Zamykal Gourmet Kolaches
5181 Keller Springs Road, Dallas CLOSEDOwners Tara McGraw and Jude Routh bake up their Czech ancestors’ recipes nearly every morning in their Far North Dallas storefront. When they are busy, they might make as many as 900 kolaches in a single day — but the quantity they produce never takes away from the quality. An order generally comes with nine kolaches and will run patrons about $22.98. With their traditional flavors multi-pack, they pay homage to their ancestors. It comes with three prune, cream cheese and poppy seed kolaches. Those who are feeling a little more daring might want to go with a tall order of their Lethal Chocolate Kolaches. Each kolache is filled with chocolate cream and topped with chocolate chips. You might want to rewrite your will before trying one of these bad boys.
Pearl Snap Kolaches
4006 White Settlement Road, Fort WorthYears ago, Wade Chappell and Greg Saltsman were just two friends who wanted to start a business together. Now they operate Pearl Snap, an award-winning kolache shop and breakfast cafe, one on White Settlement Road and another on Hulen Street. They named their business after classic western clothing with pearl-covered snap buttons. With their signature kolache dough, they rolled out a new favorite on their seasonal menu — the Oktoberfest Kolache ($2.50, but it's technically a klobasnek). It is stuffed with skinless bratwurst and sauerkraut, topped with poppy seeds and is the perfect klobasnek to wash down with a cold beer. Pearl Snap tries to provide a good variety of flavors when it comes to classic kolaches. One that you may not find at other kolache shops is their Apple Cinnamon Kolache ($2.50). It comes with chopped apples and sprinkled cinnamon.
Kasa Kolache and Espresso Bar
761 S. MacArthur Blvd., CoppellOn busy days, owners Enrique and Gloria Barrera and the rest of the Kasa crew have to make it to their storefront by 2 a.m. On regular days, they can get there as late as 4 a.m. Celebrating 12 years of business in July, the No. 1 seller at Kasa is their cream cheese kolache ($1.09, $11.99 for a dozen). They often sell these kolaches with a mix of different fruit spreads on top as well, and they are also known for their selection of coffee. Gloria Barrera says a good breakfast is a cream cheese and strawberry kolache with a hazelnut latte. As far as klobasneks go, Kasa puts their own spin on the Czech dish. Their chicken sausage roll ($1.79, $15.99 for a dozen) is a klobasnek with a sausage link stuffed with chicken instead of pork. If you’re that crazy about pork, they have regular sausage klobasneks as well.
Kolache Haven
301 I-35E Frontage Road, DentonThis small Denton storefront encapsulates kolache expertise and feeds many students for cheap at the University of North Texas (most menu items don’t exceed $2.99). However, you don’t have to be a student, a kolache connoisseur or on a budget to feast on these pillowy crafts of baking prowess. Kolache Haven has an assortment of handcrafted pastries, but kolache wouldn’t be in the name of it wasn’t what they made best. They allow their dough to rise a total of three times for maximum fluffiness. If we’re talking sweets, there is nothing better than their coconut kolache ($1.09). If we’re talking meats (or more specifically, klobasneks), their Hickory-Smoked Sausage Armadillo ($4.25) is the way to go. It's a large, hickory-smoked sausage wrapped in their seasoned house-made dough. The only downside to Kolache Haven is their sweet kolaches are available only on the weekends and by special order, according to their website. So if you’re a procrastinating college student (or a procrastinating anyone), you should set several reminders to call ahead for your weekday kolache cravings.
Kenner’s Kolache Bakery
2812 S. Cooper St., ArlingtonOwner David Kenner was selling commercial kitchen equipment in the '80s when he met a guy who was opening kolache shops in Fort Worth and Arlington. The Arlington storefront was not taking off like the one in Fort Worth, Kenner says. The original owner was disenfranchised, but Kenner knew growth was coming to Arlington, so he bought the place.
For a long time, Kenner’s sold the traditional stuff: sweet kolaches with a variety of fruit spreads and little klobasneks with cheese. One day, a customer came in asking if they could make a bunch of klobasneks twice the original size for an upcoming rodeo. Their 1-ounce, all-beef Eckrich Breakfast Smoked Sausage Rolls, formally known as Rode Sausage Kolaches ($1.49, $14.95 for a dozen) were born. While their best seller is the cream cheese kolache, Kenner’s also makes Bavarian cream kolaches ($1.18, $11.95 for a dozen).
