Fat Tuesday: 15 places for paczki in metro Detroit
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Dos Los Tacos.
Get ready to rise, shine and indulge on Tuesday in a metro Detroit favorite.
Fat Tuesday is here and that signals Paczki Day, when people arrive in the wee hours at bakeries to grab these Polish pastries. The day is also one of indulgence for many metro Detroiters ahead of the Lenten season — a time of discipline and fasting leading up to Easter.
While the day is also known as Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday, the beloved paczki reigns mighty here in metro Detroit the day before Ash Wednesday. For many, there’s no better way to indulge than eating fruit- or cream-filled, glazed, or dusted with powdered sugar paczki.
You can find paczki all over metro Detroit at bakeries, grocery stores, and convenience stores. Prices for the traditional, and fat-laden orbs, as usual, will vary.
Hamtramck is ground zero for paczki, both for the bakeries and for bars hosting celebrations. For those who don't know, paczki (pronounced poonch-key) is plural and paczek (poon-check) is singular.
In Hamtramck, where tens of thousands of paczki are expected to be made, people are expected to line up in the wee hours of the morning for freshly made paczki. New Palace Bakery, which calls itself “Pączki Headquarters” on its website, is offering seven different box options that have a variety of paczki flavors. You can choose from traditional jelly-filled to cream-filled to unique flavors such as cheesecake and peanut butter and jelly paczki. A half-dozen paczki at New Palace Bakery is $16.95. A box of a dozen mixed paczki is $30.95-$39.95.
Paczki from a taqueria? Dos Los Tacos is now in the former New Martha Washington Bakery spot. The bakery closed last spring after decades in Hamtramck. Los Dos Tacos is offering paczki from pastry chef Maryrose Moses of Side Eye Pie.
Also in Hamtramck, you can hit the area bars such as Whiskey in a Jar and New Dodge Lounge, which are hosting Paczki Day celebrations, with entertainment and food specials. Popular bands expected to be in Hamtramck include Polish Muslims and Kielbasa Kings.
Over the years people have come up with some unique paczki variations.Take the “craczki” from Promenade Artisan Foods. The spot with locations in downtown Trenton and Detroit's Fisher Building in New Center is back with new craczki varieties.
The craczki (pronounced croons-key like poonch-key) is the bakery's made-up word and take on the paczki. A crazcki is cross between a flaky croissant dough with a filling. They are sold in packs of two for $10. Flavors this year are creme brulee and chocolate hazelnut. Both locations will have a limited quantity on Tuesday.
For many metro Detroit Christians, the Lenten season is a time of discipline and fasting leading up to Easter.
If you indulged in paczki on Fat Tuesday, depending on the size, it had as many as 400 calories and more than 20 grams of fat.
6 things you should know about paczki
The name paczki translates to "little packages." Paczki is pronounced POONCH-key and is plural; one pastry is a paczek (POON-check).
The paczki is thought of as a way to use up fatty ingredients like lard and butter, as well as sugar, eggs and fruit before Lenten fasting begins.
Don't call paczki jelly doughnuts. They have a much richer flavor because the yeasty dough is made with more eggs. They are also bigger and plumper; the shape is more like a sphere.
In Poland, the last Thursday before Lent begins is called Fat Thursday. So the splurge day was Feb. 16.
A small amount of grain alcohol is added to paczki dough before cooking. As the alcohol evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough so the pastry is not greasy.
Calories and fat? Brace yourself. Depending on the size, paczki can have as many as 400 calories and more than 20 grams of fat.
Here’s a sampling of places where you will find paczki. Many local grocery chains and independent grocery stores also have paczki. Many of the bakeries listed below also have special hours on Tuesday.
American Coney Island
114 W Lafayette Blvd., Detroit
Coney paczki are back. These are made with the coney spot's famous hot dogs and the traditional toppings of chili, mustard, and onions — all nestled into glazed but unfilled paczki that is split like hot dog buns.
American Polish Cultural Center
2975 E. Maple Road, Troy
Here, the center will have traditional paczki flavors for walk-in customers starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Avon Donuts
45324 Woodward Ave., Pontiac
Opens at 5 a.m. for paczki sales until sold out. Ten flavors are offered including Ube — a purple sweet potato filling.
Bartz Bakery
1532 N. Telegraph Road, Dearborn
Offers traditional fruit flavors and a chocolate paczki, according to its website. Premium flavors include cannoli, buttercream, cream cheese, and prune.
Cantoro Italian Market
15550 N. Haggerty Road, Plymouth
Cannoli or tiramisu-filled paczki and hazelnut bombolini along with traditional flavors.
Chene Modern Bakery
17041 W Warren Ave., Detroit
A dozen flavors are available at this bakery on Warren Avenue, one of the oldest Polish bakeries in metro Detroit.
Detroit Donut
9101 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck
Doors open at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Here, more than a dozen of varieties of paczki will be offered.
Elliot's Bakery and Coffee Shop
2636 W. Jefferson Ave., Trenton
Celebrating more than 90 years in downtown Trenton, the bakery's paczki are made with fresh from scratch fillings according to its Facebook page.
Family Donut
11300 Conant St., Hamtramck
Open 5 a.m. with at least a dozen varieties of paczki.
Kooky’s and Cream
374 W. Nepessing, Lapeer
Known for taking traditional desserts and turning them into a wide range of cookie varieties. For Fat Tuesday, it is offering paczek cookies. It’s similar to normal paczki that are baked instead of fried, is smaller than a regular paczki but has a filling and is rolled in sugar. Four fillings are offered: mixed berry, blueberry lemon, chocolate ganache and buttercream.
New Palace Bakery
9833 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck
Seven different box options with a variety of paczki is offered. The bakeries 2023 flavor is orange creamski with orange cream-flavored buttercream topped with orange sugar candy.
Polish Market
2938 E. Maple Road, Troy
Offering a variety, the Polish Market will open at 6 a.m. Tuesday for paczki sales, according to a recorded phone message.
Promenade Artisan Foods
2627 W. Jefferson Ave., Trenton
3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit
Here, you will find the craczki. This is a cross between a flaky croissant and a doughnut. Flavors this year are creme brulee and chocolate hazelnut. Both locations will have a limited quantity on Tuesday. The Detroit location is inside the Fisher Building.
Srodek's
40211 Mound Road, Sterling Heights
9601 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck
At the Sterling Heights location, handmade paczki are available through Irena's, which is next door to Srodek's. Flavors offered include apple, apricot, cherry, lemon, pineapple and plain. To order from Irena’s, call 586-997-0950.
Tony Cannoli Sweets & Eats
16125 West Road, Woodhaven
It will have five flavors, including its cannoli paczki at the Woodhaven location and three flavors at its Southgate spot. Doors open at 7 a.m. in Woodhaven for paczki sales.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fat Tuesday: 15 places for paczki in metro Detroit
