Tuesday is Fat Tuesday, a day of celebration and possibly indulgence before Ash Wednesday and Lent and several bakeries around Connecticut are catering to those with a sweet tooth.
Fat Tuesday is also Paczki Day in America, according to Oso.Ono. The holiday, celebrated by Polish Roman Catholics, marks the last moments of excess before people start sacrificing stuff, like cholesterol-laden goodness, for Lent.
Paczki, a Polish treat, is a tradition at Larose's Bakery on Broad Street in New Britain. In case you have never had one, you order the deep-fried donut-style pastries by asking for a punch key.
Of course, what would any day of indulgence be without an eating contest?
Don’t fear. Eddy's Bake Shop in Ansonia hosted a Paczki Eating Contest Tuesday, where about 15 contestants gobbled up the hole-less, filled donuts.
Gross out factor: The winner ate 11. If you've eaten one, you know that's a feat. He is "Gentleman" Joe Menchetti, 39, of Wallingford.
He swallowed them all in five minutes, the Connecticut Post reports. He's won each event since he first tried it in 2004, the newspaper reports.
If you don’t have a bakery near you that makes the paczkis, check out the bakery section of your supermarket. Some of them make them.
In Poland, Paczki Day takes place the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, called Tlusty Czwartek, or Fat Thursday.
