Mardi Gras season is nearly here, and you can almost smell the pączki at Milwaukee-area bakeries in anticipation of Tuesday, Feb. 17, aka Fat Tuesday.
If you don’t know what Mardi Gras is, here’s a quick lesson: Once a pre-Christian fertility and spring festival, it was later adapted by European Christians as a way to have one final indulgent feast before the Lent season begins – and Fat Tuesday marks its culmination for a final day of indulgence.
In Milwaukee, Fat Tuesday comes with a hefty serving of the Polish dessert known as pączki, pronounced PAWNCH-key (singular: paczek). If you’ve never tried these delicious fried donuts before, it’s not too late to stop in at one of these Milwaukee bakeries to grab one for yourself.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
1. Scordato Bakery Inc.
5011 W. HOWARD AVE. | 414-327-8555
Scordato Bakery will have five different flavors to choose from: prune, raspberry, lemon, Bavarian and apricot for $2 each, along with cannoli cream filling and Nutella pączki for $3 each. They will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fat Tuesday and recommend placing orders ahead on the phone.
2. National Bakery and Deli
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
The National Bakery will offer traditional pączki on Fat Tuesday. All locations will have four flavors to choose from: prune, raspberry, lemon or raisin, at $24.00 per dozen.
3. Aggies Bakery and Cake Shop
7328 W. GREENFIELD AVE.
Aggie’s is offering up eight different flavors of paczski – try one of each or get an even dozen, and add a King Cake to round it out. They are currently taking online orders for Fat Tuesday and will be serving up fresh pączki and King Cake on the day of. Pickup and delivery is available from Feb 3-25 during their regular hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m.-5 p.m and Sunday 7 a.m.-1 p.m.
4. Grebes Bakery
5132 W. LINCOLN AVE. | (414) 543-7000
Grebe’s always has pączki ready for Fat Tuesday – this year’s flavors are cinnamon sugar-coated apple, chocolate-iced buttercream, chocolate-iced custard, white-iced raspberry, sugar-coated raspberry, glazed blueberry, glazed sweet cheese, powdered sugar lemon and glazed prune, as well as a brand-new glazed apricot pączki. Pączki’s go for $2.25 each or $25 per bakers dozen (13). Orders are available for pick-up between Feb 13-17, and must be placed 48 hours in advance.
5. Cranky Al’s
6901 W. NORTH AVE. | (414) 258-5282
Despite the name, Cranky Al’s is always excited to serve up pączki. They’ll have raspberry, prune, Bavarian cream, lemon and (brand-new) mint chocolate chip and cannoli flavors. Pączki are $3 each or $33 per assorted dozen (does not include prune).
Pre-orders can be placed through Feb. 15, or you can pick one up yourself on Fat Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
6. Donut Monster
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Donut Monster will have vanilla cream, pear and raspberry flavors available on Fat Tuesday, at six for $22 or $40 for a dozen. You can also preorder online until 11:59 p.m on Feb 13, with pickup on Fat Tuesday (the store will be open only for pączki pickup).
7. Peter Sciortino Bakery
1101 E. BRADY ST.
Peter Sciortino’s Bakery may be famous for their Italian goodies, but on Fat Tuesday, they go Polish. You can choose from eight different flavors: apple, apricot, Bavarian cream, blueberry, lemon, prune, raspberry and strawberry. You can purchase in-store from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fat Tuesday, or order online for pickup on Sunday (Feb 15) or Tuesday (Feb 17) during store hours.
8. The Bake Sale
6923 W. BECHER ST. | (414) 543-4230
A full case of pączki will be available at The Bake Sale on Fat Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with flavors including lemon, raspberry, Bavarian cream, raspberry and prune. You can get them in packs of four (one of each) for $9, packs of eight (two each) for $18; or by the dozen (three of each) for $27.
9. Gather Bakehouse
1100 E. OKLAHOMA AVE. | (414) 231-9398
Gather round for some pączki this Fat Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gather Bakehouse. Flavors include custard, raspberry, lemon, apple, cherry, prune, and rosehip. There are no pre-orders, so walk-ins are encouraged.
10. Hooch MKE
3040 S. DELAWARE AVE.
If you’re looking for a vegan option, look no further than Hooch MKE. They’ll be serving up baked plant-based pączki from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fat Tuesday, and will be restocking through the day.
11. Wioletta’s Polish Market
3955 S. HOWELL AVE.
For an authentic Polish experience, head on down to Wioletta’s Polish Market. While they serve up pączki year round, Fat Tuesday often features special flavors that aren’t available otherwise. On Fat Thursday, the last week before Lent, Wioletta’s had prune, Bavarian cream, apricot, strawberry, raspberry and rose – expect Tuesday’s flavors to be even better. They open at 7 a.m. and it’s best to be there bright and early!
