Kolaches at Some Valero Gas Stations

[VaderSS]

One of the things I really missed from living in Texas are Kolaches. I'm talking the "Tex-Czech" kind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolache

I found kolaches at the Valero gas station at 1925 2nd St
Benicia, CA 94510

I was told that all corporate Valero stations with a bakery have kolaches.

They have the type that have meat filings, with sausage, ham, or bacon, also with cheese and peppers. They do not have the fruit type.

[Melanie Wong]

Are they good? I've tried twice to get some at the Seaside location, where they told me they bake every morning. Here's my post on the Calif board.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/815156#7313642

Sounds like they might be close to what you've had in Texas, since that's where the company is based.

Crixa in Berkeley usually bakes kolachy's on Tuesdays though these are probably closer to the European original. I've not had one of these either.
http://www.crixacakes.com/archives/buns_and_sweet_rolls/000179apricot_and_custard_.html
http://www.csnews.com/article-leverag...

[VaderSS]

Yes, they are good. I'd call them "middle of the road" for Texas, neither outstanding nor bad.

They do seem to be baked fresh each morning. The bread itself is slightly sweet, like a Hawaiian sweet roll, with a salty, slightly buttery crust. I find that, they are a bit spotty on how done they are, some times being a bit doughy inside and sometimes being bit dark on the outside, but never dry inside.

My favorite is the jalapeno sausage and cheese, with the regular sausage one right behind that, then the ham and cheese. I'm not a fan of the breakfast sausage ones, or of the ones with bacon and/or eggs, due to the lack of flavor in the bacon, and the flavor of the sausage that comes with the egg ones.

[hyperbowler]

The only Texas kolaches I've eaten were from Shipleys. They reminded me of bagel dogs, only with hawaiian roll dough and enough space inside that the hot dog bounced around. How do those compare to the Valero ones?

I had the Crixa cakes plum and something or other kolache recently, and had to google "kolache" to see which country (Texas or other) invented them first. They had a pleasant amount of structure to them and weren't as sweet and airy as a Hawaiian roll, a Chinese bun, or a Shipleys kolache.

[VaderSS]

These are similar to Shipleys, but the filling is tightly encased, so it does not move around.

[Melanie Wong]

Cool.

So, I've done a quick search for the Valero locations besides that have a Corner Store, meaning a chance that they offer kolaches in the morning. Probably still best to call ahead to check.

Corner Store #3801
12678 SAN PABLO AVE
RICHMOND , CA 94805-1408
[phone]

Valero Corner Store #3805
2401 APPIAN WAY
PINOLE , CA 94564-2246
[phone]

Valero Corner Store #3812
4141 ALHAMBRA AVE
MARTINEZ , CA 94553-3823
[phone]

Valero Corner Store #3800
1091 MARKET PLACE
SAN RAMON , CA 94583-4773
[phone]

Corner Store #3802
890 COLEMAN AVE
SAN JOSE , CA 95110-1819
[phone]

Valero Corner Store #3804
705 SAN ANTONIO RD
PALO ALTO , CA 94303-4801
[phone]

Valero Corner Store #3727
14660 MONTEREY HWY
SAN MARTIN
MORGAN HILL , CA 95046-9547
[phone]

Valero Corner Store #3809
2278 TENNESSEE ST
VALLEJO , CA 94591-4885
[phone]

Valero Corner Store #3806
1405 ARY LANE
DIXON , CA 95620-4200
[phone]