Things to do in Southeast Texas: Rao's Bakery

You have to know your roots.

I grew up in Southeast Texas. And when I think of baked goods, even now, I think of Rao's. Rao's is a Southeast-Texas area family-owned business that serves up the most delicious sweets in all the land. Seriously, if I could marry a Rao's cake, I would do it. 

They offer coffee, pastries, gelato and some other savory items like sandwiches and soups. It's a European-style cafe. 

A look at some of the pastries

A closer look at some of the pastries. I know that's what you really came for. P.S. - the pink triangular cake slice partially obscured by condensation in the center is my favorite. It's a strawberry cream cheese cake. Yum. 

Everything on the menu is good, but the pastries are my favorite. I usually have a Rao's cake for my birthday. They do a mean Italian Cream Cheese cake. 

Another favorite is the Voodoo Latte, which I order frozen. I'm not sure what's in it, but I can tell you that it's only served around Mardi Gras and that Bananas Foster syrup is a component. It is incredibly good. 

And speaking of coffee, they carry the famous Kopi Luwak coffee. It's made from civet poop. That's right. Poop coffee. Those words sound so unholy. It's about $9.00 a cup. I haven't tried it; coffee critics rate it a novelty that interests people based on its story and not on flavor. I maintain that the best coffee I ever had came from the Magnolia Pancake Haus. But I digress. 

A look at the gelato

They also serve gelato, an Italian ice cream. It's good, comes in unique flavors, and it's apparently healthier than American ice cream according to a sticker on the side of the case (I always thought it was unhealthier — my grandmother always said it had higher levels of sugar than American ice cream). My favorite flavor is stracciatella, which is a creamy vanilla flavor infused with flakes of chocolate. It gets its name from the little chocolate shreds. "Stracciatelle" means "little rags," or something like it. I wish I could offer a better translation, but all my Italian is colloquial. 

With locations in Beaumont, Mid-County, Houston and more, it's definitely worth a visit if you're stopping in Southeast Texas. 

(One thought: it's really dark inside. There are these neat things called light fixtures that could fix that in a jiffy. Food for thought.)