Euro Deli offers Polish delicacy, plum, sour cherry, prune, and custard versions, plus everyday baked magnificence
Pączki are a Buffalo thing because of the Polish immigrants who settled on the East Side in the 1900s. They pop up in February because of Fat Thursday, to use up eggs, milk, and other richness that observant Catholics abstained from as a form of religious sacrifice.
Pronounced “poonch-key,” pączki are doughnuts filled with jelly, a treat before buckling down for a month of self-denial. (The singular form is pązcek, “poonch-eck.”)
So this year, when Fat Thursday arrived, I headed for Euro Deli, 4166 Union Road, in the plaza at the northwest corner of Union and Genesee. This is the place that caught my attention during a pączki judging stint last year.
In the back of a grocery and deli dedicated to Polish and broadly Slavic groceries, a counter bears the day’s assortment of sweets.
Pączki with rose petal jam, a Polish specialty rarely spotted in Buffalo, was there on my visit. Plum, sour cherry, black raspberry, prune, and custard were also available. So I got them all. At $2.50, why not? These fruit fillings bear pieces of fruit, jams more than jellies. Rose petal jam tastes like a lazy summer afternoon to me, one bite and I want to get into a hammock in the shade.
Pączki are a rare treat at Euro Deli. Everyday baked magnificence lines the counter over the connection of smoked meats, sausages, and cheeses. Apple, cheese, and potato treats are on offer regularly.
Plus, if you need the right kind of dried mushrooms for Polish mushroom soup – or many other specific needs with a Slavic accent, Euro Deli has what you need.
4166 Union Road, Cheektowaga, 716-630-0131
Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.
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