Breaking Bread: A Visit to the Paseo’s Flora Bodega

Last week, my girlfriend was looking for some Oklahoma-inspired gifts for her visiting father’s belated Christmas present.

Nosing around on social media for ideas, I discovered a local business named Blood Moon Bakery that specializes in making homemade bread.

From there, I learned about Flora Bodega, a street-level “worker-owned cooperative" in the Paseo District that carries Blood Moon breads, as well as other locally sourced products from "60 local vendors."

Intrigued, and searching for a new grocery offering to tell our readers about, we quickly headed that way to see what it was all about.

We stopped by on a sunny but frigid weekday afternoon. As soon as I entered, I walked an inclined plane past a wall of local art. I was especially transfixed by the Alfred P. Neuman portrait...

I then turned a corner, and – as aromatic spices and holy sages cleaned my sinuses – walked through racks of everything from locally sourced honey to locally-printed zines, and marveled at this well-to-do communist-consumer paradise that I was already in love with.

As we looked through the pastas, the beans, and the various sauces, paired with the astounding fruits, vegetables, and other produce, I was amazed at the quality and, especially, the prices.

Usually, you expect local stuff like this to be pricey when compared to the big grocery chains that glut our city, but it was all affordable.

On the back wall, the cooler case was packed with sustainable sodas and beer, and a selection of Oklahoma wines that were both cost-effective and prominently displayed. We picked a bottle for her dad, with a few local brews. for good measure.

I then turned my attention towards the catalyst for this trip – the bread:

You can always tell how good a place is based on its bread, and man, this was a veritable cornucopia of grains. I put about three or four loaves from different bakers on the counter to purchase. Even the sweet pastries were to die for too—the no-bake cookies are on the top of my list of treats!

After a little more charitable shopping, we pooled our provisions—my well-heeled groceries for the week and her dad’s aforementioned presents including local nuts, artisanal honey, a bottle of wine, and a few local beers—and the total bill was so very comparable to the bigger grocery stores.

With the groceries packed in the car, I took one of the no-bake cookies out of the bag and took a stringent nibble. As I expected, it was impossibly transcendent. Thanks, Flora Bodega!

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