There are no Paczki in Vegas

As someone of Polish descent, Pączki (pronounced POONCH-key) are a big part of Fat Tuesday.  In fact, in my family, it's a given that one must eat a Pączki each year on the Tuesday before Lent for good luck.

For the uninitiated, we are not talking about just a jelly donut.  Pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar, yeast and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar. We are talking 450 calories and 25 grams of fat!   

Where I come from in the upper mid-west, there is a large Polish/Hungarian population and hence, there are Paczki in the grocery stores and bakeries all over the place.  Last week it dawned on me that there aren't even good donut shops in Las Vegas, let alone ethnic bakeries.  So where in the world would I find my lucky Paczki to enjoy and ensure a year ahead of good fortune??

I checked all of the local grocery stores--none.  The internet revealed ONE Polish delicatessen in Las Vegas.  And yes, they said they would have paczki!

However, I'm retired and sleep in until at least 9:30 AM (depending upon what time the Thunderbirds decide to practice over my bedroom).  By the time I rolled out of bed and got ready to leave, a phone call to the Polish delicatessen revealed that they were sold out of paczkis and had no idea where I could locate one.   The early bird gets the paczki, apparently.  I was out of luck. . . literally for the entire year.

However, I got a little text message from two young friends of mine later in the day.  They were wishing me a Happy Pączki Day and eating paczki on my behalf!  So maybe all is not lost.  Not sure if surrogate paczki eating will ensure good luck throughout the coming year.   We shall see!