Just in time for a recession in which Starbucks gets used as a primary example of the kind of luxury people will no longer be willing to shell out for, coffee joints have started getting fancier, and more expensive, about the way they brew coffee. Intelligentsia got some press and grief (see a response here) for laying in a supply of $11,000 Clover machines and using them to make $4 cups of coffee that take seven minutes. Just as I was reading about that, a vegetarian coffeehouse opened on Lincoln near Martyrs, bearing the name De.li.cious (which comes awfully close to del.icio.us, the former impossible-to-spell-right name of a "social bookmarking" service now just called Delicious) and offering, in the $3-4 range, cups of coffee brewed in a thing called a Chemex.

From the name I expected a big fancy machine, gleaming steel and chrome, spitting steam like a Raymond Loewy train engine. The reality proved to be simple enough to do for yourself; a glass carafe with a funnel mouth into which you set a filter and slowly pour hot water around the edges, thus getting roughly even amounts of water to pass through all the beans, rather than extracting most of your coffee from the ones at the bottom of the filter:







So did it live up to the hype? Actually, yes, at first anyway. The cup was subtler, more floral, almost creamy (possibly a projection of the name of the coffee I chose, kurimi); you could taste the point about getting the best flavor from all the coffee in the filter versus overextracting acids from the stuff at the bottom. Within 20 minutes of going on my way with my paper cup, however, it was just another cup of coffee. So if you do feel the need to spend $3+ and carefully watch as owner/professional BMX racer Kevin Porter hand-assembles your coffee drip by drip, drink it while you're there, and fairly quickly, to savor the difference. Or if you use a French press, you might consider switching to a Chemex of your own (they have them in stock), as it's no harder to make a cup in your office this way and for me it's a less oily, more well-rounded cup.

But for me, the real point of this is that when I walk into De.li.cious with my son, who was instantly smitten by their cupcakes baked in ice cream cones, the Chemex process gives me something to shoot the breeze about with Porter or his staff for a few minutes, enjoying the earnest vibe of people who opened a vegetarian coffeehouse in their neighborhood because having one seemed like the most important thing in the world. $3 or so will get you that and a first-rate cup of coffee, which seems eminently fair to me.

De.li.cious
3827 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago IL 60613
773-477-9840
http://www.deliciouscafechicago.com

I haven't been in the area much since I moved two years ago, so I'm sorry to have to ask: what happened to Stubbs?!?

Here's more on the famous Chemex: http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.chemex.php

The Chemex coffee maker sounded interesting, so I tracked down their website (http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/) and braced myself for some hilariously ridiculous prices...much to my surprise, they're actually pretty reasonably priced (unless you go for the handblown-in-Germany-in-the-MoMA-permanent-collection models). Amazon.com also sells a bunch of Chemex models (sold by 3rd parties, but eligible for the free shipping...that's key).

A guy at my office has a Melitta single-cup cone, which works under the same principle, except it costs $3, works with standard cone filters, and drips the coffee directly into his mug. It's pretty cool in its simplicity...but I'll stick with my "what IS that?!"-inducing AeroPress, thankyouverymuch

I sometimes also use a $3 plastic filter holder and brew directly into a thermos. Like you wondered why one would pay $35 for the Chemex (especially since would still want to pour the coffee into a thermos after it is brewed. The Sweet Maria's site says that the key to the Chemex is the type of filter they use, which are ever-so-slightly more expensive than regular paper filters. If you are going to use regular paper filters or a gold tone filter, you might as well stick with the Melita plastic filter holder.

The folks at Del.ic.ious or however it's punctuated are still there, still turning out really good coffee. I had a sandwich that was very meh, but it had lots of vegetarian earnestness They are nice folks, and you should buy coffee and baked goods from them when you are in the neighborhood.

I'm a huge fan of the Chemex on slow-paced weekend mornings. Shipping often kills the deal, but I've bought two at the Peet's in the Lincoln Park shopping center where Whole Foods used to be. Chemex-branded coffee filters are thick, newspaper-sized things that supposedly make it impossible to brew a bitter cup; all I can say is that, to my relatively unsophisticated palate, it's a consistently great cup of coffee. As far as food luxuries go, this is a pretty reasonably priced one.

I use a Melitta single-cup cone and a electric kettle to brew into my travel mug at the office (99 cents at Strack & Van Til). Works great, but lacks the panache of the iconic Chemex.

Intelligentsia hits the Manhattan streets

There are still no coffee urns at Millennium Park, but they did ditch the clovers finally. Now they have a two tier chemex (?) set up to brew multiple cups at a time.

I worry for the baristas, having to slowly hand pour boiling water over the grounds of each and every cup at an awkward angle. It looks like a recipe for back pain. And it still took about ten minutes to get a cup of brewed coffee.

I usually go to the Monadnock location when I need good coffee. It's a bit further of a walk for me, but at least I'd rather walk than stand and watch the baristas hunched over.

Nice article in today's Trib - http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ ... 3951.story

Stopped in for a latte this morning and learned that they switched all of the Chicago stores to using Kilgus Farms Milk. Seems they don't make skim, as the guy in front of me stormed out when he learned he couldn't have skim.

Doesn't effect me as I like whole milk, but I thought it was worth mention.

I find myself just buying beans there anymore. Sometimes I don't even wait for the free coffee with my purchase. It's really become a hassle there, with the slowness of pouring a cup of coffee, and the lines (and not lines in a good way because its so great). I just stare at that filter with disdain as it takes forever to get into the fricking cup. Now they don't even have the milk that people want? I just don't get it anymore. There are four Starbucks I can think of right off the top of my head around the location near Macy's. Heck, I think Macy's has three or four Starbucks in their building. Bring back the URNS!

nicinchic - I think your comment gets to the heart of the matter: if you want a plain cup of drip coffee, Intelligentsia doesn't want your business. Starbucks, feeling the heat from Dunkin, still does. That's why they are now selling a cup of Pikes Place Roast for $1.50. But Intelligentsia has chosen to go for only the gourmet market. For the downtown locations that are primarily frequented by people going to work or taking a break from work, I think that makes no sense, but obviously Intelligentsia doesn't.

fj123 wrote:nicinchic - I think your comment gets to the heart of the matter: if you want a plain cup of drip coffee, Intelligentsia doesn't want your business. Starbucks, feeling the heat from Dunkin, still does. That's why they are now selling a cup of Pikes Place Roast for $1.50. But Intelligentsia has chosen to go for only the gourmet market. For the downtown locations that are primarily frequented by people going to work or taking a break from work, I think that makes no sense, but obviously Intelligentsia doesn't.

I used to spend a lot of time at the Wabash location. From what I can see, anecdotally, since they made the changes they seem to have more people in line and hanging out.

They also pay practically no attention to food. I kind of like the idea of no low fat milk. Do they still have soy?

They still have soy. At least they did a few days ago at Wabash. That's my point about the line, people are standing in line to get the coffee they already ordered and stepping around each other. If you observe like I usually do while I'm waiting, it's usually tourists in there, not knowing what they are getting themselves into. Now, the location on Jackson, not much of a line, but not many tourists, as the staff there recognizes just about everyone in the morning.