Latte Art?

Forgive me if there is already another thread on this subject. I did a search and didn't come up with anything.

I am looking for cafes that do "latte art".
I know of 3 in the city.

The Grind - in Lincoln Square
Metropolis - in Rogers Park
Intelligensia -on Broadway

Can anyone suggest any others?

Depending on who is working, Bean Addiction at Presidential Towers can produce latte art similar to what you have pictured.

I thought that Uncommon Ground did latte art. Could be wrong.

Uncommon Ground Coffee Shop & Cafe
3800 N. Clark
Chicago

Intelligentsia on Jackson in the Monadnock Building also does 'latte art'

kafein wrote:Intelligentsia on Jackson in the Monadnock Building also does 'latte art'

...heavily dependent on who is actually doing the pouring.

eatchicago wrote:

kafein wrote:Intelligentsia on Jackson in the Monadnock Building also does 'latte art'

...heavily dependent on who is actually doing the pouring.

This is very true - but I have also noticed their baristas move from one shop to another in the same week. I'm terrible with names - but the tall, skinny dark haired fellow with the Elvis Costello glasses works at both shops and in one of the best they have.

My guess is if you asked any of them to attempt some art they would be happy to try.

urgh..."latte art"

and, pizza tossing

and,

um...bartending "flair"

kill me now

Hey, I am from Intelligentsia Coffee, and I wanted to clear up the record on latte art...

We have three company-owned stores (on Broadway, in the Monadnock Building, and near Millennium Park on Randolph) and every latte that goes out of these locations goes out with latte art.

That tall gentleman with glasses is Andy and he is one of our trainers. That's why you would see him in different locations.

I know that a poster scoffed at the idea of latte art, but it shows that espresso is fresh and it is also another way to differentiate our hand-crafted drinks from those produced on super-automatic machines. (Not naming any names, but you know who I am talking about.)

Lastly, Uncommon Grounds and Bean Addiction are both customers who serve Intelligentsia and do a nice job with their drinks.

Whoops, the Grind is also one of our accounts...

I will say that maybe the best coffee I've had on this continent was in Vancouver and was at a place where they decorated their lattes in this manner -- first time I'd ever encountered it. This discussion reminds me of a story recounted to me by my parents, and I believe it comes from the old Riccardo's Restaurant, where they were frequent guests. They had some sort of flaming dessert on the menu -- maybe cherries jubilee (this was the 1950s) -- and my mother exclaimed, after watching a waiter set a pan alight at a nearby table, "my, that's so exciting!" or something to that effect, to which the veteran waiter replied, "Well, lady, the tourists like it, and it don't hurt the food much." Not sure if latte art falls in this category, but as long as it don't hurt the coffee much, no complaints.

Podgers wrote:Hey, I am from Intelligentsia Coffee, and I wanted to clear up the record on latte art...

We have three company-owned stores (on Broadway, in the Monadnock Building, and near Millennium Park on Randolph) and every latte that goes out of these locations goes out with latte art.

That tall gentleman with glasses is Andy and he is one of our trainers. That's why you would see him in different locations.

I know that a poster scoffed at the idea of latte art, but it shows that espresso is fresh and it is also another way to differentiate our hand-crafted drinks from those produced on super-automatic machines. (Not naming any names, but you know who I am talking about.)

Lastly, Uncommon Grounds and Bean Addiction are both customers who serve Intelligentsia and do a nice job with their drinks.

As the scoffer I must add that I quite enjoy the occasional Intelligentsia product(death to Metropolis!...um...all kidding aside): I understand "latte art" has a much-storied history, Catherine de Medicis was a famous practitioner of the form, but since it's been glommed onto by hipster(is this redundant?) baristas and reached "competition" level...urgh...eck...it simply rubs *me* the wrong way.

Anyhow, I eschew coffee for tea

Not only that but it's rampant discrimination against drinkers of espresso and cappuccino!

Christopher Gordon wrote:urgh..."latte art"

and, pizza tossing

and,

um...bartending "flair"

kill me now

Hey, Christopher, easy now....

I don't see the US Latte Art Team getting an acclaimed documentary based around their quest to reach the World Coffee Championships.

You know, you really haven't lived until you've seen the dramatic footage of Tony Gemignani's squad of master pizza tossers act out a recreation of The Matrix, complete with black trenchcoats, shades, choreographed fight moves, and, uh... well, .... dough.

If only someone would take that footage, edit it into a film about, say, the Pizza Industry as a whole, and then maybe bring it to one of these artsy-fartsy film festivals, you'd see what I'm talking about.

High gluten...and high drama.

Latte art, to my surprise, I find I've no beef with - same kind of feeling I get when I see the decorative vegetables and fruits in a high-class Chinese meal (tomato rose, anyone?) A tomato rose has the advantage of existing for more than 5 seconds, though.

"It's gettin' to be ri-goddamn-DICULOUS!"

-- John Wayne, ca. 1970, from a speech at UCLA

<Rebian Rebbison>

hungryrabbi wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:urgh..."latte art"

and, pizza tossing

and,

um...bartending "flair"

kill me now

Hey, Christopher, easy now....

I don't see the US Latte Art Team getting an acclaimed documentary based around their quest to reach the World Coffee Championships.

You know, you really haven't lived until you've seen the dramatic footage of Tony Gemignani's squad of master pizza tossers act out a recreation of The Matrix, complete with black trenchcoats, shades, choreographed fight moves, and, uh... well, .... dough.

If only someone would take that footage, edit it into a film about, say, the Pizza Industry as a whole, and then maybe bring it to one of these artsy-fartsy film festivals, you'd see what I'm talking about.

High gluten...and high drama.

Latte art, to my surprise, I find I've no beef with - same kind of feeling I get when I see the decorative vegetables and fruits in a high-class Chinese meal (tomato rose, anyone?) A tomato rose has the advantage of existing for more than 5 seconds, though.

"It's gettin' to be ri-goddamn-DICULOUS!"

-- John Wayne, ca. 1970, from a speech at UCLA

<Rebian>

it's all the fault of The Food Channel

have you *tried* to watch it on the weekends lately?

Um, as far as Barista Competitions are concerned, Intelligentsia's Matt Riddle won the United States Barista Competition (USBC), and we took three of the top six spots:

http://www.scaa.org/about_usbc.asp

Matt then went on to take third place in the World Barista Competition (WBC).

...thought you would like to know.

Podgers wrote:I know that a poster scoffed at the idea of latte art, but it shows that espresso is fresh and it is also another way to differentiate our hand-crafted drinks from those produced on super-automatic machines. (Not naming any names, but you know who I am talking about.)

I like the little visual flair... reminds me of a (well drawn) shamrock in the head of a (well drawn) Guinness.

Antonius

This discussion is some sort of variation on the theme "The French live to eat, the English eat to live" as far as I can tell.

BTW, One of the great joys of my working day is making some Intelligentsia coffee with a french press in my office.
The Flecha Roja from Costa Rica they carry is some of the best goddamn coffee I've ever had.

Antonius wrote:I like the little visual flair...

Antonius,

I agree, it's a small thing, but it makes me smile. Maybe as much for the overall absurdity as anything else, but, still, it makes me smile.

Enjoy,
Gary

Podgers wrote:Um, as far as Barista Competitions are concerned, Intelligentsia's Matt Riddle won the United States Barista Competition (USBC), and we took three of the top six spots:

http://www.scaa.org/about_usbc.asp

Matt then went on to take third place in the World Barista Competition (WBC).

...thought you would like to know.

yep...he was all over the papers and TV a few months back

Podgers wrote:Hey, I am from Intelligentsia Coffee....

And I'd like to congratulate you on your marketing. We were in Seattle this past spring and walked past a coffee shop - and had to do a double-take. There, an entire wall filled with bags from Intelligentsia. You've sold coffee to Seattle!

I can second leek's comment, having seen Intelligentsia prominently displayed at a coffee shop in Vancouver a couple of years ago.

Intelligentsia's Black Cat espresso is just about the best there is, which is why you've seen it out west. Regarding the two posts about Vancouver, my guess is that you're referring to Caffe Artigiano...one of my favorite places in the world...right behind Burt's Place!

I know that this is certainly not a "commercial" site, but I did want to thank all of you who have posted positive comments about Intelligentsia. We could not have done what we have done without the our great customers. Chicago is the best food city in the world and we are proud to be a part of the experience. If you ever have coffee-related questions and would like to contact me directly, please feel free.

Podgers wrote:Hey, I am from Intelligentsia Coffee, and I wanted to clear up the record on latte art...

I know that a poster scoffed at the idea of latte art, but it shows that espresso is fresh and it is also another way to differentiate our hand-crafted drinks from those produced on super-automatic machines. (Not naming any names, but you know who I am talking about.)

Oh, come on now, knock it off. If Illy were writing your paychecks every other week, you'd be singing their praises too... Come on Podgers, give us the low-down on those "super-automatic machines". You're not talking about those coffee machines at the DMV, are ya? Those babies make a mean hot chocolate... and for 35 cents to!