Wholly Cannoli

Sorry to the reviewers below (And I'm not going to argue this as it's subjective at best) The Cream in the Cakes I bought was crap- period. My brother is a Pastry Chef and graduated from Culinary Institute of America and has cooked for the Sh ... more

Sorry to the reviewers below (And I'm not going to argue this as it's subjective at best) The Cream in the Cakes I bought was crap- period. My brother is a Pastry Chef and graduated from Culinary Institute of America and has cooked for the Shrivers and Kennedy's as well as some very wealthy people in Boston and we both tried the cake and the cream was not "Italian Pastry Cream" as "Brenda" attempted to describe. I know what Italian Pastry Cream is- just go to Mike's Pastry in Boston if you want to know what good Pastry Cream is. My brother told me that the cream they used in their cake was a combination of Pastry Cream and Crisco- and it was disgusting- period. I will give the bakery kudos for great Cannoli- but the Italian Cream cake and Rum cake was very very poor. The area of Worcester this bakery is located in is Rice Square off Grafton- and as a former Worcesterite I can say that this is a scuzzy area- go there yourself and judge for yourself. My brother's merits stand for themselves- and he is a 5 star gourmet chef who has cooked for world class people and restaurants. I'm not trying to hurt the Bakery- but at best it gets a 3 from me. You want High Grade good quality stuff get the Cannoli. You want the same in Cake go to the North End of Boston to Mike's or go to Williams Sonoma online or Rubicon Bakery. less

I just saw the comments below and it amazes me that people who know nothing about pastry can leave comments such as those. Wholly Cannoli is one of Worcester's best bakeries, if not the best overall. The quality of their baked goods and sandwi ... more

I just saw the comments below and it amazes me that people who know nothing about pastry can leave comments such as those. Wholly Cannoli is one of Worcester's best bakeries, if not the best overall. The quality of their baked goods and sandwiches is outstanding. And for those uneducated in the art of pastry or just uneducated altogether, the cream they use on and in their pastries is what is known as an Italian Cream. It's not fake whipped cream or "drek" as stated in another review. It's a delicious light alternative to that heavy oversweet buttercream frosting and filling you get elsewhere. I guess if your used to supermarket baking you would have a hard time recognizing a quality product. Richie and his family put their hearts and souls into putting out a wonderful array of some of the finest, most delicious pastry I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. So, if you want real Italian cream on your cakes or in your whoopie pies then run, don't walk to Wholly Cannoli! And while your there...you have to have a Cappuccino Cannoli....better than sex! less

First off...Wholly Cannolli is NOT is a scuzzy area of Worcester..it's one of the safest neighborhoods and I know...unfortunately for my waistline I live close enough to walk there (and do because it's safe to do so) So please don't le ... more

First off...Wholly Cannolli is NOT is a scuzzy area of Worcester..it's one of the safest neighborhoods and I know...unfortunately for my waistline I live close enough to walk there (and do because it's safe to do so) So please don't let the other review scare you off. Everything I have had there is wonderful, but I seem to gravite to the dynamite sticks and the cannollis...they are the best I have ever had and the dynamite stick is to die for. Just recently tried some of their sandwiches and the Eggplant parm is wonderful. They put it on their fresh baked Italian roll and they don't skimp with any of the wonderful ingredients. My only suggestion is to eat it there- it is the best right out from being toasted in their ovens. Phantom Gourmet was right on with this one..it is a hidden jewel! less

I've tried Cannoli from the best of the best- The Italian North End of Boston. Mike's Pastry was always my favorite place for Italian pastries like Cannoli, Rum Cake etc...BUT...I now have a new favorite and it's close to home. Wholly ... more

I've tried Cannoli from the best of the best- The Italian North End of Boston. Mike's Pastry was always my favorite place for Italian pastries like Cannoli, Rum Cake etc...BUT...I now have a new favorite and it's close to home. Wholly Cannoli is located on 488 Grafton street in Worcester. Their Cannoli blows the socks off of Mike's Pastry and any other bakery I have tried in Boston or otherwise. They also serve good Pizza, Sandwiches and great freshly baked breads. Word of warning: Entering Extremely High Caloric Zone! They have more varieties of Cannoli than I have ever seen: Example from Phantom Gourmet Review: <br> Let's start with the basics. The traditional cannoli has a crispy, crunchy shell and a heavenly sweet ricotta filling. It's available with chocolate chips... or chocolate dipped... and that's just the beginning! It's the outrageous offerings that really set Wholly Cannoli apart. There's a Banana Spilt cannoli, bursting with ripe banana flavor. The classic PB & J sandwich is transformed into a Peanut Butter and Jelly cannoli. The Caramel Fudge cannoli is simply sinful, with almost as much sweet goodness drizzled on top of the cannoli as there is inside. <br> Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: "People come in here and they just go crazy because of the different variety." <br> In fact, the cannoli creations aren't limited to just the tubular type. Wholly Cannoli's most explosive extravagance is the Dynamite Stick; a crunchy chocolate shell, stuffed with rich cannoli filling, and gooey caramel. <br> Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: "It is actually dynamite. I haven't met one person yet who hasn't liked that. I mean they go crazy for 'em... People are like 'Oh my God, this is better than sex.'" <br> If you’re worried the Dynamite Stick is too hot to handle, there’s a slightly smaller alternative, the Cherry Bomb. <br> Rich Elia – Owner, Wholly Cannoli: "The cannoli mix in the middle, has a cherry in the middle, with the cherry sticking out resembling the wick of a cherry bomb, wrapped in a chocolate crunch shell... they’re just absolutely fabulous." <br> Just when you think the cannoli creativity can't continue, Wholly Cannoli has one more decadent delight: the Chocolate Caramel Cannoli Cake – a sinful stacking of chocolate cake, caramel, cannoli mix, chocolate Italian cream, chocolate ganache, and buttercrunch. With tempting treats like the Chocolate Caramel Cannoli Cake in the kitchen, resistance is futile. <br> Try this bakery! It's tasty, caloric, and fun fun fun! Beware though...you may get hooked on the goodies! less

Well...I need to "rethink" my rating, as I initially gave Wholly Canolli a 5 star rating. My daughter and I visited the bakery today, after seeing WBZ Boston's "Phantom Gourmet" give it a great review. The bakery itself is ... more

Well...I need to "rethink" my rating, as I initially gave Wholly Canolli a 5 star rating. My daughter and I visited the bakery today, after seeing WBZ Boston's "Phantom Gourmet" give it a great review. The bakery itself is in a semi scuzzy area of Worcester, but we tried to ignore that as we entered the bakery. I was pleased to see lots of good looking Italian cookies and a great looking cold case filled to the brim with beautiful Canolli of several types, rum cakes, Italian cream cakes, and even "Black Forest" cupcakes. We purchased a "dynamite Stick" which was totally delicious. It was a chocolate shell coated with buttercrunch and filled with ricotta/cannoli filling and gooey caramel. Sinful. We also bought 2 "cherry" bombs which were equally as good...smaller than the dynamite and round buttercrunch coated chocolate shells filled with cannoli filling and a cherry. That was the best parts. The down side was the rum cake and black forest cupcakes, which well...were pretty lame. First off- when a bakery offers high quality stuff they should stick to it. The rum cake had a fake whipped cream which tasted like crisco mixed with cream and tasted totally terrible. The cake was soaked in rum and was layered with a bland almond cream. I have tasted a wonderful rum cake at Mikes Pastry in Boston, but this was gross. The Black Forest cupcake again used this gross fake whipped cream mixed with some kind of shortening. Totally gross and I had to throw the cupcake and rumcake away. We also bought large chocolate chip whoopie pie- which was also filled with that disgusting fake cream. I think it's a cop out and dishonest to put drek like that in a pastry. It looks like real whipped cream from the cold case and we never susupected the drek it was filled with. I still love the cannoli and dynamite sticks and cherry bombs but the other pastry paled and was not fit for this palate. I have quite the pastry palate too and know quality from drek, as my brother is a pastry chef and attended the CIA in NY and also cooked for the Kennedy's at one stage of his career. So....this gourmet has changed from 5 stars to 3.5 Canolli gets 5 stars but the other pastries get only a 2. less