Fat Tuesday Special
Pączkis at the National Bakery
Is there any place in Milwaukee more popular at 7 a.m. on Fat Tuesday? Probably not. While Polish and non-Polish neighbors of the south side National Bakery on 16th Street flock to this little shop for the traditional pączki donuts, we’ve never waited for the prune, raisin or raspberry-filled treats before the Lenten season begins.
Until now.
What’s a pączki, you ask? The answer, via Wikipedia: “Traditionally, the reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because they were forbidden to be consumed due to Catholic fasting practices during Lent.”
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Great slice of Milwaukee life, Brian. — Tom
My favorite paczki story? Glad you asked. It was 2002 and I was living in Chicago. A former White House staffer name Rahm Emanuel was running for the House seat being vacated by a guy named Rod Blagojevich who was a candidate for governor. On this morning, 8 years ago, there was Rahm at the Irving Park Blue Line stop handing out packzis and shaking hands in the bitter cold as snot dripped from his nose. How the mighty have fallen, I thought (and this guy knows how to campaign)!
Man I love paczkis.