Justin M.
Yelp
I first had Kolaches in Kansas City and it rocked my world. The world Kolache is a Czech word for wheels or rounds. I believe they also stuffed the sweet dough with various savory fillings! Shipley Donuts has a diverse menu with plenty to satisfy everyone in the car going through the drive through.
Shipley's Donuts is a very new establishment which is probably the reason I never see many vehicles there. That said with my kids in town, we decided to try Texas Kolaches and were we disappointed. First the good as my Bavarian crème filled bar was really tasty, soft and a great filling. My daughter got the apple fritter which was extremely tasty as well. Soft yet in spot crunchy with plenty of apple flavor, not necessarily pieces, to keep the whole pastry interesting.
After selecting the sweet, we scanned the menu for a ham, egg and cheese Kolaches. I asked the "menu of many items" and the board replied back, oh we don't do that. After eating them I think I know why. So, there aren't many options, some options that seem logical and would sell like hot cakes! (sorry for the pancake reference as a donut shop). The way they made their pastries makes me cry. It's probably the laziest way of creating them. Roll up ham, in a little cheese inside the pastry. The customer doesn't get much in the way of meat, several bites miss the meat and the cheese is pretty limited. Next the sausage and cheese kolache and it was worse. A lame hotdog inside a small cheesed pastry. I will add the dough itself is extremely flavorful with a touch of sugar I've come to expect.
As a former chef and tried Kolache's from many different states I might add a few suggestions. First make it like a traditional round. Next stuff it with chopped up items, not rolled up meat. This makes for a more satisfying experience as more of the stuffing will be in every bite. Finally more options and if the number one options like Ham, Egg, and Cheese isn't on the menu, time to fix that. Those three are like the breakfast trinity. Egg, Cheese and a meat are always popular. On and to add, when boxing a big order, separate the items. Either mark it on the lid, wrap it fancy like or and the best solution, when making the Kolaches, put a piece of the unique meat on top, so customers can easily identify their food, instead of guessing. This almost caused WW3 in the car with my two kids.
So in wrapping this up, I was underwhelmed to say the least. Now the restaurant looked clean, the people nice, the service was fast and the ingredients were tasty. However, the execution leads a lot to be desired. My return patronage will be dictated on what is the object of the visit and location. I can't see myself going out of the way to stop by here and if I did it would be for donuts only. Ultimately, if you want great donuts, try them out however if the itch is Kolaches, I suggest somewhere else.