While some in Chicago will celebrate Fat Tuesday with King Cake and gumbo, many will mark the day by sinking their teeth into the soft and sweet Polish dessert known as paczki.
Though the popular polish pastry – pronounced “puhnch-kee” -- may look like a traditional American doughnut, there are key differences in their ingredient lists.
"A doughnut has water, salt, sugar, yeast. Paczek has eggs, yolks, lemon oil, milk, butter, and lots of eggs," Dobra Bielinski of Delightful Pastries in Portage Park said.
Dozens of hungry customers lined up outside her bakery last year early to get their hands on a paczki.
Bielinski also noted that paczki has only a thin glaze on top, unlike the thick frosting found on some doughnuts.
"We eat it for the dough as much as the filling," she said. "When you eat it, it doesn't collapse. It fluffs right back up."
The fried Polish delights date back to the 1700s, when people would traditionally use up foods like lard and sugar to ensure they wouldn't be wasted during Lent, a 40-day period of fasting in Christianity.
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The paczki tradition quickly expanded to Chicago and other communities where a large number of Polish people settled during the 20th century.
Now, Paczki Day is a beloved annual celebration city-wide, which will be celebrated on March 4 this year.
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Looking to treat yourself? Here’s where you can find the polish delicacies in and around Chicago on Paczki Day:
Chicago:
- Ace Bakery, 3241 S. Halsted St.
- Alliance Bakery, 1736 W. Division St.
- Andy's Deli & Bakery Mikolajczyk Sausage Shop, 5442 N Milwaukee Ave.
- Bridgeport Bakery 2.0, 2907 S. Archer Ave.
- Big Kids, 2545 N Kedzie Blvd.
- Delightful Pastries, 5927 W. Lawrence Ave.
- Do-Rite Donuts, multiple locations at 1027 W. Addison St., 835 N. Michigan Ave., 181 N. Morgan St., 233 E. Erie St. and 50 W. Randolph St.
- Firecakes Donuts, multiple locations including 68 W. Hubbard St., 2453 N. Clark St. and 205 W. Wacker Dr.
- Kolatek's Bakery - 2445 N. Harlem Ave. and in Palatine
- Huck Finn Restaurants, Oak Lawn, South Archer and South Pulaski
- Racine Bakery, 6216 S. Archer Ave.
- Roeser's Bakery, 3216 W. North Ave.
- Smack Dab Chicago, 6730 North Clark Street
- Stan's Donuts, multiple locations including 1560 N. Damen Ave., 28 E. Roosevelt Rd., 2800 N. Clark St. and 259 E. Erie St.
- Vanille Patisserie, Lincoln Park and West Loop Gate (Partnership with Benninson’s Bakery)
- "Original" Ferrara Bakery, 2210 W. Taylor St.
- Toni Patisserie and Café, Hinsdale and Loop locations
- Weber's Bakery, 7055 W. Archer Ave.
Suburbs:
- Bennison's Bakery, Evanston
- Chicago Pastry, Bloomingdale
- Deerfields Bakery, 813 Waukegan Road, Deerfield
- DeEtta's Bakery, Naperville
- Donut Den, Joliet
- Kolatek's Bakery - 2445 N. Harlem Ave. and in Palatine
- Gurnee Donuts, 4949 Grand Ave., Gurnee
- Harner's Bakery, North Aurora
- Fleckenstein's Bakery, Mokena and New Lenox
- Kirsten’s Danish Bakery, Burr Ridge
- Kuppie's Bakery, Villa Park
- Toni Patisserie and Café, Hinsdale and Loop locations
- Oak Park Bakery, 904 S. Oak Park Ave.
- Orland Park Bakery, 14850 S. LaGrange Rd., Orland Park
- Palermo Bakery, Norridge
- Wolf's Bakery, Evergreen Park
Indiana:
- Beck's Crown Bakery, Crown Point, Indiana
- Henze's Bakery, Valparaiso, Indiana
Grocery Stores
- Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets
- Deli 4 You Market
- Jewel
- Mariano's
- Meijer
- Pete's Fresh Market
- Tony's Fresh Market
