Grubtrotters

The uber-chic new Venice outpost of the Chicago-based Intelligentsia coffee bar — already well known to the caffeinated Silver Lake crowd — officially opened on Abbot Kinney today, just in time to satisfy my need for an afternoon pick-me-up. I gave up coffee a year ago, and it’s damned hot today so I opted for a chilled organic osthmanthus silver needles white tea from the (mysterious, according to Victor) Fujian region of China. White tea has less caffeine than any other real tea, and Intelligentsia doesn’t actually heat the tea and add ice. Instead, they cold brew it by letting it steep overnight and serve it without ice. How’s that for haughty?

OK, so I’m being a little hard on the place, which is getting a ton of buzz among foodies. As a Venetian for more than a decade, it’s been drilled into my head to resist the dreaded chain stores. And yes, Intelligentsia is a chain. But Pinkberry long ago invaded the neighborhood so I should probably just give it up and admit that Intelligentsia is seriously into quality. The flavor of the white tea was fantastic, and frankly, I hate ice in my drinks. They know what they’re doing here, and if you’re a brew connoisseur, this is among the best you’re going to find. They’re also into “direct trade,” which is like fair trade plus.

My yoga buddy Kathy ordered an iced coffee, and we shared two desserts, a lemon tart and raspberry breton. I thought the lemon tart was delicious, very soft and lemony and, well, tart. The raspberry dessert had fresh raspberries and pistachios, which I love, but the crispy bottom of the dessert was a little too hard for my taste. I like a dessert that’s easier to eat without a knife. The bill came to $19.25.

The cafe itself is sleek and airy and bright, but it’s a little strange, too. The bar is round. You step through an arched corridor and order before moving around the bar to another person. You keep getting passed off, it seems, around the circle. Everyone is knowledgeable and happy to explain how the coffee and tea are special so it’s not a big deal. But then there’s the seating. There are only a couple of tables outside, and the rest are bleacher seats, inside and out. It’s a little tough to eat a tart on bleachers. It’s not like there’s some sort of sport to watch, unless you consider checking out the attire of the local hipsters a sport.

Frankly, I’d rather brew my white tea at home and relax at the local cafe Abbot’s Habit if I want a place to hang out. That’s a comfier environment, less of an industrial feel. But if you’re a die-hard coffee or tea drinker and don’t care to stick around, Intelligentsia might just be the place for your morning fix. –Jenny

Intelligentsia, 1331 Abbot Kinney in Venice.

Flora Springs 2005 Trilogy from Napa Valley is our wine pick of the day. I had an opportunity to sample half a dozen Flora Springs wines at a dinner hosted by the third-generation, family-owned winery at Wilshire, one of my favorite Santa Monica restaurants, back in March.

The 2005 Trilogy is a Meritage blend of traditional Bordeaux varietals, 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec mainly from the Komes Ranch estate vineyards surrounding the winery. The wine spent 22 months in new French oak barrels, and it’s wonderfully rich, full-bodied and balanced.

The best wine of the night was actually the 1996 Trilogy, but that one is a lot harder and more expensive to get your hands on at this point. The ‘05 Trilogy retails for $65, but I found it offered online for as little as $39.99.

The family behind Flora Springs owns 650 acres of vineyards in Napa Valley, a total of 10 vineyards in five appellations: Rutherford, St. Helena, Oakville and Carneros. All the vineyards are sustainable, and 20% are certified organic, with another 240 acres to be certified this year. A full 90% of the grapes used in the Flora Springs red wines are from organic vineyards. That means no spraying of harmful chemicals. Instead, they use natural methods such as cover crops, hawks and owls to control problems such as pests.

A quick summary of our dinner to whet your palate: We started with a delicate hamachi seasoned with ponzu and wasabi, which was paired with Flora Springs 2007 Soliloquy Sauvignon Blanc. That was followed by ricotta gnocchi with hedgehog mushrooms, Cippolini onions and chestnuts, which we enjoyed with the 2007 barrel fermented Chardonnay. For our third course, we savored a rich and delicious Moroccan spiced lamb stew with fregola sarda (a healthy pasta from Sardinia), cauliflower, piquillo pepper harissa (a hot sauce) and banana raita (a cool, yogurt-based sauce). This dish was accompanied by the 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. And finally, we sipped the ‘96, ‘99 and ‘06 Trilogy wines with some artisinal cheeses before capping off the evening with a dessert of pain perdu with meyer lemon, huckleberries, port reduction and vanilla ice cream. Yum. — Jenny