Looks like Sheetz has a new competitor | Buc-ee’s coming to Orange County (Charlotte: apartment complex, chapel)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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You are right about the Texas version being basically a pig in a blanket - made with kolache dough. If you travel to more Chech/German areas of the state you will find kolaches made with fruits and such. Our favorite are the sausage type with cheese and jalapenos. Fruit kolaches are yummy too.
Thanks Pierre for the heads up on Carol's Kitchen. We will have to check it out and do a taste test!
I would love a good place to get Kolaches. The owners of our favorite local donut place came from Texas and they have said that there is a special flour for Kolaches and they are not able to get it here. Not sure how true that is, but that is what they told us.
I've never heard that, and my grandmother's recipe calls for regular wheat flour. They are very time intensive though, so that could be the problem. The dough has to rise 3 times.
I'm from an area of Texas which had a lot of Czech/Polish immigrants. My uncle, grandmother, and all the old folks still actually spoke Czech (and English), though most were born in the U.S. I grew up with homemade kolaches. Our traditional fillings were prune, apricot, cottage cheese, and poppy seed. Sausage "pigs in a blanket" were also popular for breakfast. I have my grandmother's hand-written recipe. I made a few batches before my family was diagnosed with Celiac disease. It took me a few tries to get it right because of the dough having to rise, and you can't overwork it. (I had no experience with bread baking.) Most retail establishments take shortcuts, and I never found any that were just right. The good ones always came from somebody's home kitchen where they were made the old way as an on-demand side business. But, I understand that different regions have different ways.
I actually found a gluten-free recipe for kolache dough, but I haven't had the courage to try it....
We always stop at Buc-ee's on our way to and from family in Texas. My nephew works at one. They are impressive.
I like Sheetz but I really wish we had WaWa instead. Their subs are soo much better than what you can get at Sheetz.
Perhaps Wawa could enter the Triangle region as an expansion from Virginia. But they may not go much further past Greensboro because they do not enter QuikTrip territory, and QT already has an established presence in the Charlotte market, extending south to Greenville-Spartanburg and Atlanta. Then Wawa jumps down to Florida.
They do have a big Buc-ee's planned for Anderson, SC about midway between Greenville, SC and Atlanta along I-85.
When I would drive back home from college along I-85 from the Triangle to Atlanta, the ~halfway point was just over the SC border, and there was a combo Stuckey’s/Dairy Queen where our usual carpool would stop for lunch and gas. Decent food, great desserts, and the weirdest Knick knacks—lots of pecans, bandanas, and Confederate flags. It’s now an adult “superstore.” https://goo.gl/maps/VpNhnjVj7CABiZnXA I’m guessing the Knick knacks are a bit more exotic...
These days, we stop at a more family-friendly exit one mile back. There is a McDonald’s with an indoor playroom, a Hardee’s with a great mountain view, and a gas station that is at least reasonably clean. Could still love a Buc-ees there.
If they want to build it, they should go west to Alamance County. Orange County is notoriously anti development
The specific site was already entitled for about 2,000,000 sf of development, but not for a gas station/travel plaza. They had asked for them to come up with a list of voluntary items including a smaller sign (24 instead of 80 feet), a promise of 10 electric car chargers (which would be money makers since people charging are going to be there for 30 minutes minimum) and had asked that they consider reducing the number of pumps. Buc ees could have come back with none and forced a vote or come back with all and probably had a 50/50 or better shot of approval. They chose to pack it in.
You can debate about some of the statements that $15/hour and 3 weeks vacation were not jobs befitting the community, but you can’t argue that the county is against development at this site.
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