Racine Bakery

Oh, wow! Whether you’re leaving Midway or going, take a few minutes and grab a snack here.
We ordered five items, ranging from beautiful sugar cookies, fruit tarts, Bavarian cream donuts, and two items I’m not sure what they call them, but they looked amazing.
Everything was light, fresh, and tasty. And as I said, what an great price!
The lady behind the counter was also very pleasant – and patient – as I took forever to decide what I wanted.

I recently woke up thinking about kolachkis (Lithuanian or Polish cookies).
When I lived in Marquette Park I would go to the Baltic Bakery on 69^th street or my grandmother would make them. Well the Baltic Bakery is no longer in business so I decided to make the 30 mile drive to Racine Bakery. I got a pound of raspberry kolachkis, a dozen bacon buns, and a loaf of raisin bread.
It was fantastic and we’ll worth the drive. Not as good as grandmas, but she’s no longer here. This place is a great substitute.

Don’t just go there. Go there EARLY. This place sells out, so if you don’t get there early enough you don’t get the really good stuff.
They make a variety of rye breads daily. All of them are great, but the Lithuanian rye usually sells out first.
Get there early, snag some fresh rye bread, then add some bacon buns, cookies and whatever else you can carry to the car.

Racine Bakery has been an icon of the Chicago Lithuanian community for decades, and being Lithuanian has many perks. If I had to rate them, the food from Racine Bakery would fall very close to the top. From delicious baked goods (the bacon buns and their rye breads are fantastic) to hot food items, European groceries, and top notch meats (try the fresh Lithuanian sausage and their skinny smoked «hunters sausage»). Also, for special occasions try special ordering one of their Sakotis «tree cakes,» a very labor intensive process but the final product is delicious as well as beautiful. Parking is plentiful here in the quiet part of town. Be sure to stop after leaving Midway airport or take a nice drive up Archer and see what all the fuss is about. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

I love Chicago and love Polish food even more!
My love for Polish brought me to Racine Bakery. It’s a Lithuanian/​Polish deli and bakery place. Both languages of origin is Slavic, if you’re curious about it.
It’s a tiny place with a massive private parking lot. Since the Thanksgiving Day is approaching, they were quite busy with people preparing for this holiday’s arrival. I was there to get some bakery items for my boss and co-​workers for the upcoming Black Friday retail mania. I think some sweets can help us sustain our stamina.
I love their kolaczki (a type of pastry appears like a «seashell» and wrapped with different flavors of jams, such as raspberry, orange, and strawberry). I’ve had them because Montrose Deli in Dunning and in Portage Park carry their pastries as well. I also picked up the Lithuanian poppyseed cheesecake, the other kind of pastry containing walnuts (sorry, I don’t know the name of this; they just looked so cute that was why I picked them up), and a loaf of pumper nickel bread. Hubby saw the bread behind the counter and he was excited. He said this type of bread is one of his favorite. Well, I guess I didn’t know my hubby all that well and didn’t even know that he likes this. I will do a better job as the wife from now on.
Even though Unilocal said that they accept credit cards, at the pastry counter they only accepted cash. Everything we’ve gotten came to under $ 15. Yeah, you gotta love local businesses: great value, great food!
I didn’t take time to check out the deli counter and the rest of grocery section. Patrons kept on fluxing into this tiny space, so it was better for us to leave so that they would have more space to shop.
It’s located in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood. The CTA 62 (Archer) bus drops off at Archer/​Meade. Otherwise, driving is ok because of the availability of the private lot.

I visited Racine Bakery on Archer avenue in Chicago’s Garfield Ridge neighborhood a few times in the last year. This most recent visit I didn’t get there until about an hour before closing. I was initially impressed with the large selection of rolls, breads, cookies, and pastries. Then I noticed every product was being packed up for sale the next day. When I inquired, they stated they sell most things for two days and refrigerated pastry for up to five days. Really? I’ve been to some bakeries where you may get two days on a refrigerated éclair but breads and rolls have a one day shelf life. I’m happy they were honest but unimpressed with the shelf life and logistics of baking fresh items.
What items I did get looked fresh today and I was happy with the quality. I also picked up some meat pierogi from the freezer and some kugelis from the deli. Both were delicious the next evening for dinner. There aren’t too many ethnic European delis and bakeries any more so it’s nice you can find some of the older traditional foods or fixings that grandma used to make.
They do carry some pazcki but just one or two flavors. In the spring during lent they often carry 15 flavors. Be aware these are European sweet and not the typical sweeter American sweet you can find at Weber’s Bakery farther west on Archer. Don’t buy Racine pazcki for your American friends as they will likely not find the fillings to be sweet enough.
They share a large parking lot with Three Brothers Restaurant, making a stop here easy most days and times of the week.

If my mom’s not cooking it, this is the place to go for all the Lithuanian goodies I crave. Koldunai in the frozen section are very good. We buy the mushroom or meat filled dumplings. Boil for 15 minutes, add melted butter, sour cream and bacon bits and you’ve got the perfect comfort food. They are quite small which I like and the dough is very tender.
The hunter sausage, which is similar to a beef stick, are good, but not as great as the ones distributed 20 plus years ago. These were fatty and much drier than the current offerings. Nevertheless, they still make for a nice quick snack with plenty of spices for flavor.
My husband claimed the bakery’s bacon buns were not as good as my mom’s. Surprising, since she always cuts the fat in every recipe. Racine’s version is all about richness, and the buns conveyed that beautifully. I loved them. I briefly warmed an individual roll in the microwave wrapped in a wet paper towel. Oh my. I closed my eyes to savor each and every bite.
The ponchkas, which my grandmother used to make in the 60’s and 70’s, were good but not as good as bobute’s. The fruit filled doughnuts were light and tasty but had something missing. Perhaps not enough raspberry filling which serves an important flavoring for the end result. Not enough, and you end up with bites of dough that lack any real flavors.
My only complaint is with the Lithuanian Rye. Bleached flour as the first ingredient? No no no. The recipe has changed I’m sure for cost reasons, but that to me is a cardinal sin. Bring back the original, and this Unilocaler will give you 5 stars. Yea right, like that will do anything. LOL.

DBF happened to be in this part of the world right around Shrove Tuesday, and since Polish food is hard to get in Indianapolis, he stopped in and fought the crowd to bring some paczki home. I’m used to getting donuts that are just labeled paczki, but these are completely different, more like bread – much less sweet, and with a tougher crumb. The fillings are delicious and varied, and include such exotic-​to-​us things as rose hip. They were so good that a couple of weeks later we both stopped in while in town.
Everything *else* in the place looked simply fantastic; besides a wide variety of things baked in-​house, they also have shelves of Polish/​Lithuanian items and a deli counter as well. We managed to get out without buying anything else other than a small cookie-​like item, shaped vaguely like a pastry flower and with a dollop of red gel on top. I don’t know what the heck it was, but it was delicious.

First time there, great selection of bread and sweets still available. Some places run out by noon but not this place, they keep it coming!
Quality baked items and reasonable prices. I am going back for sure!

I was initially apprehensive to go here because it was so out the way for me. I was really craving some paczki, and I briefly googled a place to go and this came up. The employees were really helpful because I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I was really surprised when the bill came because it was a lot cheaper than I had expected. And once I tried the paczki I thought it was amazing. I got custard, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and rose. I thought hands down the custard and blueberry were the best. I couldn’t tell much of a difference between the strawberry and raspberry, but they were both really good. The rose was good for a few bites, but then I thought that it was overwhelming.
Totally worth the drive!

The best rye bread ever. They will slice it for you. delicous pies!

My first Sunflower Rye of the year just arrived today! Just in the nick of time as my regular rye is running really really low.
Saving it for the weekend.
Cue Carly Simon…
Anticipation…
These are the good old days

This is an awesome bakery. The best Lithuanian types of baked goods that you can find anywhere. The bacon buns, Lithuanian rye bread, and kolaczky are amazing.

I love this bakery!!! From the rye bread to the pastries to the best bacon buns ever, I can’t get enough of them. Yes, it’s quite a drive for me but it’s worth every second just thinking about the bakery.
My boys and I have to buy extra bacon buns… some fro Grandpa and some for our drive to his house!

Purchased a last minute cake for my parents silver anniversary. I went in to the bakery literally 24hrs before I needed a cake for 40ppl and I had a special request to decorate the cake like a wedding cake. Even with the short notice they came through — they were so nice and accommodating. And the cake was gorgeous and tasty. Is it the best cake ever no, but it was moist and the strawberry mouse had real strawberry. Their prices are beyond reasonable, less than weber’s down the block, and I would recommend this bakery to anyone who needs a cake in the area.

This is a Lithuanian bakery/​deli with some Polish pastries and dishes. Everything here is very good. We strongly recommend getting/​trying their hot dishes in the deli. If you’re not sure of something, just ask and the ladies will give you a taste. The staff is very nice and helpful. They can also cater your party! They are always very fresh and very good.
I always stop in when I’m in the area.

Absolutely wonderful Polish/​Lithuanian deli and bakery. I have had numerous items from Racine and everything has always been top notch and homemade. Ingredients are always fresh and the have a neat selection of Polish candy too! Definitely worth a trip to pick up a traditional dessert for a party or an event.

I’m not Polish, but I’ve been a loyal patron of this bakery/​deli for a couple of years.
I usually come here to get a pound of cookies – specifically, cookies topped with a dollop of chocolate and a sugar-​coated lime gummy. Also, I get ones that are dipped halfway into chocolate. Oooh, yes. They have several other kinds of cookies, so you can mix and match whatever you want.
The bread here is quite good and essential to any open-​faced sandwich. There are pre-​cut loafs and rolls to choose from. The loafs are placed on easy-​to-​see racks behind the counter, and the rolls are in those plastic storage units with tongs where you can pick out the ones you want.
Of course, they have cakes and other pastries. They are too numerous to think about or even remember. You just have to go and see for yourself.
The deli portion of this place is small but pretty good. They have decent cepelinai here if you’re too busy (or lazy) to drive out to the Lithuanian Bakery & Deli in Palos Hills. Just don’t be shy to ask for extra bacon sauce and sour cream :)
The one disappointing experience I had with this bakery was when a jello-​topped cake I had bought went bad a little too quickly for my taste. It was probably an isolated incident, but I still remember being sad that most of the cake didn’t make it to my belly.
All in all, you should drop in for a taste.

Good polish neighborhood bakery… Good rye bread. sweets. etc etc
Stuff varies by the day. so take a gander inside and smell all the goodies

I haven’t tried the deli section of this bakery, but I can attest that their Polish Rye is amazing. It’s quite simple but I’ve been spoiled by having this bakery so close. On Tuesdays they offer a buy1-​get1 free on their ryes.
Their pastries are good, their cakes have fruit in it, their rolls are fresh all day but come evening time they’ve been expectedly picked over and a little stale.
I’ve always liked their cheese rolls.
Parking can be a pain since 3 Sons does not let you park in their lot, so it’s street parking or round the corners either by the Mexican place or by The Egg Store.