Why we love the decadent fried dough brought to Cleveland from Polish immigrants.
Come the dawn of the Lenten season, when Fat Tuesday is upon us and the prospect of a solid month-plus without sweets stretches for what feels like an eternity, nothing feels quite as decadent as a paczki. The circles of enriched dough, deep-fried until golden-brown and emblazoned with a distinctive light-colored ring around the center, are often filled with fruit jellies or dusted with sugar. They’re sweet on the tongue, heavy in the stomach and make you feel warmer than a babushka’s hug. Paczki were brought to Cleveland by Polish immigrants, and remain so popular among Clevelanders that the Dyngus Day lines at paczki-mongers, such as Rudy’s Strudel, Breads and Beyond and Seven Roses Polish Deli, still stretch out the door.
We stepped into the light and the sounds of summer as the CMA's outdoor terrace and atrium transformed into one of the city's hottest solstice celebrations. Photos by Matthew Chasney
