Intelligentsia

When we first arrived in New York we went straight to Ninth Street Espresso on 9th Street for our first good coffee of the trip – we noted that they now used beans from Intelligentsia, which piqued our interest because our Supreme Friend had tweeted around that same time asking if we could go check out Intelligentsia – roasting, barista training, general all round single origin experts.

When I found that Intelligentsia in New York was in fact on Broadway just down from where we were working we went off-NY Times coffee list one day to try them – only to find that it wasn’t a walk-in place or cafe – it was a training lab.

Then when looking for good coffee places in Chicago I came across it there as well – and an actual cafe version of it! As soon as we were left alone in the city we rushed for it, also to make sure I knew where it was for my upcoming first-time meeting with my Orange Friend from Chicago (was starting to feel rather nervous so didn’t want to worry about not being able to find the cafe!). We found it – a very trendy corner space, with an orange bike outside, orange bags of coffee behind the counter, a line up of individually dripped coffee for those not wanting drinks with an espresso base and selection of baked goods.

Obviously I was pretty excited about the orange theme, especially as in a couple of days we’d be meeting my Orange Friend there, and OMG the coffee and brioche were so good.

On the way out I noticed the hours were Mon-Fri 7am-5pm … WAAAA … the meeting was on Sunday! So we rushed back in just to double-check and ask the guy if there was anywhere else in Chicago where we could get coffee just as good. Why yes, their other store a few blocks away. And that’s where we met and enjoyed our coffee outdoors on Sunday.

Intelligentsia, 53 – 55 East Randolph (between Michigan and Wabash), Chicago