February 4, 2023
If you’re already a fool for fluffy fried dough or a sucker for trendy food, you might be tempted to try taro donuts from Holey Grail.
The doors to Holey Grail open into a modern minimalist interior of narrow wooden tables and black stools. The menu board is posted on the left, above a bed of healthy taro plants beside the cashier counter. To the right, a variety of branded T-shirts, hats, tote bags, cook books, and coffee mixes display on a tall wooden shelf draped with vines hanging from a few small plant pots.
The cashier may offer a sample of rose tea to undecided customers glancing at the selection of all natural flavors and ingredients.
Holey Grail originated in 2018 as a Sunday donut service from a small burger trailer in Hanalei, Kauai. It has since opened three more locations in Kauai and Oahu, happily serving its close knit community of locals and culture-consuming tourists across Hawaii.
On December 17, 2022, Holey Grail breathed new life onto Santa Monica’s heavily trafficked Main Street, giving the people of Los Angeles a bite of Hawaii’s food culture to enlighten their food choices in the new year.
According to Christian belief, the holy grail was the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper and in which Joseph of Arimathea collected his blood at Christ’s crucifixion. The contents of the holy grail contained healing powers and provided sustenance to Joseph while he was in jail.
The donut shop uses the holy grail as a metaphor for the key ingredient in their donut recipe — taro.
Taro, also known as kalo, has provided sustenance to the people of Hawaii for generations. The sacred root vegetable is a way for native Hawaiians to connect to their ancestors as they care for their land, the source of life.
Fresh taro shipped over from Hawaii is mashed with water to create a paste-like consistency called poi. The poi is then mixed with flour and water to form a dough that can be shaped and fried into fluffy and crunchy donut rings.
The four permanent donuts are inspired by classic ingredients from Hawaii. Some of the company’s farm and ingredient partnerships are with Pomai Kololo on Oahu and Kauai Taro Company on Kauai, where they source their taro bulbs and dessert making ingredients. The Original Sin donut is born with Hawaiian vanilla bean and salted maple and the Hail Mary is graced with highly aromatic cardamom and gentle rose. The other two classic flavors are Island Chocolate enriched with single-estate chocolate from Kauai and the Hot Single sweetened with neighborhood honey and seasoned with flakey sea salt.
Every Thursday the owners pick four flavors from a palette of 60 natural flavors to entice customers who make a pilgrimage to Holey Grail. These four rotating flavors are added to the black and gold tasting box priced at four dollars per donut or $15 for a curated four pack. Customers may also pick nine of the taro dough temptations for $32.
A week in early February, the tasting box included the Chaga Chai rolled with cinnamon sugar, Strawberry Fields dressed with local strawberries and matcha, Miso Honey dotted with black lava sea salt, and the North Shore zested with local tangelo and dusted with turmeric and black pepper.
Donut disciples can expect a five minute wait for employees to ice the freshly hot donuts made to order. While waiting, customers can view the assembly line behind the counter and observe a drop of starchy dough transform into a culinary treasure.
Some lone customers bring their computers and set up at the long table in front of the nearly wall-high window that peers into the Buffalo Exchange thrift shop. Other customers come in pairs on their lunch breaks or along their cycling trips through Santa Monica. Above the two larger tables are photographs that tell the story of the family owned business from Kauai.
To round off the divine experience, Holey Grail offers its draft coffee with a coava custom blend and its draft latte with housemade cashew coconut milk. Other beverages include their cacao latte, Holey Chai, Matcha Prophecy, chocolate milk and hot drop coffee ranging from five to eight dollars.
Holey Grail fulfills its commitment to caring for the environment with 100% compostable packaging. As part of the company’s “breaking bread” efforts, 20% of all sales are donated to a charitable organization. One of their special donuts is the Tony Hawk x The Skatepark Project flavored with Hawaiian vanilla bean, maple and blackened coconut caramel.
Holey Grail is there to send you off to work or to treat you to dessert. The bakery is open Sunday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday until 9:00 p.m.
If you really want to know what heaven is like, add this wholesome donut shop to your list of vices.
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