The majority of places on US-2 have pasties. I didn’t know this when starting The Pasty Guy, so I’m slowly making my way through all of the restaurants and shops. Cut River Inn is one of those and a place I never considered going because it’s a restaurant/diner. Maybe that’s a bad reason not to check out a place, but I don’t usually have a ton of time in Naubinway.
No matter, after the pandemic, it seems like everywhere now offers take out. I don’t know where the actual ‘inn’ is or if there is an inn, but I only care about the pasties. Cut River Inn offers the usual U.P. diner options and also has bar seating. If you don’t have time to sit down and eat, you can call ahead and it’ll take about 10 minutes for your pasty to be ready.
I haven’t seen a physical menu, but I believe the only pasty available is the traditional, which includes rutabaga and carrots. I got the “pastie meal” that also included coleslaw and a side of gravy. The Pasty Girl requested gravy so I bit the bullet and got some myself. If you’re not allergic to gravy, I’d get the gravy.
The crust was thin and didn’t have a ton of flavor. I didn’t try holding it at first because I didn’t think it’d stay in one piece, but after I was halfway done, I eventually ate it with my hands, albeit gingerly.
While the crust had me wanting for some salt and flavor, the insides had a lot of meat. I haven’t seen a ton of pasties in my travels that had this much meat. If I had to guess, I’d say 50 percent of the insides were meat, which is an incredible ratio. There was a lack of salt and seasoning overall, but I have to give Cut River props on the amount of meat included because a lot of places love to skimp on the most expensive part of the pasty. If you’re a rutabaga fan, there may have been more rutabaga in it than potato. I like it.
Because of the lack of flavor, I decided to eat the second half of it with gravy and I wasn’t disappointed. It gave it another level and the gravy was good by itself. Of course, I’m not including that in the rating because that would be illegal. Those are the rules!
Taste: 3 (out of 5)
Crust: 2.5 (out of 5)
Pasty Presentation: 4.5 (out of 5)
The Shop: 3 (out of 3)
Would I come back for Pasties?: 1 (out of 2)
Total Pasty Rating: 14 (of 20 points)
(Reviewed Summer 2022)
