COFFEEHOUSE CHRONICLES: WHOLY MOLY

I must say, I had a hell of a time finding a coffeehouse victim this morning. I had originally planned on going to Mike and Patty’s, but apparently they have new hours and aren’t opened on Tuesdays. Then, as a second option, I made my way to May’s Cake House, but to my further dismay, they are closed for the next week or so.

Defeated and crippled from hunger, I started to give up on finding a coffee shop, but then I remembered: this is the 21st-century!

Without a moment’s hesitation, I whipped out my iPhone and soon enough I had a new destination: The Wholy Grain.

I liked this place as soon as I noticed the funkadelic black and white wallpaper, so naturally I decided to stay. That, and the fact that my stomach was starting to growl … loudly. They had quite the arrangement of baked goods, all of which sweetly called my name, but I had to stick to my classic: bacon, egg and cheese.

To my disappointment, there were no sesame bagels, but an everything bagel is a solid runner-up, so I made due. For coffee, I tried an iced americano. Now, to be perfectly honest, I had no idea what an americano even was, but decided to take the plunge. Turns out, it is coffee prepared by adding hot water to espresso as opposed to classic drip coffee. It was tasty, but I had to add about a pound of sugar in order for my sweet tooth to be satisfied.

Shouldn’t I start being accustomed to the bitter taste of coffee by now?

The vibe of The Wholy Grain was calm and cool (literally–they had fans up the wazoo to keep costumers from melting in this absurd heat), and I felt instantly relaxed upon walking in. The real gem, however, was the outside seating. Not only did they give you the option to sit in the safety of the shade or the rays of sunshine, but they had plants! Little cheeping birds made the patio bubble with life too, and I may or may not have fed them the remnants of my bagel (one caught a crumb before it even touched the ground).

The clientele at The Wholy Grain were exceedingly friendly. There was a couple next to me chatting away with another costumer, and I was asked to join in on the conversation. Unfortunately, I am a book worm and was too enveloped in Catching Fire to be an adequate conversationalist.

Per usual, here goes the judgement chart:

You may be wondering why the Grain only received two stars in the food category … and well, I just wasn’t that impressed by my bagel. I think the birds enjoyed it more than I did; the bagel itself was incredibly difficult to chew–it was the equivalent of trying to bite into rubber–hence the lack of stars. All-in-all though,

The Wholy Grain proved to be another positive experience on my trek through Boston in search of the infamous coffee bean.

Azure is a hot chocolate addict who is on the path to acquiring a taste for the bean. Coffee bean, that is. She will drink her way through Boston until coffee appreciation is achieved, or until her brain goes into a caffeine-induced hysteria. These are the Coffeehouse Chronicles.

THE WHOLY GRAIN
275 SHAWMUT AVE.
SOUTH END
BOSTON
MON-FRI: 7AM-7PM
SAT: 8AM-6PM
SUN: 8AM-4PM
WHOLYGRAIN.COM