back of our train car. Standing back there, coincidentally, was one of my boyfriend’s ex-coworkers and his brother. Everyone took note of the brother’s lack of a wedding ring.

We got off the blue line at Chicago and, after a bit of orienting ourselves, walked to Twisted Spoke. We were the first of our group to arrive so we put our name in and took seats at the bar crowded with Blackhawks fans. Twisted Spoke is a biker bar (or it’s branded as a biker bar, anyway) and isn’t super far from where the Blackhawks play. Everyone’s really into the Blackhawks this year.

Lindsay and I ordered our first bloody at the bar (Jen started with coffee - strategic decision). Upon the bartender’s suggestion, we ordered the Road Rash Mary Classic (him: “Everyone loves the classic”). It came garnished with shredded parmesan cheese and folded salami (kind of creepy), olives, pepperoncini and a cocktail onion. The best part was that it came with a sidecar (aka: a beer chaser) which I feel should be standard practice but usually isn’t. The Classic was good, but not amazing. Lindsay deemed it “unimpressive.” I thought it had a nice, dry spice and it definitely tasted homemade. It isn’t, however, freshly made. They sell their mix and I’m not sure if the in-house bloodies are from the bottled mix or just a pre-made mix, but he definitely had it at the ready. It’s also made with some beer, which was detectable.

Oh, and all bloodies are $8.

pictures: exterior of Twisted Spoke (photo from chibarproject.com), Road Rash Mary Classic and the birthday girl

During these first drinks, 3 other ladies showed up to meet us for brunch (Kate, Melissa and Hedda). Kate also ordered a Classic bloody mary from the bar.  Unbeknownst to the rest of us until later, Kate got charged $12 and didn’t get a sidecar. 

Kate: Cute bartender…but he couldn’t count, bless his heart.

We got seated not long after the other girls showed up. We had our waitress, who was charming, bring Kate her sidecar. While seated, we ordered more bloody marys. Jen and Lindsay tried the Deliv’rance. Hedda and I both got the Smokin’ Salma (on our waitress’s recommendation). The Deliv’rance was made with hickory-infused vodka and garnished with bacon, pickled string bean, green onion and strips of cheddar cheese (the later 2 of which were not listed on the menu). It got a higher rating than the Classic from Lindsay, but not by much. The Smokin’ Salma was definitely the best we had at Twisted Spoke. It had a more celery-ish flavor than the others, tasting a bit more like a typical bloody mary. I would definitely order it again. It was made with chipotle pepper-infused vodka and garnished with chorizo, pickled garlic, a cherry pepper and shredded parmesan cheese (although mine didn’t have the cheese - I think the math-challenged bartender just doesn’t have a very high attention for detail). 

pictures: bloody mary menu, the smokin’ salma and the deliv’rance

Breakfast was kind of beside the point. The chilaquiles were not good (and a few of us ordered them), but Jen’s breakfast sandwich looked pretty danged good.

Twisted Spoke is different than most places I’d hang out. Everyone was super friendly and social (we talked to two other tables of people sitting around us - one when half the girls at our table ordered a spiked coffee with the words Bitchin’ and Biker in its title), but it’s definitely a biker/sports-fan type of a place.

Kate: Lots of dudes with too much jewelry on - needs to stop.

All-in-all, we thought the bloodies were a bit over-rated (but god bless the sidecar). We only tried 3 of 6 that they had on their menu. The other 3 are: The Blood Queen (uses lime-infused gin instead of vodka), The Bloody Franco (has sherry in it) and The Bloody Maria (utilizing Tabasco tequila in place of vodka). Below is the contact info for Twisted Spoke and our average bloody ratings. It’s worth checking out for sure, but don’t believe the hype.  BTW: my friend Jaime says the Bloody Maria is good.

Road Rash Mary Classic   (Lindsay, Kate + Hillary average*)
Deliv’rance  (Lindsay + Jen avg)
Smokin’ Salma (Hillary*)

* I didn’t get Hedda’s rating card

The Twisted Spoke

501 N Ogden Ave
Chicago, IL 60622 (map)
Neighborhoods: West Loop, Near West Side

(312) 666-1500
www.twistedspoke.com