A News Tribune field trip to Metropolitan Market in Proctor this week yielded an overload of carb finds. Our purchases included a Desserted Island pie, made by the Seattle Pie Company, which is opening the Old Town Pie Shop in March. We also popped by Met Market’s new gelato counter for a pint of pistachio flavored gelato. And our final purchase was a half dozen paczki – a thick, chewy, filled doughnut that is a Fat Tuesday tradition (emphasis on the Fat), and available in the store only for a short time.

Gelato: The gelato counter near the coffee bar at Met Market is a new addition, and I’ve been hearing much feedback from North Enders about the creamy dessert. I ordered a pint of the pistachio ($7.99). I thought the gelato was a touch too cloying. I liked the pronounced pistachio flavor, but the ice cream was just so sweet, I could only manage a spoonful. Gelato, by nature, is sweeter than most ice creams, which is why I usually steer toward the more tart flavors. I find the acidity provides balance for the high sugar content.

Cups of the creamy ice cream range from $1.99-$5.39. Mango, strawberry and hazelnut were among the flavors we saw in the display case. The gelato comes from Gelatiamo, a Seattle gelato company. Web site here. and Facebook page here.

Speaking of gelato, where else around town do you get yours? Thoughts on the selection at Indochine? Where else?

Paczki doughnuts are a Polish treat traditionally eaten the day before Ash Wednesday. They're available for a short time at Met Market. Photo by Janet Jensen/Staff photographer

Paczki: This Polish baked treat is a Fat Tuesday tradition. Pronounced “poonch-key,” the doughnut is a staple in bakeries in the Midwest, but it’s not widely sold here. The fried, filled doughnuts will be available for a short time at Metropolitan Market.

We bought the chocolate-covered, chocolate-filled paczki, and the sugar dusted lemon-filled paczki (they also come in other cream and fruit-filled varieties). The doughnuts tasted dense, eggy and chewy. I was surprised at how heavy they felt in my hand. I wanted the doughnut-to-filling ratio to be a little more even in the chocolate filled doughnut. Instead, I got mostly cake and a small plop of dark, rich chocolate filling. When I split open the lemon paczki, it oozed into a gooey, tart, lemony pool. I like pools of lemony goodness. Paczki are priced $1.69 each right now.