Polish

"It’s easy to focus on all the bad s--t, right?" says Won Kim, the chef behind the Bridgeport counter-service restaurant. "But you don’t survive ten years without a community behind you.”

The annual Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Indiana celebrates the Eastern European heritage of Northwest Indiana both lovingly and irreverently, with costumed characters and plenty of dumplings.

Wurst Behavior, from the couple behind Wicker Park's popular Pierogi Kitchen, features loaded brats, kielbasa, Chicago hot dogs, and more – all made daily in-house.

While the Chicago area has a huge Polish community, many non-Poles only know Polish food via pierogi and pączki U Gazdy in Wood Dale serves more regional fare such as the blood sausage kiszka and "hunter's stew" bigos. 

Photographer Kathleen Hinkel visited Delightful Pastries on Lawrence Avenue in Jefferson Park to get a behind-the-scenes look at the colorful preparation that goes into creating thousands of pączki in the days leading up to Lent.