Slim’s Cafe was not on my list until they won the best pasty competition at the 2021 Pasty Fest. They’ve been around since 1957 but underwent an ownership change and only recently started making pasties again. To be exact, pasties are made fresh every Thursday and then are available frozen until sold out. If you don’t go there on a Thursday, I’d call ahead to make sure they have some.

Found in Mohawk in the Keweenaw Peninsula, Slim’s is one of the many small cafes you’ll find on the side of the road in the Upper Peninsula. If you aren’t a local, the only reason you’d run into it is if you’re driving north on US-41 to Copper Harbor. According to Wikipedia, Mohawk is an unincorporated community that has no defined boundaries or population statistics. So, there you go.

More often than not, you’ll eat their pasties frozen, which is what I did at home. As usual, I defrosted it first and then put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I don’t know if their pasty recipe was included in the original sale of the cafe or if it’s from the current owners. No matter, they seem to know what they’re doing.

This is a massive pasty. I needed two hands to take the first couple bites, partly because it was hot and partly because it was huge. Instead of a lot of shops that prefer to make more of a rounder pasty, this one was a true pasty shape, measuring about the size of a large plate in terms of width. If you’re not eating this on an empty stomach, it won’t be easy to finish.

The crust immediately stood out to me because it was extremely flakey and crispy but also tasted awesome. Unfortunately, the taste eventually became a detriment. While I could’ve ate the crust by itself, the buttery flavor took over the pasty. If it was thicker and rounder, this may not have been an issue.

However, in every bite, the buttery crust kind of took away from the insides. That’s not a huge complaint because it tasted great, but after eating the pasty I had the taste of butter in my mouth for a decent period.

That’s a lot of butter. There was plenty of meat and a few specks of carrots, but the more I think about it, it was kind of hard to taste the actual insides due to the Power of the Crust (trademark?).

I was almost ready to give this one of the better ratings on the site, and while it still is, the domination of butter was too much for me.

What kind of crazy person doesn’t like butter? Yeah, I know, but if I’m going to rate pasties, I need to taste the pasty rather than just butter. I’ll have to try another one soon…

Taste: 4.5 (out of 5)
Crust: 4 (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: 17.5 (of 20 points)

(Reviewed Fall 2021)