Notes From The City: An Abundant Life

In September of 2016, I wrote about a beautiful bakery that brought back delicious memories and started to make new ones, and in the two years since then, its owner and Founder, Clemence Danko has created two more spaces to dream in for foodies who love delicious bakery goods. Choc*O*Pain French Bakery & Cafe had started on First Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, as a dream of Clemence's to bring the true taste of French boulangeries to the streets of the city she now called home. A delicious success, the bakery thrived and Clemence made many friends in the regulars who loved the breads and pastries and sweet and savory treats her Chefs were creating as much as they loved to meet her in the bakery or while she did her errands around town. She is another of these wonderful entrepreneurs who has created something very special that is an extension of her own unique personality and history and taste, but who treats her business as something that she just simply does where the focus is on the people who come in to enjoy their time there. As with other wonderful artists and designers and Chefs and entrepreneurs I have written about in these pages, if you haven't ever met Clemence, you would not know that she is the owner of the bakeries she has created at all - you might think she was a friendly neighborhood person who just happens to be kind enough to bus your table when you are finished enjoying your meal or snack or perhaps a manager of some kind, because she is always careful to stay in the background unless someone needs something that she can be helpful with.

As I wrote in these pages before, the atmosphere in her first location was simply delightful, and she has continued on with the beautiful touches in her newer cafes while allowing each one to be uniquely its own space. In the Tea Building where I met her for some lovely coffee and the sweet and savory tastes of a very special lunch, the space is open and light and airy, embracing its more industrial modern feel while helping visitors to feel at home. With the sweet and lovely floral designs by the lovely Christina Andersen, another local favorite of mine and so many others, and a collaboration with freelance photo stylist and interior designer Siobhan Macdona, Founder of SKM Design, Clemence has created a very special feel that integrates into this space as if it was made for exactly what it is. A room off of the main room has space to work at a table with additional space for children to play, and there is art work on the walls, currently by the local artist Donna L. O'Grady, that adds a gallery dimension and opens up another world of possibility. Starting on November 17th and running through December 24th, the beloved downtown bookstore Little City Books will be adding some of its titles to a shelf space in the main area, as a holiday pop-up shop to bring its special books and childhood adventures to the parents and families who live in the buildings further uptown.

The food in the Tea Building as always wherever Clemence creates her cafes is simply delightful, bringing back memories with textures and tastes and ingredients that remind us of days gone by, family histories, trips abroad and countryside holidays and that make our every day travels a culinary adventure. On the day I visited, I had a perfect Croque Monsieur, something that is nearly impossible to find made in what I consider the real way unless I make it myself, a vegan sandwich with roasted cauliflower and sweet potato that definitely delighted this non-vegan palate, and a chocolate ganache and almond tarte that was a new addition for the Thanksgiving holiday menu and that was so sublimely complimented with my perfect and lovely cappuccino that I said yes to the offer of a cortado to continue the dreamy taste.

Clemence herself is delightful, and if you have a chance to talk to her you'll find a wealth of knowledge and a very big heart. Her focus is on bringing the highest quality of food that is as local and sustainable as possible in a way that is reminiscent of a true French Bakery while having its own very local flavor. I will be writing about her other location that opened in Jersey City Heights in a few weeks, and there as in all of her bakeries and cafes you will find local touches, a community minded spirit, artisanal goods, speciality items, and a comfortable space to learn about the French methods of baking and making healthy choices while visiting with friends or taking a relaxing moment for yourself. With the work of local artists on the walls, seasonal delights to treat your palate, an eye for lovely and comfortable design and a view to the community, well being and health, a visit to Choc*O*Pain is a visit with Clemence, a walk into her memories, her history and her world.

Clemence Danko

At Choc*O*Pain French Bakery & Cafe

1500 Hudson Street, Tea Building

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://www.chocopainbakery.com/