Filling oozes from a paczki at an eating competition in Hamtramck. (Credit: Fox 2 News)
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (WJBK) -
Hamtramck is the Polish epicenter of metro Detroit. We were in search of paczki on this Fat Tuesday, but somehow ended up on stage at a bar with the Polish Muslims. The band was so loud that they blew a fuse.
"Just like Beyonce," one person said.
Obliging the crowd, I traded my neck tie for beads and a Mardi Gras hat.
Next we rushed over to the Polish League of American Veterans just in time for the paczki eating contest. I ingest one-third of a paczekand gave up. They're really like a jelly donut on steroids.
The real competitors chowed down for 15 minutes, and then reigning champion Mathew Holowicki defended his crown for the sixth consecutive year. He told me he ate 18 paczki. So Holowicki retains The Paczki Cup made of pots and pans.
"I told my girls I'd bring the cup home again this year and made good on that promise," he said.
Our journey ended at a bakery where the line was out the door. Why is that?
"They're awesome," said one customer.
"My question is why not," said another.
"Polish Catholics traditionally wanted to indulge themselves with fat and sugar and lard the last time they could before Lent starts and they have to give all that stuff up," a woman explained.
So that's Paczki Day -- sugar, music and libations.
Tuesday, June 11 2013 6:21 PM EDT2013-06-11 22:21:36 GMT
Balaal Hollings has become a media sensation for his inspiring words. The shooting victim walked across the stage at his high school graduation last week and has been receiving honors ever since.
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Nearly a hundred years ago, two girls from Detroit put a message in a bottle and threw it into the waters of the St. Clair River. Now that message is back on dry land after being found by a diver in 30 feet of water.
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Tuesday, June 18 2013 3:18 PM EDT2013-06-18 19:18:12 GMT
Chrysler avoided a showdown with government safety regulators Tuesday, agreeing to recall 2.7 million older Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty SUVs that could be at risk of a fuel tank fire.
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Tuesday, June 18 2013 12:20 PM EDT2013-06-18 16:20:44 GMT
Detroit Metropolitan Airport officials evacuated a section of the McNamara Terminal Tuesday morning after a canine picked up the scent of explosives on the apron, where planes load.
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Tuesday, June 18 2013 11:53 AM EDT2013-06-18 15:53:04 GMT
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Tuesday, June 18 2013 11:08 AM EDT2013-06-18 15:08:18 GMT
Chrysler on Tuesday is expected to file papers explaining its refusal to recall 2.7 million older Jeep SUVs that are at risk of catching fire in rear-end collisions.
In one of the biggest-ever showdowns between an automaker and the government, Chrysler on Tuesday is expected to file papers explaining its refusal to recall 2.7 million older Jeep SUVs that are at risk of catching fire in rear-end collisions.
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Filling oozes from a paczki at an eating competition in Hamtramck. (Credit: Fox 2 News)
