Intelligentsia's New Logan Square Digs

For years, we watched with envy as Intelligentsia, one of Chicago's oldest hometown coffee heroes, launched splashy new shops across Los Angeles.

This year, the covetousness subsides: The roaster recently revamped its original Broadway Avenue location and opened a jewel box of a café in the heart of Logan Square.

The Logan shop holds surprises for even devout Intelligentsia regulars. First, snacks: Iron-and-glass cases display an assortment of baked goods from Floriole, whose excellent French and American pastries have never before ventured beyond Lincoln Park. Floriole classics like banana-pecan bread ($3.50) and fruit galettes ($6) have marched westward, bringing vegan chocolate-hazelnut cookies ($2.50) with them.

The shop's main seating flanks the bar. It's intended to inspire watching and lingering, as a barista stirs pour-overs of Kenyan Kangocho ($4.50 per cup) or infuses neon-green Okuyataka Shincha tea ($7 per pot).

The opening coincides with the launch of Intelligentsia's new tea brand, Kilogram. The mostly organic, loose-leaf teas are available to drink on-site or in boxes to go, with nearly 20 varieties of black, green, white, oolong and herbal teas available.

Snag a magazine to go, too, from the café's shelves, which hold copies of Lucky Peach, Gastronomica and Us Weekly.

Cheers to diversification.