Trolling: Pepperoni Pizza Kolache, Soboru Bread, And Einstein Bagels -- A Tour Down Rte 40

Pepperoni pizza kolache

Adam is one of the weekend warriors who run and bike on Rte 40 and Rte 144 west from Ellicott City.  He offered a guest post with his perfect adventure route to get his carbophile on.  This is a "trolling" post about places to catch a snack on the go during a run or to recover afterwards -- options west of the Rte 29 split.

• If you’ve never been to Kolache Kreations than you are missing out. Not only do they have hand-dipped Hershey’s ice cream in indulgent flavors like Oatmeal Raisin Cookie (not to mention soft-serve, sundaes, and shakes), but their baked goods are enough to make you consider moving to Texas and the heart of their namesake pastry.  Kolaches aren’t just for breakfast either. I recently picked up their new pepperoni pizza kolache.  Man, this thing is good.  The goo factor on the mozzarella is the stuff New York pizza places aim to achieve, while the kick of the thick pepperoni slices and sweet sauce just come together classically within the sweet, doughy pastry.  Think a Hot Pocket that actually tastes good.  Like really good.

• If you’re more inclined for something crunchy rather than gooey, just head a quarter mile down the road to Bon Appetit Bakery. I might not be able to pronounce half the baked goods, but I recently discovered soboru bread.  For just a buck, you can get these spongy and rich sweet rolls with a variety of flavor combinations.  Try the one with a peanut topping.  The taste is rich and sweet and bright, with notes of butter and cream.  Yet there’s a surprisingly airy nature within the dough, and the peanut topping provides plenty of textural contrast.  In an odd way, it reminds me of a Marco Polo bagel from Wegmans.

• Speaking of bagels, I really don’t think there’s a better place in Howard County for bagels than Einstein Brothers on Route 40.  Sure it’s a chain, but so what?  Dennis, one of the mangers, is a great guy who has been keeping people coming back for years (along with the bottomless coffee and iced coffee!)  It’s a great place to grab breakfast or lunch on summer days now that they have a shaded patio space.  I’m partial to the cinnamon sugar bagel for a post run treat.  It’s got all the sweet cinnamon taste of a donut, but that addictive and guilty pleasure buttery taste to glaze it over.  So good, you won’t even need one of there signature schmears!

Trolling on Tuesday is my attempt at a series where readers would share three things with other HowChow readers -- favorite restaurant dishes, food to buy, food experiences, etc. Click here for all the Trolling posts. Click here for the explanation and the rules. Anyone can submit.

Caramel Corn at Kolache Kreations

Caramel corn can be as simple as Cracker Jacks, but you could pick up a Technicolor sweet at Kolache Kreations in Ellicott City.

It's high-end caramel corn.  That means no peanuts.  Just crisp popcorn and a buttery, sweet coating.  It's $5, so it's not cheap.  But it's special.  The basic caramel was buttery and sweet.  Then, there are child-friendly versions with fruit flavors and even a mixed bag that looks like colored toys.

Kolache Kreations in Ellicott City

New bakeries are popping up along the western run of Rte 40 in Ellicott City, and Treetop Tom turned me onto one hoping to import the kolache from Texas to our area.

I had already been thinking about a trip to the new Bon Appetit when Tom emailed me a photo and a report about Kolache Kreations:

A kolache (also known as kolacky, kolach or kolace and don't even get started on how it's supposed to be pronounced: Ko-LATCH, Ko-LAHTCH-see, Ko-LOCK-eh etc., ad infinitum) is a Czech pastry consisting of a light bread roll/biscuit hybrid either topped with fruit and sweets (apple, cherry, cream cheese etc.) or surrounding a sausage/pepper filling like a miniature pepperoni roll. They are especially popular in Texas, Oklahoma and parts of the midwest where eastern European families settled. 

I had read about them, but until this last week had never tried them. A young couple (Ileana Fernandez and her husband, whose name I didn't catch) from Texas have opened a small bakery specializing in the toothsome treats on Frederick Road at the old consignment shop at Kiwanis-Wallas fields in Ellicott City. They also sell other confections including cinnamon rolls, cakes by the slice, coffee, bubble teas, smoothies and ice cream. 

The kolaches are much denser than an ordinary flaky danish and not as sweet, and still warm from the oven on a Saturday morning they are a little round bite of heaven (they also reheat well in the microwave). If you're a hungry expatriate Texan or just a lover of good baked goods I heartily recommend this place. 

Sunday morning I rushed out to confirm Tom's report.  Kolache Kreations is a small building about a half-block off Rte 40.  In one room, they have set up a casual bakery.  In the other, they're selling a mix of jewelry, candles, toys and other gift items.  They even have a heater on the porch so you could warm yourself with coffee and a treat on a brisk day.

The kolaches are definitely worth a wait on the porch right out of the oven.  They're a light white dough with yeasty bite.  So yeasty that the woman who ordered before me asked if there was beer in the batter.  No beer.  It's all yeast, and that flavor went great with the sausage stuffed in the savory kolache that I ordered.  I'm down on cheese in breakfast sandwiches.  The Kolache kolache overflows with cheese, which would work for people don't want breakfast sandwiches limited to "egg and bacon on a roll."

Next time, I'll go sweet.  Tom wrote that the fruit-topped kolache were delicious and even reheated well. The blueberry ones looked luscious, and they were right out of the oven on Sunday morning.  I only passed because I had already eaten a red bean donut at Bon Appetit.  Kolache Kreations had other breakfast pastries, along with bubble teas and ice cream.  So they'll be cozy in this season, then refreshing when the heat returns.  Please let the heat return one day.

(Update:  See the comments below about the many varieties -- and about special orders.)

Kolache Kreations 
10455 Frederick Road 
Ellicott City, MD 21042 
410-988-3193

NEAR: Kolache Kreations is just off Rte 40 west of Bethany Lane.  Frederick Road intersects with Rte 40 twice, so there are actually two traffic lights where you can turn onto Frederick Road.  Kolache sits just north of the western intersection.  It's in sight from the turn lane if you're coming west from Rte 29.