It took me a long time to get to Colonel K’s Pasty Shop. It’s a bit out of the way in the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula and it was never on the route of my usual travels, though it made the second version of The Pasty Trail.

Col K’s is located in the mini-hot bed of pasties known as Menominee, right on US-41, on the MI-WI border. On the other side of the Menominee River is Marinette, Wisconsin.

Their online reviews are great and they don’t have an official website, which often means good things. Possibly created during the COVID-19 pandemic, Col K’s has a drive-through window where you can get hot pasties in less than a minute.

The shop isn’t big, but it’s bigger than most you find in the U.P. They always have a few regular pasties ready to go from traditional to chicken and broccoli, but they also have daily and weekly specials, depending how long they last. The day after I visited, they were selling corned beef hash breakfast pasties.

The Colonel K Pasty

I got a traditional beef and rutabaga pasty after 6 p.m. local time and that may have been the issue. It felt like it was sitting in the heat box the majority of the day, as both the crust and insides were overly soft. If you’ve ever had an overcooked baked potato, that was kind of the feeling I got from the potatoes.

Getting past that, this was a classic U.P. pasty. While the crust was likely made of shortening and lacking in overall flavor, the insides had good flavor and seasoning. These reminded me of a couple other places I’ve had in the U.P., which isn’t a bad thing.

My pasty was packed tight and the meat-to-veggie ratio was good with a few rutabagas interspersed throughout. These were good pasties, but I think having a fresh one would add another point. I’m not sure when the prime time is to get pasties from Col K’s, but unfortunately, it may not be after the dinner rush.

Taste: 3.5 (out of 5)
Crust: 2.5 (out of 5)
Pasty Presentation: 4 (out of 5)
The Shop: 3 (out of 3)
Would I come back for Pasties?: 2 (out of 2)

Total Pasty Rating: 15 (of 20 points)

(Reviewed Spring 2022)