In Search of the Elusive Kolache

November 2, 2013
In Search of the Elusive Kolache

This being Saturday, the mandate was to go to the Maria's Taco Xpress, get our fill of breakfast tacos and once fortified go in search of the shy and elusive kolache.

The entrance to Maria's Taco Xpress. The place is a favorite of both Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri. But the food is good anyway.

"You Are Entering A Happy Zone"

After tacos we went to the downtown Farmer's Market, which as markets go is pretty good, but still no comparison to the one Flagstaff holds every Sunday. Which is surprising, since this is real farm country. Farmer's markets are fun, fun to walk through and people watch, sample wares and spend too much money on. But it's no way to shop for groceries. The real quest was for kolaches and as expected we found a food truck selling them. Kolaches come in various varieties, both sweet and savory. One blogger notes that the traditional kolache, of Czech origin, is a sweet pastry. But savory styles do exist. Beware, she warns, that you don't get what is essentially a pig-in-a-blanket. We saw those, too. Here is a sweet kolache:

Bourbon Pecan Kolache

They are the next big thing. You know about Tex-Mex. This is Tex-Czech.

Next stop: Central Market. H.E.B. is a super market chain here in Texas. Their upscale version is called Central Market and it is gives me enough of a reason to move to Texas. Their produce selection is the largest I have ever seen in any super market, as is their meat and fish department. And beer, boy do they have beer. We did a little shopping and sampling, but it was very crowded and we were pretty overwhelmed. They have a sense of humor as well. Here is the display in the chile section.

There was one more stop to make before we called it a day. Are you surprised?

And here we are buying kolaches. Peg's sister asked if we planned on eating our way across the country. I think the answer is "Yes", because the next stop is Lafayette, LA.