Outside of Texas, every time I mention the word "kolache", no one knows what I'm talking about. They act as if I've just sprouted two extra heads..."kowh-lahch-ee?", they ask. This must change! let's make kolaches a nationwide phenomenon, yes?

There's a town between Dallas and Austin called West, Texas. Those of you outside of Texas probably know it best from the fertilizer plant explosion last year, though I doubt the residents of West are very keen on having their claim to fame be a tragic accident. I know them best as the home of Czech Stop, the place from which I get a dozen kolaches when passing through on I-35. Their kolaches are so deliciously tender and yeasty. The best. They also hold Westfest every year which is a Czech polka festival that I had the pleasure of attending my junior year of college when me and a few friends drove in from Austin for a day of merriment, polka, and Elvis impersonations. Anywhoo, the point is that West (besides being an awesome town), has a huge Czech population, and they are the ones who brought kolaches from across the Atlantic.