Kolaches—the beloved Texas pastry of Czech origin—are now finally available in the District. Republic Kolache founders and Texas natives Chris Svetlik and Brian Stanford will begin selling the pillowy pastries with sweet and savory fillings at American Ice Company this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Savory kolaches will have fillings like half-smoke with sharp cheddar and Shiner beer-brined jalapeno relish, as well as chorizo with scrambled egg and sharp cheddar. (All the meats come from Meats & Foods.) Sweet flavors include vanilla bourbon peach preserves with bacon crumble and cream cheese with lemon zest, cinnamon, and toasted pecan. Not on the menu yet but coming soon: a Tex-Mex take on sag paneer with cojita "paneer" and chipotles en adobo. Sweet kolaches are $2.50 and savory are $3.50.
To drink, there will be coffee, sweet ice tea, and Topo Chico, a mineral water which has its own inexplicably crazed following in Texas. Patrons will be able to browse through copies of Texas Monthly, Lucky Peach, and Sugar & Rice (a culinary magazine focused on Texas and the Gulf coast) as they chow down.
Republic Kolache will continue its "residency" at the barbecue joint every Saturday for at least the next few months. Svetlik, who works in design, and Stanford, a lawyer for NASA, are still trying to figure out their next steps. As they grow their production capacity, they'd like to offer preorders so people could pick-up a dozen or more kolaches. They're also talking to some other restaurants about getting on their menus, and they haven't totally ruled out the possibility of a brick-and-mortar shop, although they are not currently looking for locations.
The demand has already exceeded their expectations. For the official kick-off at American Ice Company this weekend, more than 380 people have RSVPed on Facebook.
"We knew that there were a lot of people like us, which is to say Texans that grew up with this thing and miss it," Svetlik says. "It's a delicious food; it seems like a pretty easy sell to someone who maybe didn't grow up with the culture, but still, I think maybe we are taken aback just a little bit how quickly we already seem to be breaking in with non-Texans."
Republic Kolache at American Ice Co., 917 V St. NW; republic-kolache.com
Photo via Republic Kolache