Café de Coco: a Coffee House With a Difference

By Antoinette May Herndon

I was thrilled when Scott Anderson, Jackson’s man about town, invited me to have lunch with him at Café de Coco, the town’s latest “in” spot.

Open a mere five months, the tiny, postage stamp-sized bistro is already many things to many people. First of all it’s coffee-driven, a center where Jacksonites may either launch their day early-on or rev it up come mid afternoon. Many of them do both.

Proprietor Jesus (Jesse) Espindola and his mother-partner, Coco, have all the big city can’t live without coffees: cappuccino, late, macchiato, espresso, besides just plain hearty Americano. But the draw goes far beyond the coffee —great as that is. (Just try Jesse’s cappuccino.)

The café’s real pull is its dynamic coffee house ambience, that sense of vibrancy, the exciting buzz that telegraphs to newcomers that this is where things are happening: issues being debated, deals being struck, reputations being made or perhaps unmade.

Café de Coco has become a center where one can settle in to expound on books, art, personalities and politics. (The latter topic is very popular, whether it be business concerns, upcoming local elections, or national issues.) Whether you’re contributing to the lively debates yourself or merely eavesdropping, Café de Coco is the place to gossip, plan, organize, see and be seen. Good coffee remains the magnet.

But that’s by no means the end of it. Café de Coco is an authentic south of the border bistro. The food, cooked by Mexico-born Coco Espindola, utilizes all fresh ingredients. The taco salad is lush and crisp, the quesadilla rich and tasty.

And that isn’t all the talented Coco does. She’s also an accomplished baker. Not only is Café de Coco a place to drink designer coffee and eat authentic Mexican food, it’s also a special order bakery where you can get wedding and birthday cakes done just as you want them.

Lunch time is busy at Café de Coco and service—with just Coco cooking and just Jesse waiting on tables—is a bit pokey. I see this as the kind of coffee house where poets and writers will start bringing their works in progress along to tinker with. There’s time to get a good deal done.

Scott and I were lucky to score a table. All around us the room was buzzing with individual conversations. We had our own agenda. While savouring our cappuccinos, we discussed the grand and glorious novels we’re currently plotting.

Very soon Jesse arrived with a complimentary plate of crisp chips and a savoury dip. By this time Scott and I had switched the conversation to current assignments. It didn’t slow us down; we dug right into the chips. Chomp! A drug bust. Chomp! A feature on egg recipes. No one can say that newspaper writers don’t have variety in their lives or that they don’t enjoy talking about their work.

Finally, with the chip plate decimated, it was time to order lunch. But what to choose from that delicious looking menu? Scott started off with spicy chicken soup ($4.50). It looked and smelled terrific. Clear to see that Scott’s a regular at Café de Coco, familiar with and pleased by the choices. He followed up with the taco plate. Three of them for $5.50.

I went with the tortilla wrap ($6.25) and was very happy with my selection. The two fresh tortillas encircling spicy condiments and chopped beef

were delicious and very filling. I’d planned to try a pineapple tamale ($5.50) for dessert but just couldn’t manage it. Next time.

While enjoying the food and conversation, I had plenty of time to study the historic building where we sat. Wood floors, weathered brick walls, windows fronting on colourful Main Street. My imagination soared as I recalled Jackson’s notorious past. What was the history of this structure? Had working girls plied their trade here? Had miners risked hard sought gold at faro? Had gunmen blasted one another to kingdom come?

When Jesse came around to chat I asked about the building. Was it very old?

“Oh, yes, very old.”

My heart quickened. “A saloon?”

Jesse shook his head. “No, a bakery. My mother is carrying on a tradition with her specialty cakes.”

Hmmm, a bakery. That sounded pretty tame compared to the fantasy scenarios I’d been conjuring. But no one can say I lack imagination. Looking about the brick room a new set of pictures appeared in my mind’s eye. A shady lady sauntering in for cream pie, a miner stopping for a slice of chocolate cake to eat on his way back to Mok Hill. A sheriff stuffing a donut into his mouth before cocking his six gun.

After all, then as now, everybody likes a sweet. What better place to enjoy it?

VITALS: Café de Coco, 140 Main St., Jackson. Phone 223-2626. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. Friday through Sunday from 10 to 6:30. Closed Mondays. Credit cards accepted. Reservations desirable.

Pictures:

Coco Espindola’s pastries carry on her restaurant’s historic tradition.

Jesse Espindola, right, surveys the scene at his popular restaurant. Café de Coco.