Slovacek’s in West Texas

Slovacek’s in West Texas was quite close to Texas RV Resort, where we stayed to visit Waco.

We passed billboards for Slovacek’s that boasted “As seen on Texas Bucket List”, so we knew we had to stop there. By the way, the town is West. It is not in western Texas! The area was a haven for Czech immigrants beginning in the early 1850s.

This influx was encouraged by letters from pioneer Reverend Josef Amošt Bergmann, Immigrants from Bohemia and Moravia were searching for fertile land and freedom from mandatory military service. They found both in Central Texas and established a rich cultural footprint in the area.

Slovacek’s in West, Texas is so much more than a rest stop! Locals and tourists alike come to Slovacek’s to fuel up in more ways than one. Yes, it’s a gas station. But it’s also a unique place to shop, A place where you can get an authentic taste of real Texas Czech flavor.

The bakery offers up 37 types of kolaches and other mouth watering pastries. There’s also a deli, a meat market that sells their famous sausages and gifts galore. You will even find a beer cave that is  always kept at a cool 32 degrees. This is where you can find a wide variety of imported beers and even some microbrews.

What’s also nice is that you can pick your favorite food, and then relax in their dining room or go outside outside to enjoy the weather while your fido plays in the dog park.

We stopped the first time because their billboard drew us in. But we returned almost daily to stock up on their fabulous sausages and a treat we discovered by accident.

A pair of customers were debating on which of the jerky spreads, the plain or jalapeño. The woman behind the counter heard them and asked if they’d like a taste of each to help them decide. So we asked for tastes as well. The plain jerky spread was delicious but, surprisingly, the one with the jalapeños had no kick what so ever.

Needless to say we bought a small container of the plain jerky spread. It was gone in one day! We went back and bought the one pound container the very next day. And again and again. Before we left the area we bought two containers.

After leaving Texas, we were really craving that yummy spread. So I began thinking of what could possibly have been in the spread. After much delicious testing I finally perfected it!

It’s so simple, really. I finely chopped 2 ounces of plain jerky in the food processor and mixed it with 2 (8 ounce) packages of Philly Cream Cheese that I let soften for at least an hour at room temperature, a few shakes of Jane’s Crazy Salt and a tablespoon or two of buttermilk. Now we can enjoy the cravable spread on crackers whenever we want.

But we will need to return to Slovacek’s in West Texas for more of their unbelievably good sausages. They are the best we’ve ever tasted!!!