Mardi Gras is serious fun in the South–especially New Orleans and Mobile–where the Krewe fêtes are plentiful, the parades are noisy and joyful, and King Cake comes in all different flavors and varieties. In the North where you can find Polish bakeries, Mardi Gras means pączki (pronounced ponch-key). And these calorie-busting, jelly-filled doughnuts at local bakeries draw long lines.
Source: Melissa Wang via Flickr
Pączki are also enjoyed on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek), and the reason for making pączki is to use up all of the ingredients (lard, sugar, eggs, fruit) before Lent kicks in. Bridgeport Bakery on S. Archer in the South Side of Chicago has an unassuming storefront, but you’d never guess they sell tens of thousands (yes, tens of thousands) of pączki on Fat Tuesday, also known as Pączki Day. If you didn’t make it to Bridgeport Bakery this week, don’t fret. They sell four different varieties of pączki all year round.
must love biscuits 
You’ll have to go to Makowski Real Sausage on Poplar just south of Archer Avenue. And go past my late grandfather R. V. Kunka’s pharmacy at Archer and Loomis. Building was constructed about 130 years ago before the streets were raised.
Ah will do, Cliff!! I’m familiar with the Kunka pharmacy storefront. Did a Bridgeport walking tour several years ago and the modifications made to the exterior were pointed out. How cool that this pharmacy was your grandfather’s!