Comments on: Intelligentsia, Venice

By: Knighting myself “West Coast Girl” « Tara (Tiger) Brown

Knighting myself “West Coast Girl” « Tara (Tiger) Brown — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:01:00 +0000

[...] and being closer to the airport will make things more convenient for him. Plus there is a badass new Intelligentsia opening up in Venice and he is super psyched about [...]

By: WILL CAMPBELL

WILL CAMPBELL — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:14:24 +0000

Thank you for the kind words Matt! I’m shocked at word of a potential price increase to75 cents at Philippe’s? Gah! Last time I was there was a couple/three months ago for breakfast it was still the nine cents I’ve always known it to be, and can only hope it still is.

Sean, didn’t mean to imply I considered the folks at Intelligentsia snootacious. LA Mill definitely, since the one time I went there I couldn’t get service. The couple times I’ve been to Intelli they’ve been very nice and helpful. Any intimidation I’ve felt comes not from their friendliness but rather from their myriad bean stylings and ways of concocting them. I’m telling you in the world of gourmet coffeeterias, I’m the kid on the porch with the banjo in "Deliverance." SIMPLE.

By: greg7sins

greg7sins — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:18:45 +0000

west of the 405, try one of the caffe luxxe locations for amazingly good espresso. or the funnel mill for an impressive selection of estate farmed coffees, individually vacuum brewed.

By: Spencer Cross

Spencer Cross — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:00:44 +0000

I haven’t experienced any snootiness there, rather the opposite, in fact, but the last time I was at Intellgentsia the cheapest cup of drip coffee was $4. I’m a coffee freak, and that $4 cup of coffee is a damn fine brew, but the price difference between Intelligentsia and most of the surrounding coffee shops is much closer to $2 than it is to 25¢.

By: katiepoche

katiepoche — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:59:46 +0000

There’s been noise about it since December — the original opening date was supposed to be sometime in January, then late February, now the website Sean linked to says early March. I wonder if their "scaled-back" seating arrangement had something to do with the delays: "O hay, found-wood architect-designed chairs are expensive! Lower the tables, chuck pillows on the floor, & call it homey." A redesign will take time but might save money. (Depending on the fee structure of their architecture firm.) (But I digress.)

Once they open, though, I suspect they’ll do very well. Lots of ad & design people live in Venice & Santa Monica. The expensive ones have been cut loose & have subsequently "gone rogue" (freelance — thanks to Will Campbell for the phrase, via Twitter). Some of these gigs have us working from home … or from coffee shops. I don’t do my best work in public places with pretty, scruffy people everywhere. But some people do.

By the way, The Curious Palate in Mar Vista sells Intelligentsia beans now, but because they’re new & are still sussing out demand, they don’t stock very much of it. (They brew it, too, but only drip.) I, for one, will be glad for a second source of Intelligentsia beans that’s not 13 miles from my home, not to mention one that will reliably have them in stock.

By: Matt Mason

Matt Mason — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:34:14 +0000

I want to commend Will for his comment, which is a work of absolute blogging literature, and most entertaining. But I have to ask about that nine cent joe at Philippe’s. I was there with the L.A. Metblogs Classic Eats gang a few weeks ago, and the price was a stratospheric 75 cents or so. Do they raise the price on Saturday nights? Do you get the nine cent deal only as a combo with a French Dip?

By: Venice RV Parking War Heats Up | Los Angeles Metblogs

Venice RV Parking War Heats Up | Los Angeles Metblogs — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:14:23 +0000

[...] Venice residents await the world’s best coffee shop, they are dealing with a more bitter tasting issue. As the Los Angeles Times reported last month, [...]

By: Sean Bonner

Sean Bonner — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:07:48 +0000

Wow, I walk away for a few hours and look at this flood! I don’t know what to respond to first so I’ll just say that I don’t go to LA Mill or places like that because of the snooty attitude that Will mentions above and I’ve never felt that way at Intelligentsia, in fact quite the opposite which is one of the reasons I go there so much. I’ve had Baristas tell me all kinds of stuff about the beans and things I didn’t even know to ask – always friendly and helpful. That’s just my experience of course but I think it’s safe to say that I go to a lot of coffee shops all over and Intelligentsia ranks at the top of nice people and a friendly atmosphere. I can certainly see how it might seem intimidating, but I’ve never found it to be that at all.

And as for the pricing, you pay for what you get and if coffee is coffee to you then this all means nothing, but you enjoy the good stuff a few extra cents is not an issue. There’s 3-4 coffee shops within a few blocks of intelligentsia which all have good coffee, and have prices within $0.25 of theirs but when you try the two together there’s no question – at least not to me. Very much worth the extra coin and a block or two extra to walk.

By: WILL CAMPBELL

WILL CAMPBELL — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:42:36 +0000

libertad, Yeah, I’ve done the Gevalia thing. After the carafe broke I went retail instead of through the hassle of getting a new pot from Gevalia.

By: libertad

libertad — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:33:20 +0000

Will-

You paid $30. for a Mr. Coffee machine? I thought everyone just signed on to Gevalia for the introductory machine…