I generally keep my complaints to myself, but sometimes the experience is so bad I have to speak up. I wanted to bring a king cake to a gathering tonight. I stopped at a Kroger's but they were sold out of the Gambino's ones they've been carrying. I swung by Heitzman's on Shelbyville about 5 p.m., and they had plenty. $35 for a small, $65 for a medium and $100 for a large.
As much as it pained me, I forked over $35 for a small. It was smaller than the Gambino ones Kroger had been selling for $20 (granted, the ones at Kroger weren't filled). Having eaten dozens of king cakes in my time, I'd have to say it was the worst one I've ever had. Borderline stale. It was supposed to be filled, but there was no detectable filling. They had the medium and large ones stacked nearly to the ceiling, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had a king cake sale tomorrow (It's a crime to eat one after Mardi Gras).
Heitzman's had a bakery for a brief time in the shopping center on Bardstown Road where Dakshin is located, but it's long gone. I remember being disappointed in the amount of filling in the king cake I got from there last year, but I guess I didn't learn my lesson. It's been years since I got one from Nord's, which are the best ones I've had outside of New Orleans, so I'll have to plan ahead next year.
I was surprised to see Kroger had both king cakes and packzi for sale on January 2. I come from a Polish family, but I've never seen packzi for sale outside of Louisville. We downed a few boxes of those over the past month and a half as well.