Whether in Krakow or in Queens a donut is a pączki by any other name.

Sometimes you just really need a donut. And not just any donut, but a puffy Polish pączki. Filled with jelly or cream they’re a common pre-Lenten treat. I’d be lying if I said pączki were on my mind Friday morning as my business partner and I drove around Glendale trying to find Finback Brewery.

Beer and ticket sales were our primary concern. We needed two kegs of beer and we needed them fast, for a festival the following day. This urgency didn’t keep us from stopping in our tracks when we saw a hand-written sign that read “Bake Sale.”

“You want to stop in?” we asked each other simultaneously. Once inside Northside Bakery we found all manner of breads and other goodies, including pączki in chocolate-covered, glazed, powder-sugared, and coconut varieties. They were labelled donuts, but there’s no mistaking the Polish treats. Best of all we didn’t have to wait three months get our mitts on one.

The chocolate one, dense and eggy filled with a dollop of custard was lovely. I don’t celebrate Hanukkah, but I imagine the jelly variety would work as a substitute for sufganiyot, though I can’t speak to its adherence to Jewish dietary codes.

Looking to get your paws on some pączki? Northside’s bake sale happens every Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., because you know, sometimes you just really need a doughnut.

Northside Bakery, 76-01 77th Ave., Glendale