U.P. Pasties isn’t a place to go out of your way for (and it’s not easy to get to), found in downtown Plymouth. It’s just south of M-14 and west of I-275, which is west of Livonia. Not a great location unless you want to veer about 10 minutes off the highway to a small town that’s busy on the weekends.

U.P. Pasties is a general store with a bit of local flair. The main draw is clearly the pasties, hence the name, but ice cream and home decor are also available. Pasties and ice cream seem to be a popular combo the more I explore Michigan pasty shops.

This shop is nice and welcoming and also sells potpies and pasty mini bites. There are three pasty options with top sirloin beef, chicken breast and vegetarian/vegan. I’m not sure if there is a vegetarian and a vegan option or if they are the same, but that’s what the menu says. At the least, they have fresh and frozen available.

They haven’t been around too long, which means there’s still time to improve. On the outside, these pasties look legit. It’s a full pound and the crust looks like a crust. And then I took a bite.

U.P. Pasties should take a trip on The Pasty Trail and then revise their recipe. The pasty lacked flavor and didn’t seem to use any salt. The crust looked great and had some flake, but the flavor wasn’t there.

The same could be said of the insides with the meat on the bottom and veggies on the top, separated completely. I’m not sure if there’s an advantage to not mixing up the two things and this was the first time I encountered that. The ‘top sirloin’ tasted like I cooked it up in a frying pan and didn’t throw any seasoning on it. There were some visible pepper flakes in the mix, but that was it. There was also a ton of carrots, probably more than Main Donut Shop.

To earn the name of U.P. Pasties, there’s no doubt they should improve their recipe because I have never tasted a pasty in the Upper Peninsula that tasted as bland as this one. I’m only laying the truth. This pasty can be good (and needs to be for $8), it just needs a little salt and a little love.

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 Rating: 8.5 (of 20 points)

(Reviewed Spring 2018)