Where to find smoked sausage, kraut and kolaches year-round
Labor Day weekend is when Texas celebrates together.
No other small-town event in the state draws visitors from every direction like WestFest, the annual celebration of Czech culture and kolaches in the historic Czech town of West, an hour’s drive south of Fort Worth.
WestFest is all about Czech-Tex costumes, and carnival rides, and polka bands (even a polka church service on Sunday). But there’s also country music, dominoes and plenty of Texana.
Local vendors sell kolaches, pierogies and sandwiches on homemade beer bread.
But it’s also a good opportunity to visit Picha’s Czech-American Restaurant in downtown West.
The Czech-American is the place to stop for a sausage-and-kraut platter at lunch six days a week or dinner Wednesday through Saturday nights. (It’s closed Sunday).
The Picha family serves a lean smoked sausage from Waco, Holy Smoked.
The spicy sausage comes matched with a distinctive sweet kraut. Picha’s also serves stuffed cabbage rolls and “Czech fries” with onions and peppers, and the salad bar includes homemade items like cucumber salad, pea salad and broccoli salad.
Dinners cost only $10.25, lunches $5.95. It’s an inexpensive trip for a group.
The Czech-American also draws customers for the family’s fried chicken or chicken-fried chicken, chicken-fried steaks and flatiron or ribeye steaks.
The menu includes typical cafe items such as a 1-pound hamburger steak with onions ($12.95), chicken-and-dumplings, roast pork or a smoked-sausage sandwich or Reuben.
Desserts feature meringue pies, but don’t overlook the strawberry cream-cheese cake or “Big Red” ice cream.
Picha’s is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Saturday, for lunch Monday and Tuesday.
It’s at 220 N. Main St., a half-mile east of Interstate 35; 254-826-3008.
▪ While you’re in West, try the locals’ favorites for kolaches: the Village Bakery, where kolaches first came to Texas, 113 E. Oak St., or Gerik’s Ole Czech Bakery & Deli, known for a wide variety of pastries, 511 W. Oak St.
If it’s after 6 p.m., of course, stop at Slovacek’s or the Czech Stop. But come back when you can see more of West.
This story was originally published August 22, 2018 at 9:14 PM.