Where to Get Good A Good Pasty Outside the Michigan UP

Any good pasty places outside the upper peninsula of Michigan?  Especially in the mid-Atlantic region.  Alternatively, any frozen pasty brands? 
 
Note: I am avoiding using the plural form of "pasty," which can have a very different meaning.  but I really would like to get more than one pasty.

Here's a new company from Eugene, Oregon. They are just starting to expand beyond local to regional. (We get them here in Southern Oregon)
They are wonderful, though not cheap. Don't now how traditional they are, as I've never been to Michigan.
 Cousin Jack's Pasty Company

How about Joe & Nancy's Pasty Shop in Butte, MT?  Yeah, probably still too far away.  It was good when I visited, although there was no Joe, just Nancy back then.

are there traditional fillings?
We have steak and ale, lamb pesto, various vegetables, (this IS Oregon), and traditional(their designation)

Since you're in Berwyn:
Mr Pastie Takeout,  Real English Foods Inc,
Mr Pastie
10 E Bell Avenue
Pen Argyl, PA 18072-1512 map
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA Metro Area
Phone: (610) 863-9091
Diane's Pasty & Deli
52 W Saint Marys Rd
Hanover Township, PA 18706
(570) 270-5823 (Phone)
http://www.thepiestorenj.com/

I save my pasty eating only for the Michigan UP since I go through there at least once every year. So pay no attention elsewhere. The UP has the best and most authentic to supposedly traditional. I'm not sure I know for sure as I have never had one in Cornwall but have had one in nearby Wales. Still, they are of various quality but most all are acceptable. It is just after you've had a few you can begin to discern your favorites. To me a pasty does have to have rutabagas in them. If they do then the pasty maker may know what he/she is doing.

I've had them in Cornwall and Montana. I think I liked the pasty dough in Cornwall the best, but Butte, MT has the closest to the Cornish pasty I've had.

I grew up eating pasties in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, The shop was run by an elderly couple, everything was done by hand, no dough sheeters. Open kitchen where you could watch them working their magic!
Only one type back then, MEAT.... I guess they used round or rump along with potato, rutabaga, onion, parsley.
I made some a few months back, I nailed the filling, the pastry was ok, but could use some improvement.

For frozen or refrigerated pasties look for those made by Albie's Foods, Inc. - they have a plant in Gaylord, MI.  Their web site is www.albies.com 
 
While they are not gourmet pasties, I think they are decent.

Amazingly, there is a really good source of pasties right here in NJ. Rocky's Pasties, in Wharton 
 
It's just an old grocery store in an old residential neighborhood well off the beaten path, but they've specialized in pasties for over 80 years and they are terrific (or at least I think so, but then again they are the only ones I've had).
 
No web site, but here's the NY Times from a couple of years ago:
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/nyregion/new-jersey/0315qbitenj.html
 

Let me expand on Foodbme's mention of  "Mr. Pastie" in Pen Argyl Pa.
Many Cornish quarrymen settled in Pen Argyl in the latter part of the 19th century to work in the slate quarrys there. (This area, known as the Slate Belt once produced the majority  the US''s roofing slate.).
Because of this, pasties are a staple of home cooking in the area.
Mr Pastie produces a quite acceptable mass market pastie. The address given is the factory- and they do have a store there. They sell many different varieties besides the traditional meat pasty, including but not limited to breakfast pasties (sausage and eggs) and dessert pasties (fruit filled).
Area supermarkets, such as the Giant in Wind Gap and the Weis between Pen Argyl and Bangor. will have a smaller selection of Mr. Pastie products- generally the meat, chicken and sausage and peppers varieties- in their frozen food section.
 There is a local lady who makes pasties for local church and civic organization fund-raisers which I believe to be much better than Mr. Pastie. She makes the traditional meat, which in the Slate Belt means ground beef, potatos, onions and seasoning  (no rutabaga-) I have PM'ED you her telephone number. I believe she would make some if you called her although you would probably have to pick them up.
The slate belt is about an hour and a half from Berwyn.

brookquarry,
Thanx! For the food history. I love learning the backgrounds and history of food, who brought it over, the people behind the food  etc. To me, that's what makes food and recipes interesting. Good Job! 
michaelcarraher should be able to make a Road Trip AND FILL HIS FREEZER!

Foodbme There is a good discussion of the central role of Pasties in the quarrymen's lives on the Slate Belt Heritage Website - slatebeltheritage.com
At the website click on the "cornish"  tab.

Where can I buy Pasty(s) in Ontario, Canada? I have had the real thing in the U.P. as a truckdriver but am now retired. There are a lot of things about/in the USA I miss and Pasty(s) are in the top 5.
 

 
God Bless Ameria!!!

gkhorlock


Where can I buy Pasty(s) in Ontario, Canada? I have had the real thing in the U.P. as a truckdriver but am now retired. There are a lot of things about/in the USA I miss and Pasty(s) are in the top 5.



God Bless Ameria!!!

It's God Bless AMERICA! Did you forget how to spell it after you left?

 Gosh, THAT'S a warm welcome to Roadfood.
      

gkhorlock
 
Thanks for the nice thoughts about the U.S. You guys up north are pretty OK, too.  Except for that poutine.

 Hmm, I don't know if this is helpful, but I found my U.P Grandma's recipe...well not really a recipe, it just says..
    "  Sacred Heart of L'anse pastys
   chop round steak and onions and potatos as big as a marble do potato last so you know how much you need not TOO much.
 lots of s&p and some melted oleo now I use ready crust but you know my old oil crust.
put foil on sheet and some cornmeal not too much. you know how to fill the halfcircles.  cook low for maybe 2 hours, maybe not quite so long.   dont forget to put only small slits in the tops."       
  Isn't that sweet!  I was about 10 when she wrote this down for me.  miss you gramma Mary! 
  Anyhoo, cook on low means about 275-300 depending on your oven. I made these as a weekly special when I cooked in a somewhat seedy Bar & Grill. they were always a big hit, tho I made sure to call them Michigan meat pies to avoid all the drunken snickers and hee haws as they read the specials board.  

Thank you very much. I'll try Grandma's recipe.

  
  If you want to make them extra pretty, you can brush them with egg yolk whipped with a bit of water. makes them all shiny. don't let the egg drip all the way down or they will stick.  

The early 1800s saw a number of Cornish miners move to the southwestern corner of Wisconsin to work the mines so the pasty is still popular there today, although I couldn't tell you where to get one outside of Myles Teddywedgers on State Street in Madison.
 
The miners also inspired the term "the badger state" because they lived in burrows and mines during the winter months.
 
Brad

I found a couple pasty sources in Phoenix at AZCentral.

These look like the real deal, but some frou-frou ones are there, too.
Cornish Pasty Co.
The heavyweight pasties look like braided loaves of bread, but stuffed inside is an assortment of goodness. Try the Oggie ($7), stuffed with steak, potatoes, onions and rutabaga served with a side of red-wine gravy or ketchup. The lamb and mint ($8.50) is among a dozen other signature pasty fillings. Still hungry? Try the baked apple dessert for $5.
Details: 960 W. University Drive, Tempe, 480-894-6261; 1941 W. Guadalupe Road, Mesa, 480-838-3586. cornishpastyco.com.
 

I don't know that I trust anyone making a pasty with puff pastry (do you call it a puff pasty?).
George & Dragon
The Cornish pasty (rhymes with nasty), or meat-filled semicircles of pastry with a crimped edge, are said to have originated with miners in Cornwall. At George & Dragon, puff pastry is filled with vegetables and seasoned ground beef ($5.95). Vegetarians might prefer the pasty stuffed with herbed veggies or with cheese ($4.25).
Details: 4240 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. 602-241-0018, georgeanddragonpub.net.

JRPfeff,
I posted some info on The Cornish Pasty Co. on another thread but since this guy is "Back East" I didn't reference it but I'm glad you did.
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/tm.aspx?m=636406&high=Pasty
I've been to both of their locations and they are good and have some "Different" ones as their menu indicates. The Original location in Tempe is a REAL hole in the wall. It's like a one lane bowling alley. Caters to the ASU crowd as well as regular "civilians". The Mesa location is newer and has more room & an outdoor patio.. Both places are good. The pasty's are the same at both locations and are made at a central location, frozen and distributed to the restaurants.. When you order, they take it out of the freezer, heat it up and serve it. A few of the more popular ones are made fresh. You can get them takeout and cook them at home. Overall they're pretty good.

Grandma's recipe.That's what I wanted to know.
yeah, that's cool. That is what Cousin Jack's calls Traditional.
 www.cousinjackspasty.com/home/cjp/smartlist_12/flavors.html
 

When I lived in Long Beach, just across the border in Orange County was one of my favorite places to go. The Pasty Kitchen is a tiny place, a counter with no inside seating, but they make excellent pastys. Many a lunch and dinner for me consisted of one beef and one veggie pasty, along with the optional container of dark brown gravy. They sell them fresh out of the oven and also have a freezer stocked with them. They have maybe 15 varieties of pastys there. Great place!
 
The Pasty Kitchen
(562) 431-9747
3641 Katella Ave, Los Alamitos, CA 90720
 

Here are some pics from my last attempt at pasties... I nailed the filling, the pastry was ...ok.....could have been better, but they did not last long!

ChefBuba
That looks Great to me, Is there a sauce? and how would you serve them.

No sauce, I eat them with ketchup or malt vinegar.

 Those do look wonderful! That is just the ratio of potato/beef that my Grandma would use. She says "Men like meat & potatoes, but they like the meat the best"  She was a wise woman. 
  Maybe try the same crust rolled a bit thicker and then kept chilled until right as you fill them? they should hold together a bit better that way... I think. 
 

I might try again this weekend... The pastry defiantly needed to be a bit thicker.