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WEST UNIVERSIT Y PL ACE | $1,349,000 OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. 18 I n the few weeks since pastry chef Vanarin Kuch and his partner, front-of-house manager Andreas Hager, opened EaDo pastry and coffee shop Koffeteria, fans can't get enough of the best-selling Hot Cheeto croissant ($6). Here, the cheesy, turn- your-fingers-orange snack is taken to new heights. Kuch's leavened, butter- rich croissant dough is layered with both hot and original Cheetos crushed into the base, stuffed with nacho cheese, and topped with still more cheesy crumbs. If they're sold out of the Cheetos phenom, try a freshly baked pistachio baklava croissant, drenched with lemon syrup and topped with chopped pistachios ($6). The menu rotates, but you might find a tres leches flan croissant soaked in the three-milk custard ($5); or Kuch's take on the Cronut, a deep-fried croissant- donut made with Biscoff cookie spread, cranberries, and orange ($4). Pastry chef Kuch spent five years honing his craft in the kitchens of Boulud Sud and Gotham Bar & Grill in New York City. While in New York, he also met his husband, Hager (now a director with Houston Grand Opera). They moved back to Houston, to the East Downtown/Second Ward area where Kuch's Cambodian family has historically opened small businesses. Scouring estate sales and thrift haunts, they created a cool space with a sustainable vibe. Aside from the aforementioned croissants, Koffeteria offers delightful biscotti, sesame shortbread, pecan sticky buns, biscuits, and scones. For lunch, savory options include beef pho kolache, Hot Cheeto grilled cheese, and carbonara and ratatouille quiches (weekends only). Koffeteria is open Wednesday to Sunday, 8 am to 5 pm; no cash accepted. Koffeteria, 1110 Hutchins St., koffeteria.com. Laurann Claridge S pring has sprung, and there's no surer sign than the new round of public art sprouting up along Heights Boulevard. The Easter bunny must be on high alert: A giant concrete- and-steel cabbage is among the eight new sculptures dotting the esplanade, in the seventh iteration of the wildly popular "True North" installations. The mammoth vegetable is the creation of MFAH Core Fellow Bill Davenport of Bill's Junk fame, who joins other Texas artists including Art Guy Jack Massing (a wry take on a weather vane, with oil derrick, wrench, and gargantuan No. 2 pencil), Glassell School director Joseph Havel (the ghostly bronze O n H i s t o r y ) , Vincent Fink, Jack Gron, L e t i c i a R. Bajuyo, the late Bob "Daddy-O" Wade (an ode to roadside architecture, El Gallo Monument) and Dallas duo Sherry Owens and Art Shirer (whose mammoth crape myrtle Kitchen Sink is another showstopper). Linda and Simon Eyles, Kelly Simmons, and Chris Silkwood co-curated this round; Gus Kopriva stepped up as engineering/project consultant. Note: Most artworks are available for acquisition — Davenport's Big Cabbage can be yours for $6,000 plus a $500 moving fee; a percentage of sales support future "True North" exhibitions. "True North 2020," through December 15, houstonheights. org. Catherine D. Anspon CABBAGE CAPER IN THE HEIGHTS KOFFEE TALK COURTESY THE ARTIST Bill Davenport's Big Cabbage, 2020, on Heights Boulevard Passion-fruit Basque tart