In New Orleans, Fat Tuesday means Mardi Gras and drinking, beads and an all out party before Lent begins. In Cleveland, and other parts of the Midwest, we eat paczkis, and we eat a ton of them. These Polish stuffed donuts are divine and if you haven’t had them, you’re certainly missing out.

Goldie’s Donuts and Bakery 5211 Mayfield Rd., Lyndhurst Goldie’s, one of the newest additions to the greater Cleveland donut scene, will be serving up these delicious Polish treats. So head to Mayfield Heights, and grab an apple fritter too. They open at 6 a.m daily, close at 6 p.m on Sunday, 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and stay open until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Photo via @GoldiesDonuts/Instagram
Stan’s Northfield Bakery 9395 Olde 8 Rd., Northfield Founded in 1961, this place is the definition of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” In addition to the paczki, try their kolacky or their Lady Locks, a tender flakey horn filled with old-fashioned marshmallow meringue and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Try their strawberry cassata paczki. They’re open on Paczki Day from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. They have king cakes as well. Photo via @StansNorthfieldBakery/Instagram
Davis Bakery and Deli Multiple Locations With Wax and Mandel and Pincus bakeries closing in recent years, Davis Bakery is one of the only Jewish bakeries left in town. Davis, which opened in 1939, is known for their coconut bars, their russian tea biscuits and their chocolate chip cookies. But on Fat Tuesday, they get into the paczki game and they do it well and also have delicious king cakes. They’re open at 7 a.m. Photo via Davis Bakery/Facebook
Eating Paczki It’s a deep-fried, jam-filled, doughnut-like Polish pastry. We’re the ones who know what we’re doing by eating these. Photo via Scene Archives
Breads and Beyond 5578 State Rd., Parma Paczki Day is a pretty big deal at this Parma bakery, where they serve up to 11 flavors, including cherry, custard, poppy seed, lemon and more. They also have delicious king cakes. They’ll be open their normal hours on Tuesday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Photo via Breads and Beyond/Facebook Credit: Scene Archives
Samosky’s Home Bakery 6379 Pearl Rd., Parma Heights Out in Parma Heights, Samosky’s has been baking pastries since 1910! Like many other bakeries in Cleveland, they’re known for their Central/Eastern European baked goods like paczki, kolachy and kuchen. They’re open on Paczki Day, Tuesday the 25th from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Photo via Samosky’s Home Bakery/Facebook
The Vegan Doughnut Company 14811 Detroit Ave., Lakewood In Lakewood, The Vegan Doughnut Company will be participating in Fat Tuesday with, naturally, vegan offerings. They’ll announce their menu Sunday night but it’s sure to be filled with goodies like last year’s popular king cake doughnuts. Photo via @TheVeganDoughnutCo/Instagram
Raised and Glazed 17800 Chillicothe Rd., Chagrin Falls If you’re out in Geauga County, this donut shop and bakery is the place to get your paczki on. They’ll be open from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and you don’t want to miss out on this deliciousness. Photo via Raised and Glazed/Facebook
Krakow Deli 5842 Ridge Rd., Parma Head to Parma’s Polish Village and Krakow Deli for some of the best paczki’s around. They’re open from 9 a.m to 7:30 p.m Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Satuday. Photo via @Jaromatorio/Instagram
Kiedrowski’s Bakery 2267 Cooper Foster Park Rd., Amherst Polish bakeries really are popular in Cleveland. And that’s the case with Amherst’s Kiedrowski’s Bakery, another place to get great paczkis. Photo via @KiedrowskisBakery/Instagram
Jack Frost Donuts 4960 Pearl Rd., Cleveland For one day only, this renowned donut shop will turn into a Polish bakery. This donut shop has been around 70 years so we think they know what they’re doing when it comes to baked goods. They have awesome, creative paczki flavors like the Buckeye paczki, banana split, cinnamon caramel apple, s’mores, pina colada and a bunch more. Photo via Jack Frost Donuts/Facebook
Dick’s Bakery 70 Front St., Berea Serving Berea since 1953, Dick’s maintains that old-school feel that has kept it open all these years. The kuchen, the cinnamon rolls and the chocolate chip cookies are three standouts in addition to the paczki. Hours are 6 a.m to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m to 5 p.m Saturday and closed on Sunday. Photo via @Cle_Ave/Instagram
Rudy’s Strudel Shop and Bakery 5580 Ridge Rd., Parma Paczkis and pierogies are the name of the game at this European bakery in Parma’s Polish Village. And it’s been that way since 1948. They have a ton of paczki flavors available on Fat Tuesday. They’ll open at 5 a.m. and feature DJs spinning polka music and other events throughout the day, including give-aways, food and drink, and more surprises. Photo via Rudy’s Strudel/Facebook
Colozza’s Bakery 5880 Ridge Rd., Parma When you’re located in Parma, even if you’re an Italian bakery, you still have to sell paczkis. Try the tiramisu paczki for that Italian/Polish fusion flavor that we’ve all been craving. They’ll open at 5 a.m. until all paczkis are gone. Photo via Colozza’s Bakery/Facebook
Buettner’s Bakery 704 East 185th St., Cleveland While most bakeries are visited for their sweets, the pizza bagels are the stars of the show here. But the paczkis are just as good. Buettner’s is open from 7 a.m to 1 p.m Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 12:30 on Sunday and closed on Monday. Photo via Scene Archives
Brewnuts 6501 Detroit Ave., Cleveland The award-winning Gordon Square donut shop will be serving up paczkis this year, along with hurricanes and king cake donuts for all your Mardi Gras needs. They open at 6:30 a.m. Photo via @Brewnuts/Instagram
K & K Portage Market 3364 Warren Rd., Cleveland This Cleveland bakery is a perfect place to get your paczki on. They’ll be open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Fat Tuesday. Trust us, they’re some of the best around. Photo via K & K Portage Market/Facebook
Becker’s Donuts and Bakery 22088 Lorain Rd., Fairview Park In Fairview Park, Becker’s is another donut shop that will be serving paczki’s on Fat Tuesday. Grab some of their regular donuts as well and you won’t be disappointed. They’re open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday. They also have king cakes and fabulous hot cross buns. Photo via Becker’s Donuts/Facebook
Fragapane Bakeries 28625 Lorain Rd., North Olmsted This Italian bakery has been around since 1971. While they specialize in making really creative cakes, they also have a wide variety of delicious desserts including paczki’s for Paczki Day. Photo via Fragapane Bakeries/Facebook
Bigmouth Donut Company 1418 West 29th St., Cleveland and 19265 Detroit Rd., Rocky River If you’re a donut spot that isn’t offering paczkis on Fat Tuesday, what are you even doing? Bigmouth Donuts offers gluten free paczkis in addition to ones with all the gluten. Photo via Bigmouth Donuts/Facebook
Biagio’s Donut Shop and Pizzeria 35523 Vine St., Eastlake Most of the year, we’d tell you to head to Biagio’s for their pizza and donuts. But for Fat Tuesday, paczkis take over the shop. Photo via Biagio’s/Facebook
Gentile’s Bakery, Catering and Deli 5626 Broadview Rd., Parma Gentile’s subs recently made our best sandwiches in Cleveland Yelp slideshow but they can also make a mean baked good. Check out the paczkis here, you won’t be disappointed. Photo via Gentile’s Bakery/Facebook
Donut Land 1321 Pearl Rd., Brunswick Donut Land is open 24 hours so if you’re looking for an overnight paczki, this Brunswick donut spot is your best bet. They offer mostly traditional flavors for Fat Tuesday. Photo via Donut Land/Facebook

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