Paczki Day is tomorrow and I’m excited to head down to Hamtramck to join in the festivities. This is Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day all rolled up into one fabulous Polish-infused day.
This video with Mo Rocca is from Paczki Day 2008:
How do you pronounce that? Paczki is pronounced PUNCH-kee. The people who say POONCH-kee are wrong! Wrong, I tell ya!
What are paczki?
They are the most incredible glorified jelly doughnuts; they are a heart attack and the end of your diet. Traditionally, you aren’t supposed to eat such things during lent so they would use up the butter, sugar and lard in the house to make these sweet treats.
In Poland paczki are eaten on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, which would have been last week. It is the Polish-American tradition to pig out on these pillows of loveliness on Fat Tuesday.
Where can you get paczki?
I know you can get paczki at your local grocery store but it isn’t the same. The following bakeries are the best places in Hamtown to stock up on your Fat Tuesday treats:
- New Deluxe Bakery (11920 Conant Street)
- New Martha Washington Bakery (10335 Joseph Campau Street)
- New Palace Bakery (9833 Joseph Campau Street)
- New Polka Bakery (9834 Conant Street)
- Al Jenah Bakery (9240 Conant Street)
- Metropolitan Baking Co (8579 Lumpkin Street)
New Palace Bakery last year before Paczki Day.
Other events include bar crawls, a paczki eating contest, live music, and Polish food. The Polish Muslims are playing at three different venues throughout the day.
I’m also interested in catching Polka Floyd who will be playing at Small’s and PLAV 10-11824. Seriously, it might seem crazy but I love it! Listen to their version of “The Wall Part 2.”
Growing up Polish can be difficult, you must endure countless Polish jokes and nobody can pronounce your last name. As I got older I embraced my heritage and am proud to be 100% Polish. I even miss my maiden name, which I always had to spell.
On Paczki Day everyone is Polish. Na zdrowie!