I know we all have our favorite place to get our Paczki fix, but I have to share this one because, after trying many around town, Bridgeport Bakery really presents a consistently good paczki. Two of our favorites are the strawberry, and the cheese paczki. The dough is so light & yeasty, and the fillings are made with fresh fruit ($.95 ea.). In this case, fresh strawberries in a glaze. The other is a cheese filling that tastes like creamy, rich cheesecake. So decadant! Good thing this "phenomenon" only happenss once a year!

Bridgeport Bakery
2907 S Archer Ave
Chicago
773-523-1121 (fax:773-843-0280)

I just picked up a couple paczkis at Delightful Pastries at the French Market. Had about 10 varieties when I got in line about 1pm... sold out of the two I most had my eye on while I was waiting. Ended up getting an apricot and a rose. Saving the rose for later, but the apricot could not have been more fresh.

BTW, when I commented to the guy behind the counter about the flavors I wanted being sold out, he said they were getting another batch delivered around 2-2:30, and they're open until 7:30 for those of you who commute via Ogilvie and might want to pick some up.

I polished off two for breakfast. I am ashamed...but not too ashamed.

As usual, they were so tasty and rich with the best amount of filling; not too much that it squirts everywhere, not so little that you need a microscope to find it. Delightful Pastries is aptly named.

I usually don't like passion fruit. I've tried it in many forms and I have never found a good pastry that features this fruit until today. Cookie Monster's passion fruit filling is buttery, tart and refreshing. I hope she offers it again next year.

I have a peeve that has nothing to do with these paczkis. My office staff is full of wimps who cannot handle a full one, so there are quarters and halves in the box. If no one eats these chunks, they'll get stale. And the filling is not always dead center, so some of these pieces are devoid of filling. And whoever the twit is who sliced into three or four of them to see what filling is inside: come on. Are you six? Just take one and deal with it! It's akin to sticking your thumb into a box of chocolates.

Rant over.

Are you six? Just take one and deal with it! It's akin to sticking your thumb into a box of chocolates.

My 7 and 4 year olds did something similar with the Valentines day chocolate my husband had left for me the morning of Feb 14th. They bit into 1/2 of each chocolate and left the other half. They have good taste at least, as these were some disgusting cheap chocolates purchased last minute at CVS, as was sheepishly admitted by husband.

Back to paczki - I bought 2 for me 1 for the other members of the family from Kays in Forest Park. To me this is the best thing at that bakery and the Bavarian Cream is a mix of whipped cream and custard and is wonderful! I can't wait to eat the second one later.

LO

Tried making Krapfen/Paczkis with the rest of my dough last night and they came out much better. I made mini-donuts, glazed but no filling.

I haven't had a doughnut since this morning. Do you still have my address?

Those look great, Ms. Ingie! Glad your 2d batch worked out for you!

So sad. I picked up an assortment of paczkis from the Bridgeport Bakery, but shortly after getting them home, the slight stomach ache that had been nagging at me turned into something much worse, and I ended up being hospitalized for the rest of the day. So now I've got a baker's dozen of what I'm sure are wonderful paczkis, and haven't had a one! My husband is taking the rest to work today so I'm not tempted to go AMA and eat one. Is that the saddest thing you've heard today, or what?

I think it is. Hope you feel better soon!

Tomorrow, February 7 is Polish Paczki Day, the last Thursday before the start of Lent. This is the day that Poles get their paczki. (I know. I did not believe it either.)

Then next Tuesday, February 12 is Fat Tuesday for the Mardi Gras-ers.

Eiher way, don't forget to get your fried dough balls! Nobody will know if you go both days. But whatever you do, do NOT buy jelly doughnuts from Jewel and try to convince yourself that they are paczki!

--Joy

Last night I had one of Dobra's drunken paczkis with vanilla cream and vodka. Delicious.

Cathy2 wrote:I called Bridgeport Bakery to update their prices:

- Regular: 95 cents
- Whipped cream: $1.25

Order by Monday.

Apple
Apricot
Blueberry
Chocolate Buttercream
White buttercream
Cheese (recommended by counter staff)
Cherry
Custard (chocolate)
Custard (powdered sugar)
Lemon
Peach
Pineapple
Plain
Poppyseed
Prune
Raspberry
Strawberry (powdered sugar)
Strawberry & Whipped Cream
Whipped Cream

Bridgeport Bakery
2907 S. Archer Avenue
Chicago
773-523-1121

I called today too, and the counterperson could not have been nicer. I was blushing, she was so nice. I thought it was adorable that she was calling me 'hon' and she sounded about 20 years old.

Anyhoo, all the above flavors stand. She did not specifically suggest that you call ahead for paczkis. The prices, as I understand, are $.95 for all but the strawberry and whipped cream, which are
$1.25. She only quoted those two prices. She also said they only use fresh fruit "not the goo". Now all I have to do is try and roll out of bed at 5am. Oy.

What do you folks think is the best flavor from here?

I picked up a six pack from Delightful Pastries on Lawrence today. Still among the best in town!


fudge custard, rose, raspberry, apricot and strawberry whipped cream

My personal favorites are raspberry, strawberry, apricot, custard with chocolate frosting, and custard with powdered sugar. I also love the whipped cream or maybe its buttercream split with fresh strawberries. I would probably love a chocolate custard with powdered sugar too. Plum/prune sounds good too as does a lemon. I have not tried rose. I would put a nix on poppyseed and pinneapple. I love poppyseed but not in this. Pineapple is not my favorite other than if its fresh pineapple. Mango would be good too.

I got a pack of paczki from Delightful Pastries in Jeff Park yesterday, and we took them to our friends' house for dessert. The raspberry/chocolate jam was probably my favorite, followed by the vodka/vanilla bean. I reluctantly allowed the three kids ( Zane and our friends' two) to have some, but only after the adults had first choice. The youngest one (unwisely for him) chose a piece with rose petal jam, which I was happy to finish for him.

I have another order in for Tuesday, and since it will be Lincoln's birthday, I can drag Zane with me for the pickup, although I imagine parking won't be as easy to find as it was on Thursday. Mrs. Vinny is looking forward to the custard with chocolate fudge.

I had the best paczki that I have had in years at Heidi's in Paddock Lake, WI. I chose the cheery cheese. Instead of the usual overly sweet pie filling that you generally get, that used a tart cherry. There was a great balance between the tartness of the cherry and the sweet creaminess of the cream.

I would have bought another BUT I did go there for the pretzels ... and that was my third stop.


Heidi's Bakery
24221 75th St
Paddock Lake, WI 53168
(262) 586-8000
http://www.heidisbakery4u.com

I was passing by Cookie Monster's Delightful Pastries tonight around 6 pm and saw that they were open (usually closed on Monday). Of course I stopped. There were virtually no paczki left, but I was able to pick up some fresh strawberry with custard. Despite the late hour, the donut part was as fresh as can be, the custard was creamy and almost fluffy, with fresh ripe and tasty strawberries. Cookie Monster must be a magician - where does one find ripe and flavorful strawberries in February? It was absolutely worth every calorie. Thankfully, DH had already passed out the rest to the neighbors so that I could not be tempted to eat another.

After all the glowing reviews, I bought mine at Bridgeport Bakery. They really do deserve all the praise. They use fresh fruit! How fabulous! Damn them with their 19 choices and reasonable portion sizes...I had to have two because I couldn't decide. The pineapple is so unusual and refreshing, and the cheese had a lot of twang. The pineapple was stuffed to the gills, but since it was not the ubiquitous goo, I didn't mind. I might have to return next year (and order ahead; the line was out the door).

Pie Lady wrote:A I might have to return next year (and order ahead; the line was out the door).

I order mine to be picked up at midnight when there is no line. Since I am hardwired as a night owl, it works well for me.

Regards,

Show Us Your Paczkis - 2014 Edition

I followed a lead from Sweet Willie and made a trip to Cumberland Bakery to check out their paczkis. It was part two of the one-two punch that started out at Boston Fish Market. Once again, Sweet Willie didn't lead me astray. I thought the paczkis were quite good overall.

Cumberland Bakery Blueberry Paczki


This was good, but I'll still give the edge to Delightful Pastries when it comes to fruit fillings. On the other hand, the new flavor of orange creme was excellent and among the best pastries I've had this year. The filling was an orange flavored pastry creme, with bits of bitter orange peel mixed in. That, combined with the not to heavy dough, had me wishing I had another one for later.

Cumberland Bakery Orange Creme Paczki


Please forgive the bite taken out of this paczki. I had to shoot it this way to show the bits of orange peel embedded in the creme filling...yeah, that's it. That's my story an I'm sticking to it.

Boston Fish Market
1225 Forest Ave
Des Plaines, IL 60018
(847) 803-2100

Cumberland (Station) Bakery
36 E Northwest Hwy
Des Plaines, IL 60016
(847) 827-7810

Delightful Pastries
5927 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 545-7215

From Central Continental

Clockwise from upper left: Caramel Turtle, Lady Godiva, Red Velvet, Chocolate Lover's

Central Continental Bakery
Temporary Address: 17 W. Prospect Ave
Normally: 101 S. Main St.
Mount Prospect, IL 60056
847-870-9500
http://www.centralcontinentalbakery.com/

I love Delightful Pastries but they are so far away. So I got my paczkis at the Busy Bee bakery in Downers Grove. It was mobbed. About fifty people crowded into the tiny bakery. I managed to get a box of a half dozen. They did not disappoint. I love the chocolate custard, the powded custard and the raspberry. Many were selling out by the time I got there like the lemon and fresh strawberry. Its better to order ahead as you can pick them up in an express line they set up.

Binko wrote:For example, here's a Polish web page on "Fat Thursday," with a picture of what I consider a "properly" filled pączek. On the other hand this is just a ridiculous amount of filling..

I'm amused as I forgot I made this post and on "Fat Thursday," I found myself in Jewel promising to buy my wife some pączki. I picked up the pączki in the second link, without realizing I had made this post three years ago. I got home, tried some a pączek, and was just completely disappointed by the amount of filling. Just way, way too much jelly and the dough didn't taste like a proper pączek. Plus the literature on the box was just incorrect, claiming that the word for pączki comes from "little packages," which is just not right. "Paczki" (note the lack of a hook on the "a") does mean "packages," but "pączki" is a plural dimunitve form of the word "pąk," meaning "bud" (as in a plant.) You don't see it as much any more, but in Polish neighborhoods, you'd find various shipping storefronts advertising "packzi do polski," (i.e., packages to Poland, not jelly donuts to Poland.)

I didn't make the same mistake Fat Tuesday/Pączki Day (US). Went to my local Polish bakery, Dunajec, and got some proper pączki, rosehip and raspberry (they were out of plum ) with the more usual and sensible 1-2 tsp of filling. I know it's all what you grew up with, and de gustibus, etc., but I really, really have a distaste for the overstuffed pączki. A pączek should be about the donut itself, not the filling, and a freshly made, right-out-of-the-oil pączek, without filling but just a dusting of powdered sugar, is sublime.

Am I correct, the three "authentic" flavors are plum butter, rose hip and advocaat? I think I may be wrong about one. The only one I don't dig so far is apricot.

Prune I think is authentic. I don't know if that is the same as plum butter. I've heard about the rose too. Advocaat I think is custard. They are all good to me. Never met a paczki I did not like.

No paczski comments!? Wow Fat Tuesday really snuck up on me this year.

But you know what follows Fat Tuesday? Fast food fish sandwich season! ha ha

Bridgeport Bakery after pre-ordering yesterday and waiting for 40 minutes today to get them.

Talked to Adam at Petterino's/ Do-Rite Doughnut and they also offer them. I think I am doing that next year.

These were quite good, but the wait, after pre-ordering is dreadful.

My SO claims her place went through 50,000 paczkis last year. This is mind boggling, but perhaps a bit less so when you realize they offer them for a week.
Last year they had the same problem with a wait for pre-orders that pairs ran into. People were able to get their point, pack and run orders more quickly than it took an employee to find a pre-order amongst the jumble of boxes. She pointed that out to the (new) manager and they worked out a better system, so it was not a problem this year (yet).
So far we scored strawberry, cherry and blueberry. I hope there are more to come.

toria wrote:Prune I think is authentic. I don't know if that is the same as plum butter.

The one that is traditional is something called powidła (śliwkowe). It is analogous to Hungarian lekvár. It is not made from dried plums (i.e. prunes), but it's stewed Damson plums and sugar, what would be more properly translated as "plum butter" in English. For some reason, a lot of places seem to translate it as "prune."

Anyway, I bought three powdered-sugar-dusted paczki (rosehip, plum butter, and plain/unstuffed) at the Shop & Save on Archer and Central and they all got eaten up before I had a chance to get at them! (Luckily, I had one on Fat Thursday last week, which is the traditional "paczki day" in Poland. The Shop & Save paczki are quite good and traditional in terms of the amount of filling--not overstuffed--and the taste of the dough is not overly sweet.)

Sunset Foods had 3 types of paczki from Do-Rite Donut.