Snail: love is patient…

Sometimes I sit in my backyard after the rain; a glass of red wine in hand, breathing in the verdant green topography that surrounds me and pondering life’s great mysteries: Are we alone in the universe? Can humanity overcome the lurking threat of artificial intelligence? Is love even real? Alright, I can admit it, it’s mostly the last one. Don’t be shocked. Sure, the universe is ineffable and AI is scary, but they’ve got nothing on love. I have a bad habit of looking for love in all the wrong places. I’ve looked in the bottom of bottles. (It’s never there, but I’ll occasionally double check just to be safe.) I’ve tried to plant it in my garden. I’ve nearly glimpsed it in cherries, roses, magnolia trees, and jars of honey–yet it evades me. I’ve never found it in the bottom of a hot, creamy cortado: but luckily for everyone in Fort Wayne, my friends Emily and Volchy have better luck with love than I do. When these two lovebirds began their tradition of cheersing their cortados nearly every morning, it was usually at one of several downtown coffee joints. Now when the sun is on the rise and their cups clink: it’s in a spot of their own. 

Like a little secret garden tucked away in the bottom of a building in West Central, there’s a new perfect place for your morning pick-me-up. Have you heard of Snail yet? If not, your friends have been holding out on you. Think soft green hues, fresh flowers, friendly faces, floral aromas mingling with freshly brewed espresso, and a custom tile bar that people have been sliding into my DMs just to drool over. Owned by one of Fort Wayne’s favorite baristas, Volchy (or Josh to some) and his beautiful partner Emily, Snail is the lovechild of two brilliant and talented people who understand the importance of impeccable flavors, thoughtful craftsmanship, carefully curated experiences and, above all else, kindness. Snails have been a little symbol that’s popped up in their relationship since the start, so it makes sense that they would choose to incorporate the synchronicity of snails into their business. (Have you peeped their tattoos?) Some people are big-dumb and don’t find the name ‘Snail’ to be as charming as I do. Those people are wrong. Let me tell you why. 

The goal has always been to create a third space where people feel comfortable spending time. Do you know what that requires us to do? Be like the snail. Slow down. Snails notoriously can’t move fast and part of the reason is the weight of what they carry on their backs. If this isn’t the perfect analogy for why humans need third spaces to take a deep breath, mellow out, and rest from the weight of the world, I don’t know what is.

I trust the expert team at Snail with all of my coffee needs. Whether you’re looking for a thoughtfully sourced pour-over, a quick jolt from an Americano, a sensible cortado, or a sexy little iced latte–these brilliant babes have you covered. Personally, I like to supplement my lack of love with an overabundance of iced lattes. Luckily for you, that means I’ve had every flavor of latte that Snail currently offers on their menu. For the sake of science, that meant trying them all multiple times, sometimes more than one at a time and more than once per day. Research is very important to me. Our chief finding was that they’re all goated. Here’s a fun fact about some of the science behind what makes Snail’s iced lattes so cool: temperature impacts how we perceive flavor. Flavors are more muted when they’re colder, so iced lattes will often come across a little less flavorful than hot lattes. Snail’s iced lattes still pack an absolute flavor punch–whether you’re going for a classic Miel, their Pistachio Rose, Honey Lavender, or–my personal favorite–the Cardamom Vanilla, you will not be disappointed. Let’s be real, balancing flavors is complicated business, to say nothing of balancing delicate floral flavors. Rose is an especially challenging flavor to master, often coming across as soapy when used too abundantly or simply disappearing when used too sparsely. We can not ever argue that the brilliant minds behind Snail don’t know what they’re doing with flavors: they’ve got this shit on lock. 

As for pastries, right now they’re only available on the weekends and have been consistently selling out pretty early in the morning. However, if you miss the absolutely fire croissants that were once-upon-a-time available downtown at GK–you’re going to need to get your booty out of bed early. Fort Wayne-famous baker Emily Ross has been crafting for Snail and she’s slaying it. (Not like anyone is surprised.) Everything she makes is utter perfection–but her ham and cheese croissant is particularly noteworthy. Topped with a small cornichon (or a little baby pickle, if you’re an uncultured heathen) Emily’s ham and cheese croissant is easily in my top 3 best ham and cheese croissants I’ve ever consumed. In my life before I got sick and had to mostly give up gluten, I was absolutely a croissant addict with a particular penchant for ham and cheese croissants. I’ve eaten my fair share. I know my shit. While I could only safely enjoy a few bites of this croissant, it was well worth it–and if it had killed me, I would have gone out deliriously happy and with zero regrets about my last meal. Eventually, the intent is for the menu  at Snail to be somewhat expanded. The dream is that Snail ultimately won’t just be a place for your morning coffee, it’ll also be a spot for you to grab a snack and sip some natty wine in the evening. Expect big things from Snail–though they be but little, they’re fierce as fuck. 

Emily and Volchy are the only reminder that I need that love is real. I’ve never seen two people more enamored with each other and that seeps into everything that they do. I knew Volchy before Emily and his monklike devotion to perfecting things–like a simple cup of coffee–is beyond admirable. Upon meeting Emily, she unsurprisingly very quickly became one of my favorite people in Fort Wayne–and it’s not just because of the beautiful, romantic flowing dresses that she wears or that she occasionally recommends new music for me to listen to: it’s how she speaks to me–so gently–when I am barely holding it together and trying to self-medicate with a cheeky little latte. It’s how she remembers that I like iced drinks more than hot. (I have a bad habit of burning my tongue.) I love Emily and Volchy, and of course I love what they’ve created together. Snail is easily my favorite new spot in Fort Wayne. Maybe I should stop searching for love in wine, or cherries, or roses, or honey–maybe it’s always been at the bottom of a cup of coffee. Or maybe love isn’t corporeal at all. Maybe love is the patience required to consume coffee. It’s the waiting and setting a timer to achieve the perfect extraction. It’s the craving at 7:00pm, but holding off until morning so as to not wreck your sleep–missing the taste of it all night long. Maybe love is the moments you count between being handed a steaming hot cup of coffee and drinking it–because those are the moments that keep you from burning your tongue. Maybe love is simply the patience that coffee requires of us.