"In parts of Texas, kolaches are similar to doughnuts or bagels, Brooklyn Kolache owner Autumn Stanford explains. Customers can find them at gas stations, boutique bakeries, and even as breakfast items at schools in Houston. But here in New York, the jam- and sweet cheese-filled pastries have been slower to catch on. Since opening the first location of Brooklyn Kolache in Bed-Stuy nine years ago, a handful of cafes have started to sell the Czech-Tex invention, but primarily in Brooklyn. Now Manhattan is getting a kolache bakery to a call its own, a walk-up counter from Brooklyn Kolache with plans to serve roughly 15 of the pastries daily, along with coffee from local roaster Kitten. There’s a few tables and chairs out front, but Stanford recommends eating her pastries in nearby Washington Square Park." - Luke Fortney