Yeasted, deep-fried Polish jelly doughnuts eaten on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins; rich, eggy and slightly boozy. Cleveland's Slavic parishes line up at dawn for the once-a-year batch.

Polish parishes brought paczki to Slavic Village and Parma from the 1880s, eating them on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday to use up rich pre-Lenten ingredients (eggs, butter, sugar). Presti's, Corbo's and Rudy's Strudel still queue around the block on Fat Tuesday every February. Rudy's in Parma is the most-photographed line in Cuyahoga County; Colossal Cupcakes and a handful of newer bakers run year-round versions for the homesick.

3 editor picks for Paczki in Cleveland, ranked by editorial score. All Cleveland signature dishes · Paczki across every city.

Also in: Gdańsk, Buffalo, Detroit.

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