Once in awhile you get a little out of your element and that presents an unknown. Sometimes it’s a great decision, other times not so much.
Most of my pasty experiences have come around the state of Michigan, but given the opportunity to explore somewhere else, I took it. That led me to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Just north of downtown I found a place called Reynold’s Pasty Shop. After looking at the website and how established of a place it was, I was excited.
When I got there, my expectations weren’t shattered, either. The shop was busy and had numerous employees working in the back, perfecting the pasties as well as Reynold’s supposedly famous turnovers.
Everything up to that point had me thinking this would challenge for a top pasty award. Even the smell had me in.
But… with great expectations comes a great letdown.
Reynold’s considers what they make a ‘Northern Pasty,’ but no one is really sure what that means. They mention “Cornish workers” that migrated to Wisconsin on their website, but their pasties don’t include rutabaga, making them non-Cornish. False advertisement?
No matter, it’s evident from the start that the crust is all crisp. At no point was there a flakiness to it. The overall flavor consisted of grease and potatoes, which was highlighted by the inside mixture with most bites consisting of either just potatoes or just meat (less so). With no rutabaga, potatoes took over, even more so with only a few slivers of carrots.
To make the flavor better, I had a choice to add hot gravy, nacho cheese or sour cream. If you have to put cheese or sour cream on your pasty to make it better, something isn’t right.
But hey, the pasty filled me up and I guess that’s all that matters? Plus, they were cheap and it was a cool shop.
My first foray into Wisconsin pasties was a disappointment and yet Reynold’s seems popular enough that they sell at stores across the state.
Reynold’s has been in Milwaukee since 1956 and it wouldn’t be surprising if they haven’t changed their pasty recipe since.
Taste: 1.5 (out of 5)
Crust: 2 (out of 5)
Pasty Presentation: 2 (out of 5)
The Shop: 3 (out of 3)
Would I come back for Pasties?: 0 (out of 2)
Total Pasty Ranking: 8.5 (of 20 points)
(Reviewed Spring 2016)
NON CORNISH????? CORNISH PASTIES…DONT HAVE RUTABAGAS. That was a Finnish influence. Check the corish recipe. In fact Yooper …upper Wisconsin pasties are not really Cornish either.
If you can prove me wrong, I’ll believe you, but… the official cornish pasty has swedes.
http://www.cornishpastyassociation.co.uk/about-the-pasty/
By 2016 the original owner had retired. They were MUCH better speaking from someone who has eaten these for 30+ years. There is not nearly as much meat, or carrots or seasoning. They new owners quickly scaled back on the ingredients because they use to be bigger as well. Hence it was a meal in itself. It saddens me because every time I now attempt to eat one it feels as though a childhood memory shattered all over each time.
Thanks for the info! That’s a bummer that things aren’t the same, though. Maybe someday that will change… maybe not…
Found on 3500 block of W Burleigh St. I thought “how cool, Pasties right here in town”. It’s a small 1920s storefront with a commercial kitchen at back. It was once a German/Jewish area (tho the name Reynolds implies an Englishman) – maybe trying to recreate taste treat he remembered from SW England – like how Arthur Treacher tried to recreate Brighton Fish & Chips of his youth.
The business may have been relaunched from this previous iteration as it still has mid-century neon signage. Present product has wrong pastry & filling that’s just meat/potato & lacks turnip & carrot for starters, I tried to convey this to them but they weren’t interested.
The best pasties of my youth were not in Cornwall but the new world: not hard to find but mass produced and distributed to corner-store counter warmers around Australia (wonder if they’re still as good?) perfect thin flaky pastry and secret ingredient blend!
Are they called pasties in Australia?