Intelligentsia Pasadena - Old Town Pasadena, California

I adopted coffee drinking near the age of 12, after figuring out that it doesn't really stunt one's growth. I came to that conclusion after asking my dad when he first started drinking coffee. He started drinking coffee every day at 8 years old, a product of their family's growing and roasting the wonderful bean in Brazil. I should mention that he's six feet two, very tall for an Asian man in his generation.

I've striven for coffee connoisseurship ever since, refusing to tamper with cups of black coffee at Starbucks when I was in high school, when most people were nabbing white chocolate mochas and caramel macchiatos. In college, I read that the pour-over method produced a very good cup. Grinding my own beans and brewing a fresh cup became a regular part of my late night study sessions. When I started work, I continued to brew single cups of coffee using a pour-over at the office. Co-workers I thought I was the weird one, while they just continued to swill the nasty stuff supplied by the company.

It was during this time that Intelligentsia opened in Silver Lake, when I realized how good a shot of espresso could be. Instead of dank liquid charcoal, something that needed tempering with a load of sugar, I enjoyed the bright citrus notes of Intelligentsia's Black Cat espresso. The espresso showed every better when made into cappuccinos and macchiatos of rich, micro-foamy milk. The single producer/farm-driven brewed coffees made in Clover machines, often priced at $5-6, caught my attention and admiration quickly.

Since those days, I have visited nearly every Intelligentsia retail outlet - two in Chicago and two in L.A (Silver Lake and Venice's Abbot Kinney). When I heard a location was opening in Old Pasadena, I did a little more than rejoice.


I was invited for a preview by Kyle Glanville, the Director of Innovation at Intelligentsia, where I met my friends in the media (all of whom I knew). We tasted some of the seasonal coffees brewing by the cup at Intelligentsia, Honduran La Tortuga La Isabella (a micro-lot) and Kenyan Karimikui. I thought it was fascinating that the Honduran coffee was brewed on Hario ceramic pour-overs atop scales. Apparently this produces the most accurate ratio of coffee (which is pre-weighted in small containers) to hot water. Next to the scales and Harios are futuristic siphon-filter brewers, which use direct halogen lamps to bring the water to a boil.


Three-group Synesso machines make the espresso drinks, which are made to the same standard as the other Intelligentsia locations. Baristas are dressed with tie and vest, a nice elegant touch. More importantly than their sartorial essence is their training, which can span over a year with rigorous blind-tasting, education, and more. Intelligentsia's baristas are trained to be the best in the country, which is evident in their remarkable consistency from drink to drink.


If Intelligentsia Pasadena ended here, it would still be the best coffee shop east of the 5 Freeway in Los Angeles. The experiences takes on new elements with the incorporation of food, wine, and beer.

Intelligentsia tapped Matthew Poley, the creative and talented chef behind Heirloom LA, whose regular meals at Silver Lake Wine's Sunday Tastings showcased his ability to produce stellar fresh pastas and seasonal dishes. At Intelligentsia Pasadena, Poley's market-driven fare almost overshadows the coffee element.

One quick look at the menu makes one think: isn't this something you'd expect to see in San Francisco? Perhaps in Berkeley or Oakland? This was the sort of food I also found in Portland, where chefs are using the supreme local produce and ingredients to their advantage. Poley does the same at Intelligentsia Pasadena, making things like sandwiches and salads rise from banal to beautiful.



Think cauliflower caponata, richly colored with bell peppers. That's just a side dish to the charcuterie plate, which features house-made bresaola and salumis from Fra' Mani.



The cheese plates might be even more compelling, with house-made "burrata" (Poley contends that he hasn't made burrata too much but this version is excellent), as well as sheepsmilk and goatsmilk ricottas that are made with local milks. Topped with chestnut honey, nuts, and fresh herbs, the textures were all spot on and delicious - they made a perfect dessert for a light lunch that I had on another visit.


One of the things I love about Poley's menu is that he doesn't go boring with the salad. In fact, they might even be some of the stars on the menu. On one occasion I had a standout wild mushroom salad, gently laced with a shallot vinaigrette and tossed with fresh greens. Another salad contained heirloom cherry tomatoes, whose sweet acidity just screamed summer. Feta cheese and favas added depth. Both salads had the elan of superior ingredients, containing a balance that is rarely seen in the arena of salad-making. I would go out on a limb and say that I have had no better salads in the City of L.A. And remember, this comes from someone who loves salads but also never makes a meal out of them.


Ive tried three crostini sandwiches since the opening - the wild halibut, wild salmon, and bolognese, that latter of which is affectionately deemed "sloppy joe". The fish crostini were delightful, evincing the true flavor of the fresh fish, making one quickly forget any resemblance to a typical tunafish sandwich. The bolognese crostini was also great - it would be a better option for something that needed a hardier meal.


The menu wouldn't feel like one from Matthew Poley if it didn't comprise fresh pastas. We sampled some of his various lasagna cupcakes (yes, they are his creation, not Intelligentsia's as Jonathan Gold noted). Made with delicious swaths of fresh pasta and layered with things like wild boar, cheddar, or macaroni and cheese, they make for great snacks or light lunches. Even better might be some of the "dumpling" pastas that might on the menu on any given day, such as agnolotti or ravioli.



I ended my meal with a Gibraltar, made by Doug, one of the baristas. A Gibralter is served a bit shy of warm since it contains espresso, milk and foam. You could liken it to an ideal afternoon coffee drink because it exhibits mellow sweetness with the ratio of espresso to milk at something in between a macchiato and cappuccino. Desserts I've tried are worth getting - chocolate bread pudding with cherries and nectarine cobbler. I keep telling people that this place will start to suck up all my money. They haven't even gotten their beer and wine license yet.

Intelligentsia Pasadena
55 E. Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-578-1270
twitter.com/IntelliPasadena

Note: certain elements were provided by Intelligentsia during a preview though others were from paid meals.