While I have never been to the Czech Republic, I’ve often felt a kindred spirit with their interesting pop culture, their evocative tourism scene, and, of course, their world-shaking cuisine.
But culture has a way of traveling far beyond borders, especially when there’s pastry involved.
Born of a relatively demure European republic, I first encountered the kolache—or, to be proper about it, the koláče—at a small bakery in North Texas. It was impossibly good, the kind of pastry that haunts your fantasies long after it’s gone. But aside from that sweet introduction, I’d never really tasted any actual Czech fare.