Hruska's for Czech Kolaches - Ellinger, TX

​Lots of Czech Texans

There are nearly 200,000 Texans with Czech Heritage.

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So that's why I needed to get some Czech food on the blog...  And Czech bakeries are in abundance, especially in the Hill Country of Texas...   And since we pass Hruska's on Hwy 71 driving from Houston to Austin about 30 times a year, why not stop and choose from 16 varieties?

First a Store

Hruska's today, is part gas station and part food/gift shop. But the family biz began as a store. The Hruska family has been in  the business since 1912. This is a mural in the newly remodeled (3,000 sq ft larger) shop that sits next to the gas station.  I wish it still looked like it did in the 1930's or 60's. ​

In the 1960's kolaches were made in the home of Adolphine Krenek who used her Czech family recipe as well as dairy from her livestock and poppy seeds from her garden.  (the "old timers" still love the poppy seed kolaches best!)

​Modern Hruska's

​Today Hruska's is a busy place!   It seems every car on Hwy 71 stops for gas or food or to browse at the ever growing gift shop...filled with everything from Texas doodads to scrapbooking materials. 

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The gift shop is in fact so spread out that  people browse themselves right into the large welcoming restrooms (also filled with sale items) It is a bizarre setup and more than once a man has wandered into the ladies room in a confused state!

​​Visiting with Mary

This is Mary. She has worked at Hruska's for 20 years.  There have been lots of changes in this 100 year business, but even in 20 years Mary has seen quite a few.  She used to help make the kolaches when they were hand scooped. ​

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She helped make them across the road in a big house, but regulations changed that.  She used to help grind the seeds in the popular poppy seed kolaches.  Those seeds came from Adolphine's garden, and were much tastier than the seeds they purchase for baking today.

16 Kinds
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​Here are just some of the 16 varieties!  

Mary likes the cream cheese best.  Of course the meat and cheese  filled kolaches are a big hit.

​The Kolache House?
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​Right across Hwy 71 is this old house.  I'm guessing this is the home Mary was pointing towards when she mentioned making kolaches.   

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It's kind of fun to imagine this old farm with dairy cows and poppies in the garden.  Even Teri, who owns Hruska's now, started helping make kolaches when she was 11.  It was her great grandfather who opened up the first Hruska's in 1912.

Poppyseeds
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​These are not tiny bugs nibbling at the corner of my kolache.  This is  gooey poppy seed paste, oozing out of the center of my kolache.

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That's a lot of poppy seed!  And evidently eating poppy seeds can lead to a positive drug test.   Hmmm.  That got me wondering about the poppies that grow in neighborhood gardens... 

​And I learned?

And since I now try to make some kind of discovery from every dining adventure, I took this whole poppy thing a bit too far.   Since I was in the passenger seat as we traveled Hwy 71, I spent 90 minutes googling on the iphone to find out why we can grow poppies in our yards if they can create opium.  Well I won't go into the details of all I learned, but there is a ridiculously long article about  poppies and opium and... "One Gardener's Encounter with the War on Drugs"    
http://www.wesjones.com/pollan1.htm    Enjoy?