If you’ve been to the Upper Peninsula, you know there’s a random place selling pasties around almost every corner. I tried to list most shops for The Pasty Trail and then decided to create a second trail because I get notified of a new place every week. That kind of describes this place.
About 15 minutes west of Munising is a small town called Au Train. In that small town is a small liquor/grocery store that has pizza and pasties, and the locals love them.
Since it’s a short stop off M-28, I was able to check out Au Train Grocery and grab a frozen pasty to go. Unfortunately, their pasties are unmarked and I had to do research to confirm what pasty I was eating since my freezer is full of pasties.
Au Train’s pasty looks unlike most I’ve had before. The Pasty Girl said it looked like a jelly-filled donut when frozen and I don’t think I disagree. But while mine looked like a rock and had frozen juices flowing out, looks don’t mean everything.
This pasty reminded me of a few others I’ve had and taste-wise, Lehto’s may be the best comparison. Every bite kind of has that some flavor of fat and love wrapped into one. The crust looked weird and was sort of burnt, but some of that may have been due to my cooking method (350F for 35-40 minutes). Either way, it got the job done and the burnt-ness wasn’t too overwhelming. There was minimal flake, though the flavor was still spot on.
Also similar to Lehto’s, there may be a tad too much salt in the mixture. While that led to a great taste, it also led to a heavy stomach after devouring one. The insides were diced by hand and then likely thrown together in a bowl and mixed thoroughly. 
There were a lot of potatoes, but because the mixture was all mushed together, you couldn’t tell in the taste. Every bite was the same with a buttery and salty goodness in the forefront followed by meat, potatoes and a few cuts of carrots (rutabagas were not visible).
These don’t look like the best pasties, but they get a lot of local attention because they are real pasties. They’re big enough and fatty enough to keep you warm in the winter and sometimes that’s what Yoopers need. I got mine frozen, but they usually have fresh ones ready to go on the counter.
Taste: 4 (out of 5)
Crust: 4 (out of 5)
Pasty Presentation: 3 (out of 5)
The Shop: 2.5 (out of 3)
Would I come back for Pasties?: 2 (out of 2)
Total Pasty Rating: 15.5 (of 20 points)
(Reviewed Winter 2019)
Au Train Grocery pasties aren’t just devoured by the locals. We live a good distance from there & whenever we our traveling anywhere near, we stop to buy pasties. A couple to eat right away & several for our freezer. We’ve eaten pasties from many different shops & still think they’re THE BEST!5
Awesome. I definitely need to get a hot one next time I’m there, always better than eating from frozen. Thanks for reading!
I’m originally from AuTrain but lived downstate my whole life, everytime we vacationed up there we always had their pasties. As I got older and would visit my dad I always made sure to bring a dozen back downstate with me. To me they have the best flavor that I can’t find in any store that claim they make pasties. Just something about getting a pastie from the U.P especially from AuTrain that makes it special to me.
Speaking with others, nostalgia definitely plays a part for some and I can’t fault that. I still need to get a hot one from Au Train.
Au Train grocery has been sold. Boo hoo. Let’s hope the pasties stay the same. They are so full of flavor,and salt, which I love.i live way down in Troll land and spend time every Summer up there. No place like it!
Thanks for the info, Rachel. Let’s see what happens with it. Hopefully the new buyer wants to keep the pasty tradition going (why else would they buy it?!)
Oh wow that really sucks as the owner was a cousin 😥 but I know she was looking to sell for a long time. Hopefully the pasties stay the same.
I use to work there in the summers when I was a teenager making the pasties. I live in the area and the new owner is making them the exact same way as they have always been made. Some of the best pasties around.