# Have you ever heard of...... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 18, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978 "2000-02-18T16:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/1 "2000-02-18T16:41:00Z")
…paczkis? Nobody here in Arizona knows what they are, and it bothers me. Not because of their ignorance, but because I want to eat one on Fat Tuesday so badly! For those of you who don’t know, paczkis (prounounced poonch-key by most Michiganders) are huge donut-like pastries that are made just for Fat Tuesday. (Fat Tuesday is the day right before Ash Wednesday…it’s a Catholic thing) They must have 1000 calories each, and most of them are filled with something, like fruit, or custard. How many of you know what they are? How many of you are saying, “Never heard of them.” I guess I could substitute paczkis with Dunkin Donuts. But it’s just not the _same_ (In my best Homer voice) Mmmmmmmmm…pazckis. * * * “Life is hard…but God is good” ---
**Author:** ![Frankie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@Frankie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankie)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/2 "2000-02-18T17:08:00Z")
Hey ARG- Look for a polish bakery. They are a polish thing! Hope that helps! 🙂 * * * -Frankie “Mother Mercy, can your loins bear fruit forever?/Is your fecundity a trammel or a treasure?” -Bad Religion ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/3 "2000-02-18T17:30:00Z")
I know they are a Polish thing. Mmmmmm…perogis.(sp?) Makes me think of Hamtramck. There aren’t nealry as many Poles here, as there are in southeast MI. ---
**Author:** ![Neil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/839c29/32.png) [@Neil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neil)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/4 "2000-02-18T19:58:00Z")
Yep, Adam, I’ve heard of them. Now I’m hungry for one… -Neil ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/5 "2000-02-18T20:08:00Z")
Paczkis are pretty popular in Toledo, too. There’s a fair sized Polish population here. * * * _Here’s mud in yer eye,_ UncleBeer ---
**Author:** ![StrTrkr777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@StrTrkr777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrTrkr777)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/6 "2000-02-18T20:16:00Z")
Well Adam, why don’t you get Uncle Beer or someone in Michigan to get a couple and ship them to you. Basic ground should cost less than $8 and you can have it sent next day air for less than $20 (check on Fedex or UPS sites for exact rates) then offer to pay them for doing so. Jeffery ---
**Author:** ![batgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3bc359/32.png) [@batgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/7 "2000-02-18T20:22:00Z")
I grew up in Chicago and we always called them poonch-key. In fact, my Polish-Catholic friends referred to the day before Ash Wednesday and “poonch-key day.” I didn’t hear the expression Fat Tuesday until I went to college. ---
**Author:** ![BunnyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BunnyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyGirl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/8 "2000-02-18T21:29:00Z")
Adam, I volunteer my services. I’ll keep my ears and eyes open for the best place to get 'em. The Polish National Home (read: bingo hall) is just down the road from me, along with a Catholic church that has predominantely Polish congregation. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2000, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/9 "2000-02-19T04:09:00Z")
Thank you Bunny, for your help. I’ll look around the Phoenix area for a bakery that sells them. If I can’t find one, then I may take you up on your offer. 🙂 If I do ask you to pick up the paczkis for me, I’ll e-mail you in advance. * * * “Life is hard…but God is good” ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2000, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/10 "2000-02-19T04:32:00Z")
Give these folks a call and see whether they consider Detroit/Polish “midwest” enough: Midwest Bakery 4818 N 7th St Phoenix, AZ (602) 265-2078 Or see if Karsh is from that end of Europe: ## Karsh’s Bakery 5539 N 7th St Phoenix, AZ (602) 264-4874 Tom~ ---
**Author:** ![beefymeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@beefymeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beefymeg)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/11 "2000-02-19T05:03:00Z")
Never heard of them until last year… but oooohhhmmm are they good. I gave some to the workers at the Toyota dealership last year and they took verry good care of my Corolla… until I moved away. _sob!_ * * * Sucks to your assmar. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/12 "2000-02-20T06:11:00Z")
Being Czech myself, I used to love my mom’s halushki’s! They are small potato dumplings with butter and cabbage! ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Shadowfox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfox)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2000, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/13 "2000-02-19T21:33:00Z")
## Neener neener neener, I only live 20 miles from Hamtramck (which supposedly had the largest Polish population outside of Poland). mmmmmm…paczkis. Yes, they will permanently clog your arteries and add 20 pounds to your hips, but I would pass up sex for one of these things. When is Fat Tuesday again? Isn’t it coming up real soon? Shadowfox “The dead have risen, and they’re voting Republican!” - Bart Simpson ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2000, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/14 "2000-02-19T21:53:00Z")
Shadow, last I heard, Chicago had that honor. At least it said “Chicago has the largest population of Polish people of any city in the world, except for Warsaw.” According to the Polish-American Association: > [@](#): > > The Polish population in Illinois continues to grow rapidly according to the 1990 U.S. Census report. (This is despite a very significant undercount due to the virtual lack of any outreach efforts to reach the Polish-speaking population.) In fact the nearly one million persons of Polish ancestry in the metropolitan area give Chicago the claim as the second largest Polish city in the world. ## You might want to give the Hamtramck chamber of commerce a call about their claims 😉 “I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/15 "2000-02-20T00:34:00Z")
Shadow, you live about as far away from Hamtramck as I did. Jophiel: Hamtramck is a _tiny_ city. It might only be one, or two square miles in size. But, nearly everyone who does live there is Polish. So, percentage-wise, it beats out Chicago. Tom: Thanks for the info. I’ll put it to good use. * * * “Life is hard…but God is good” ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/16 "2000-02-20T01:18:00Z")
Arg, try Dunkin’. I used to work there, and they started making paczkis a few years ago. They’re not bad, really. BTW, I’m in Michigan too. We do have some phenominal paczkis here, don’t we? * * * Changing my sig, because Wally said to, and I really like Wally, and I’ll do anything he says, anytime he says to. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-of/13978/17 "2000-02-20T01:50:00Z")
ARG, I don’t remember her saying “per capita” 😉 Anyway, it’s not especially important - I just saw it as a major error compared to what I had already known. And the paczkis are mighty yummy. I loved growing up with two sets of Polish grandparents - Grandma made the best food. * * * “I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”