The Kolache Cafe: Czech out this expanding Arizona bakery

• The bakery specializes in — you guessed it — kolaches, a Czech pastry that's also gained popularity in Texas.

Zoom in: A traditional kolache is made of a sweet, pillowy bread stuffed with fruit filling — like a doughier danish.

• The Texas-ified versions are savory, with egg and meat fillings.
• The Kolache Cafe makes both styles.

Best bites: I took advantage of the cafe's half-dozen special to taste test as many as my stomach could handle. They were all tasty, but a few rose to the top:

• Raspberry cheesecake: The sweet kolaches come with either just a fruit jelly center, or the jelly plus a custardy cheesecake concoction. Take my advice, always add the cheesecake to balance the sweetness of the fruit and dough.
• Sausage and gravy: Imagine a hand-held version of biscuits and gravy, but the biscuits are sweet like a Hawaiian roll.
• Cinnamon roll: The only non-kolache option on the menu is a cinnamon roll, which seemed to be made of the same pillowy dough drizzled with a not-too-sweet cream cheese icing.