Port Richmond eats: Marian’s Bakery
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Marian's Bakery has been turning out a gorgeous array of Polish baked goods on Allegheny Avenue since 1959. While the pristine, sugary-sweet-smelling bakery is not worse for the wear, the aesthetics are Eisenhower-era. Owner Ray Dabitz radiates pride when talking about the bakery's selection of Polish and American pastries. While the cinnamon rolls and cheesecakes are picture perfect, it's the swirly, chubby babka and paczki that are the stars here. The babki are eggy-sweet, hefty, round loaves just waiting to be unwrapped and pulled apart for breakfast. The paczki, doughnuts the size of softballs, are rolled in sparkly sugar and filled with your choice of cream, custard or jelly. If you feel like being authentic, ask for the prune preserves. Occasionally, you can find chrusciki in the supermarket, but those have nothing on Marian's lacy, fried, bow-tie cookies, especially after a dusting of confectioners' sugar.
Recommended dishes: Paczki, babka, chrusciki
2615 E. Allegheny Ave. • 215-634-4579 hours: Sun., 8 a.m.-1 p.m.; Tue.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Closed Mon.
