Intelligentsia

I live by Lake Michigan on the eastern end of the neighborhood of Lakeview*, with easy walking access to neat little cafes and restaurants. Speaking of cafes, (loosely defined as a business establishment where their main draw is coffee or tea) along Broadway Avenue, there are six cafes en route to the nearest Borders a brisk at the Diversey/Clark/Broadway intersection (less than a mile). The biggest, and by far, the most popular one is Intelligentsia(http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/).

Their cafe business is almost ancilliary: they're much more well known around Chicago as coffee roasters, as many area businesses promote the fact that they serve Intelligentsia coffee -- similar to concept of 'We Proudly Serve Starbucks' thing at hotels -- and I found their coffee being served in cafes as far as Champaign, IL. (2.5 hours away from Chicago). Nonetheless, not being a coffee connoiseur, I can only assume that the brew I get is 'pretty darn good'; I can only speak to the cafe experience of dropping in Intelligentia every now and then.

Intelligentsia feels like a large coffee house that you might expect to find on a college campus with ample study space by the tables, comfortable couches, and boisterous conversation-filled atmosphere where you can quickly blend into the scene and be lost for hours (I usually prefer a bustling scene). They constantly grind roasted beans for customers who come to buy them in bulk, so with the usual brewed coffee aroma, you can also detect the distinct scent of ground coffee as you sit at a table.

There are cafes where you might go to seek peaceful solitude and quiet reflection; Intelligentsia, on the other hand is the type of place that you'd prefer to spend a lazy Saturday morning over a newspaper or with a delightful conversation partner, where you'd find warmth and comfort by the chatter of friends greeting each other, the familiar noise of coffee beans constantly being ground and a sense of anticipatory excitement that fills a bustling Saturday morning scene. It's a place that is much better during autumn and winter, where you can step in from the cold, quickly shed your parka, sweaters, scarves and hat, and unwind with a friend over (arguably) the best coffee you can find in Chicago.

Note:

* They call Chicago a city of neighborhoods, as you can identify your residence with a distinct neighborhood name such as Lincoln Park, Logan Square, or Lakeview (just the list the ones that start with the letter, L -- there're a lot of neighbhoorhoods here). In fact, even the most trepid tourist who would not venture out a mile beyond the epicenter of the the most popular tourist attractions such as Sears Tower, Navy Pier or 'the Magnificient Mile,' will have inevitably have crossed several neighborhoods without ever knowing that they did. (e.g. Printers Row, The Loop, River North, Streeterville, Gold Coast)

BTW, speaking of area designations, no Chicagoan ever calls the northern end of Michigan Avenue as, 'the Magnificient Mile.' The very moment you mention it -- say, you're asking to be directed to the fabled shopping district -- the Chicagoans will instinctly label you as a tourist. Nonetheless, unlike the residents of other (read: less friendly) cities, we will not mock you, scoff at you, or look down on you with disdain and open contempt; however, if you were to catch the ever so fleeting look of "hehe, here's a good one, 'the Magnificient Mile' hehe... TOURIST!" a split second before we kindly direct you to Michigan Avenue, you will wish you never asked. Mark my words: never utter the words, 'the Magnificient Mile' in Chicago!