Find barbecue and brunch kolaches at Podnah's. | Podnah's It’s no secret that Portland has become an unlikely home for superlative Texas barbecue. Less recognized is another Texas export enjoying a moment here in the Rose City: the Czech-by-way-of-Texas breakfast pastry known as a kolache. In East Texas, kolaches are a breakfast staple in bakeries and donut shops, made in sweet and savory varieties. Growing up in suburban Houston, the standard sausage-and-cheese kolache was a reliable morning fuel for my youth soccer games. Like many Texans who moved out of state, I was surprised to find that asking for a kolache elsewhere elicited only a perplexed stare. So, I’m personally pleased to report that very good kolaches are on the rise in Portland, now appearing at barbecue restaurants, donut shops, pop-ups, and a dedicated bakery in Lake Oswego. In Czech, a koláč (kolach) is a pastry made from a sweet, enriched yeasted dough, baked open-faced with a sweet filling in the center, such as fruit jam or poppy seed spread. The pastries made their way to the United States with Czech immigrants, taking hold in Texas and parts of the Midwest. Koláče (kolache) is technically the plural form of the word in Czech, though Americans have turned kolache into a singular noun. Texans took that same dough and used it to enclose savory sausages, which Czechs would call a klobásník, but in Texas became more commonly considered another form of kolache. The sausage is often nestled alongside additions like cheese or jalapeno, and these meaty kolaches have become more ubiquitous than the fruit variety. The pastry has lately become a vehicle for multiculturalism and regional cuisine beyond its traditional borders. Chopped barbecue brisket is unsurprisingly popular in Texas. On a recent visit to Houston, I enjoyed the cult favorite pho kolache at Koffeeteria, filled with pho-braised beef and served with hoisin and sriracha sauces. Someday I hope to try the lobster “sea kolache” at Sacred Profane Brewing in Biddeford, Maine. The Texas-style sausage and jalapeno kolache has gone full circle back to Prague, where you can find a version at the bakery and coffee shop, Kolacherie. In Portland, you can now find Czech and Texas-style kolaches of excellent quality. Some of the newest offerings come from Texas barbecue restaurants, including recent arrival Lil’ Barbecue, sister restaurant to Austin’s acclaimed La Barbecue. There, Kit Matejka, whose family is “Czech-Texan since the 1800s,” recently added kolaches to the menu. Sweet options are offered daily, featuring cream cheese and Oregon fruit preserves such as marionberry and boysenberry. On weekends, Lil’ Barbecue brings the barbecue part of the operation into the kolaches, filling them with meats from the smoker, like their rib meat, brisket, or sausage. Any one of these Texas-sized kolaches could be a meal in itself.. Portland’s other barbecue kolache can be found just a few blocks away at the venerable Podnah’s Pit, where owner Rodney Muirhead recently added kolaches to the Sunday brunch menu. “ [Kolaches] were always something you would stop for anytime you were travelling down I-35 and passing through the tiny town of West, and you would always call friends and family to see how many you should pick up,” recalls Muirhead, alluding to traditional Texas shops Slovacek’s and the Czech Stop. His own rendition features Podnah’s smoked brisket, roasted chiles, and Oaxacan cheese, providing a mildly spicy flavor that works wonderfully with the melted cheese. He’s also hinted at bringing back his sweet kolaches, which he’s recently experimented with offering. The largest variety of kolaches is found in the Portland area’s only dedicated kolache shop, Happy Sparrow in Lake Oswego. Since Rebecca Zander bought the eatery in 2024, the shop has offered a regular selection of about a dozen kolaches, from sweet options with housemade fruit preserves, cheesecake, or Nutella, to savory kolaches like the hot link made with Zenner’s smoked sausage, cheese, and jalapenos. The last of these, with its airy, sweet dough and snappy sausage, takes me right back to mornings in Houston.  Weekends at Happy Sparrow often feature additional specials diverging further from tradition, in which you might find ingredients like marinated artichokes, baked potato, Philly cheesesteak, or, in a Pacific Northwest twist, a Seattle dog paired with cream cheese, sweet chili sauce, and caramelized onions. Kolaches are a staple in Houston donut shops, an offering now picked up by local minichain Sesame Donuts, which offers plain, cheese, and jalapeno versions that hew fairly closely to what you’d commonly find in similar shops around Houston. This being Portland, we also have a few pop-ups and community bakeries worth seeking out for a kolache experience. In the Irvington neighborhood, Origin Bakehouse by Nicole Markowitz has developed a loyal following for her creative kolaches offered every month or two on special Sunday morning bakes. Markowitz’s kolaches are, unusually, leavened with sourdough starter, part of a three-day production process.  Origin’s “tradish” is filled with sausage, chiles, and pepperjack cheese; the less traditional BEC comes with bacon, custard egg, American cheese, and everything bagel seasoning. Origin also offers seasonal sweet kolaches and adventurous rotating savory specials like kalua pork, corned beef and mash, or spiced lentils and sweet potato. Follow their Instagram page for pre-sales, which go quickly, though they also try to set aside a handful for walk-ups. On the west side of town, Sugar Spells Baking also recently added sweet kolaches to its offerings. Run by teenage baker Annabelle Schlicke, and inspired by her father missing the kolaches made by his Czech grandmother in Texas, she adapts the family recipe with housemade jams from local fruit. Her kolaches are offered for pre-sale and pick-up on her website, though she’s also popped up at area farmers’ markets. This past summer saw the arrival of savory, pig-in-a-blanket style kolache pop-up Shrug Dogs, making appearances at bars including Mayfly and the Automatic. They’re taking a winter break according to their Instagram page, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a warm weather revival as more Portlanders get to know these Czech-Texan delights. ...read more read less