Culture Shock - Hansel and Gretel

Jordan Anderson, Suhani Mahajan, Caleb Smith, Delisa Troupe

In this episode, staffers Caleb, Delisa, Jordan, and Suhani discuss their experience at a local new bakery, Hansel & Gretel. Listen on Spotify here!

Caleb: Hello, and welcome to Point of View, where we give students a place to listen, learn, and lean in. We’re your hosts,

Jordan: Jordan

Delisa: Delisa

Suhani: Suhani

Caleb: And I’m Caleb, and today we’re going to be discussing our experience at a local bakery, Hansel and Gretel.

Suhani: So, we went to Hansel and Gretel this weekend together. And I remember it was like our first fall day, it was chilly. And you walk inside, we went in the afternoon. And it was so warm and cozy inside the lighting was well warm, and it smells so sweet. And I loved the environment.

Delisa: I remember my first experience walking in- like I just love bakeries in general, it’s a very, like cozy feeling. And especially now that like, winter is starting to hit. It’s kind of a nice place to like to sit down and study and just relax like a break from school.

Jordan: One thing I definitely noticed about walking in, it was like the lighting gave me fall vibes. Like it was like a warm orangey like

Suhani: The vintage like.

Jordan: Yeah, vintage.

Caleb: The one thing that I liked is the different varieties of food and different little treats and pastries I liked that they added kind of to the whole aesthetic of the place. Everything was brought together by the lighting and everything, just like you guys said.

Delisa: Yeah, there are a lot of like different varieties and like desserts, which is like my favorite thing. And then not only that, but they had like hot chocolate and like coffee and like I’m pretty sure they had boba too. And they also had like shaved ice, which I thought was really, really cool.

Suhani: I also liked that since the store itself is really smart, it feels homey almost, because in the center, you have the dessert aisle and the counter, you have the patisserie section, and it really brings the whole store together. When you sit in that environment. You feel like you’re in the bakery itself.

Jordan: I like, it’s just it’s a really cozy vibe. Like, I feel like I can just go there whenever and do whatever and just relax. Like maybe family or like, with my friends or something. It’s just really, it’s like a relaxing place to go to, especially after school.

Suhani: Do you guys remember when we walked in, and we saw all the desserts how long it took us to like decide what to actually get?

Caleb: It was too much like I just couldn’t choose. There’s so many things that look super, super good. And I knew I wasn’t rich. So I wasn’t gonna buy everything. I know, we kind of shared what we had. And everything was pretty, pretty good so.

Suhani: Yeah, I remember because I, this wasn’t my first time but like every time is still a fun experience for me. So like my last time when I had the Grande Buttercream Loaf, and I thought it was really, really good. So I wanted to get it again. But obviously like there’s so many options that I like force myself to try something new. So I had the Honey Castella and maybe liked a little bit less than what I had before. But it was still nice, like, just tried things that I’ve never had before.

Caleb: I remember you giving me a piece and that was pretty, pretty dry thath that was drier than the Sahara Desert, I have to say so that was one of the least favorite things that we had that day. But I also got this, this donut covered in cake crumbles. And it was actually pretty, pretty good it nice and pillowy and soft. That was probably my second favorite thing after your little butter cream loaf that bread was really, really good.

Jordan: I got the, one of the things I got was the chocolate croissant, and I never had a chocolate croissant before. It was actually pretty good. But the funny thing about it, I don’t know why it was so funny to me. I didn’t know that the chocolate was like powder, it was like, I don’t know how to explain it but it was on the croissant. But it was also powdery and I put my whole hand on the chocolate thinking that it wasn’t gonna like leave, like a mark or anything. And I lifted my hand up and my whole hand was covered in chocolate. I don’t know why that happened. But like it was so good though. I’ll definitely get it again.

Delisa: I remember seeing you just wipe your hands on like ten napkins.

Caleb: The wipes were covered in just chocolate powder like they were completely, You got a little bit on your face too.

Suhani: I have to say I got the mango croissant and my experience was probably a little better than that. I didn’t anticipate fruit working that well in a croissant.

Caleb: Me either

Suhani: But I was pleasantly surprised.

Caleb: Me either.

Delisa: Yeah, I remember trying and it was so so good. Like usually I don’t like fruit in like desserts because like whenever I go to like an ice cream shop and I try like, like mango or like strawberry whatever inside or like on top of the ice cream. It’s usually like spoiled because it’s been out all day but like the mango croissant was really, really good. And it was like something I hadn’t expected to like.

Suhani: It was fresh and decadent.

Delisa: Decadent.

Caleb: Nice word choice. But I think my thing with bakeries is that I usually don’t go for the actual treats itself. I go for studying and just finding a nice peaceful place that feels great. And I feel kind of warm and just like a nice peaceful place for me to study and kind of do my work. Or just to find, just like an easy place for me to just kind of think and whatever. So I think that’s the best thing about Hansel and Gretel. I think one of the things is that I can go there to study in the future.

Delisa: For me, it was nice, like seeing everyone like, I remember sitting down, and like looking over the counter. And I saw like a couple of my friends who worked there. And then like, a couple of people that I knew had walked in and had eaten down on like a different table. And then best of all, was seeing like Mr. Pinto walk in with his friends and like, casual clothing. And it was like really funny to just see like him as a teacher, like, in a completely new environment.

Suhani: And for listeners who don’t know, Hansel and Gretel is right next to H Mart. So it’s so close to the school and it, it’s like a local treat that you get to bump into people from school there. And I think that adds to like, the fun ness of that environment.

Caleb: Yeah.

Delisa: I think there’s something like really, really special about like, all those like shops that’s near Northview. Because like, after an entire day of school where I’m like, just tired and I just want to relax, Hansel and Gretel is just like the perfect place to go. Like H Mart and like, all the shops nearby are really great. But like Hansel and Gretel is like a new cafe that just opened up. And it’s like a really fun place to just go and hang out with friends after school.

Jordan: Yeah, it’s like, go get your mind off of things. Just go after school with your friends, talk and not think about school for once, like after being in school all day. And normally, I don’t really go to bakeries that often, but I think I went to like one or two before this. But I like, I like my experience there It’s like, a calming sensation when you walk into a bakery. I don’t know, but like once I walked in, it was really calming and relaxing.

Caleb: Yeah, I love that I could go there. And taking a chance on a new bakery, because I usually go to kind of the same ones. I don’t like changing things. I’m kind of almost like not traditional. But I like going to the same places. I am kind of opposed to trying something new sometimes. But going there for this podcast and kind of going there and giving it a try. I had a good experience. And I’ll definitely go again, considering all the things that we have. We had such a good time there. And I was really happy to go there.

Suhani: I like that, we could go like as a group of four and it still felt intimate even though our group was pretty large.

Caleb: Yeah

Suhani: Because the cafe kind of like, as Jordan said, like, it was calm and it made us calm too. Even though you’ll see us in class, and we’re pretty lively bunch. It was nice to get together at such a location.

Caleb: Yeah, we had such a great time. And we definitely recommend this place that you go ahead and give it a try. But that go aheads, that goes to conclude our segment of Culture Shock. Thank you so much for listening. For a transcript of this episode, head to the Point of View tab on our website, nhsmessenger.org and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook at nhspointofview, for more updates and new episodes. I’m your host, Caleb Smith.

Delisa: Delisa Troupe

Suhani: Suhani

Jordan: And Jordan Anderson

Caleb: And this has been Point Of View.