After yesterday’s post, I had a flood of people (exactly two) ask me for updates about my paczki adventure, so obviously I’m going to give an update.
A few weeks ago I spent a good Sunday walking around Lincoln Square and came across Gene’s Sausage shop and deli that had a sign about pre-ordering paczki for this year’s Fat Tuesday. Thinking about the logistics of working in the Loop on a weekday and being able to travel during the evening and make it to a store before it closes, I figured that getting my paczki fix from this place was my best bet since it’s right off the Brown Line and I also live off the Brown Line.
Obviously I know that the best paczki are going to come from a deli that isn’t listed on Google and that my mom knows about, but I don’t have a car and I’m working with what I got, and as far as northside places, this seemed like they knew what they were doing. And I was so right. At $2.49 a piece it seemed a little pricey than what I’m used to (but I don’t remember ever paying for a paczek with my own money so this might be the correct price), but they were still worth it. I got mostly traditional flavors but they also offered strawberries and cream, one that seemed like it would be good so I got two of those.
The first one I tried was the strawberries and cream since it probably needed to be eaten the day of purchase. I’m a pretty big fan of strawberries and cream in general and I really applaud Gene’s for making some bomb-ass cream. That being said, while it was good as a regular donut, it didn’t feel like much of a paczek. In a paczek, the dough is really the star of the show—not the filling—and the filling in this one really took over. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s just not what I’m looking for on Paczki Day.
This morning I tried a rose one, and it really was what dreams are made of. Everything about it reminded me of something I’d eat in Poland. There was just a tiny bit of powdered sugar on it that kind of melted into regular sugar. Not a lot, just a little bit. It was round and doughy, and the dough really fucking shone through. In the center I got lucky and got a big old pocket of rose jam—my absolute favorite flavor of jam.
Overall, I think that the traditional paczki that I got at Gene’s are about as good as I could possibly get in my general area of living. It’s pretty close to the best paczki I’ve ever had, which is saying a lot because that was in actual Poland. They’re still selling them today, so if you’re in Lincoln Square I would highly recommend giving them a visit and getting a fluffy donut for yourself.
I love you for giving the people what they wanted with an update. Myself and that second person appreciate you!