Pastoral To Create Menus For Intelligentsia's Cafés

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jan 18, 2012 9:30PM

Both Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea and Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine have come a long way since their East Lakeview beginnings. Crain's reports that Pastoral is now providing Intelligentsia with menu items for their three Chicago cafés.

The partnership began Monday. Pastoral is providing Intelligentsia with cheese and charcuterie plates, salads and sandwiches, with menu items rotating every couple of days. the cost for salads and sandwiches start at $7.50, while the cheese and meat plates start at $8. Intelligentsia CEO Doug Zell told Crain's "We consider Pastoral's offerings as a perfect complement to our menu of direct trade coffees and teas."

We're kind of stoked for this. It seems as though Intelligentsia's cafés have taken a back seat in recent years as the company focuses on it Direct Trade program and wholesale businesses, and as coffee drinkers have found a wider variety of java options at coffee houses like Star Lounge, Metropolis, Asado and Bridgeport Coffee Company. Over the years Zell has not minced words about how he views Intelligentsia's coffees as being on the level of fine wines. Pairing with a local food purveyor like Pastoral, which also emphasizes quality (but not in the heightened tones Zell has used to describe his coffee), is a perfect complement.