NYT loves HOU
Eclectic EaDo eatery makes New York Times Best Bakeries list
Koffeteria chef-owner Vanarin Kuch.
The New York Times has once again shined its spotlight on Houston’s culinary scene. It included Koffeteria, a bakery in EaDo, on its new list of the 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now.
Interim food critic Priya Krishna hails Koffeteria for pastry chef-owner Vanarin Kuch’s creative fare that includes dishes such as beef pho kolaches, Chinese sausage breakfast tacos, and butter mochi.
“Some of Mr. Kuch’s offerings are rooted in his Cambodian American identity — he makes cornbread with the coconutty, scallion-forward flavors of Cambodian street corn — while others are odes to Houston’s multicultural makeup. But most of the fun of Koffeteria is having no idea what Mr. Kuch will do next, and eagerly awaiting his next innovation,” Krishna writes.
Open since 2019, Koffeteria has been riding high this year. It earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Bakery and a CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the Year.
The Times also recognized Austin’s Comadre Panadería. Krishna praises pastry chef Mariela Camacho’s pastries that include conchas and her signature pink cake. “Despite their saccharine appearances, not one of the desserts is overly cloying, and even the coffee drinks (Texas pecan horchata! Cranberry vanilla agua fresca!) strike the playful tone of the pastries,” she writes.
Like Koffeteria, Comadre Panadería has also been widely recognized. Comacho earned a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. She also won Pastry Chef of the Year in the 2023 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards.
Comadre Panadería and Koffeteria are the only Texas establishments to make the Times’ list. Only California and New York City, which each have three representatives, earn more recognition.
