Who doesn't love chocolate and candy? Whether it's coconut covered chocolate pretzels, Swedish fish, or champagne truffles, there are three fine establishments in Hoboken that can help you fill that sweet tooth. 

Lepore's Chocolates has been in Hoboken, located on 6th and Garden for more than 30 years. Mario Lepore and his cousin Ed Shirak opened in August of 1979 and Mario has been making chocolate ever since.

"We make our own blend of chocolate and we can make almost anything that anybody asks for," Lepore said. When you step into the chocolate store, you'll feel like you're stepping into your grandmother's basement—if she made chocolate and it smelled heavenly. The store is currently filled to the brim with Easter treats—baskets, jelly beans, marshmallow peeps, and of course, the chocolate bunnies, milk and white chocolate crosses, chocolate eggs, and there's even a large chocolate bar with a scene of the Last Supper on it.

Although Easter is pretty busy, Valentine's Day is the busiest time of the year for this chocolate store. 

Lepore's also offers favors for weddings—they made the chocolate bars for my wedding, with our names and the date imprinted on delicious milk chocolate. Lepore's also recently made delicate chocolate leaves for a wedding cake—autumn colors that looked delectable and gorgeous. Lepore said he has also gotten requests for chocolate tennis racquets to use as favors, and he sells Statue of Liberty lollipops. Lepore said his favorite chocolate items to make are "the chocolate basketballs, footballs and other molded stuff—like the Scottie dogs."

And if you, quite literally could eat chocolate with anything, Lepore's also offers chocolate-covered Twinkies, Cap'n Crunch, and potato chips.

A few blocks away, next to the firehouse on Second and Jefferson, is Pauline's Chocolates. Pauline Newrocci started making chocolate in her kitchen, "on a whim" she said, about 20 years ago. Then she decided to open a business. So she set up shop in Carlo's Bakery's old space on Adams St. From there she moved to Jefferson between 4th and 5th Streets and then, thirteen years ago, she moved to her present location, 207 Jefferson St.

Pauline's specialty, and Newrocci's favorite thing to make, are chocolate covered pretzels with any type of topping you can imagine—chocolate-covered Rice Krispies, M&M's, Sno-Caps, sprinkles, and even Snickers. Although Newrocci doesn't make her own chocolate, everything is made on premises. Special order larger-than-life-size-toy chocolate trains look like they are ready to choo-choo into somebody's extra–large Easter basket. She also makes giant white chocolate bunnies that are edible cookie jars--their heads lift up and they are full of a pound of cookies. Her white chocolate tulip bouquets are a bright and colorful addition to anybody's table as are the chocolate-covered apple treats.

"Dark chocolate is my favorite," Newrocci said.

She gave me a white chocolate-covered pretzel and though I am not usually a fan of white chocolate—it was absolutely to die for. When I asked her what her most interesting request had been, she answered: "Chocolate covered bacon. I made it once, loved it, and now I make it regularly because I get so many requests."It's an intriguing mix of salty and sweet, and I can see how it can become addictive.

"I also make chocolate covered strawberries and grapes—and corn flakes," she said. Just like Lepore, she can make, or cover, practically anything in chocolate.

If perhaps, you are not completely enamored of chocolate, and prefer other types of candy, make sure to stop by The Candy Shoppe at 59 Fourth St between Hudson and Washington. Inside is every type of candy you can remember—from malt balls and gummie bears to new tastes like sour cherry balls, handmade passion fruit marshmallows and caramel dark chocolate with sea salt. Bestsellers are, of course, Swedish fish and chocolate-covered pretzels.

Meg Rankin opened up The Candy Shoppe almost fourteen months ago. She had been a corporate event planner for seventeen years, which included setting up candy tables for sales meetings. Rankin, a Hoboken resident, grew up in Mountain lakes, NJ and thought, "Why doesn't Hoboken have a candy store like Mountain Lakes?"

So, she quit her job, sold her condo, and The Candy Shoppe was born. Glass jars, filled with colorful candy, line the shelves and the round table on one side of the room. On the other side is the party area. Rankin hosts birthday parties and has even hosted a bachelorette party. She also caters weddings, bat mitzvahs, Sweet 16 parties and more. You tell her what type of candy your party likes and either she'll provide bags as favors, or set up a candy bar at the event.

She will even special order candy—for instance, many Europeans request Cadbury Eggs from England because the eggs made here do not taste the same.

"If you're having a party for your mother, say she's sixty. Scientists have figured out that candy memory is fixed at age ten," she said. "So if you want to have her favorite candy, we'll check back fifty years ago to see what candies were most popular then."

On your way home from the office, or as you are looking for premium candy to fill those Easter baskets, take a break, smell the chocolate, and reminisce about your favorite candy from long ago. You'll find them in the shops that make Hoboken a true candy land.