Piet Levy

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It's Fat Tuesday. Time to party.

But priorities: first you need paczki, those delectable, dense fried Polish pastries stuffed with sweet fruit or custard fillings. You'll find them at The National Bakery & Deli, with locations in Milwaukee (3200 S. 16th St.), Brookfield (13820 W. Greenfield Ave.), and Greendale (5637 W. Broad St.); Canfora Bakery (1100 E. Oklahoma Ave.); Holey Moley (316 N. Milwaukee St.); Cranky's (6901 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa); and the Polish Center of Wisconsin (6941 S. 68th St.). Check with these places ahead of time to make sure they aren't sold out.

Then at night, you can attempt to dance off the calories at Maxie's 10th Annual Mardi Gras bash, with the Extra Crispy Brass Band playing in the party tent from 6 to 10 p.m. Maxie's will also have a special New Orleans-inspired menu, hurricanes for $5 and Abita beer for $4.