Muldoons Pasties & Gifts — Restaurant in Munising

Was traveling through the UP and decided to do a small taste test of the most highly rated pasties in the area. The contenders were: Lehto’s, Haiwatha, and Maldoon’s. Wanted to include Sposito's, but they were closed on the day we drove by. All of the pasties were obtained frozen and reheated. Probably should have taken photos, but I didn’t. My apologies.

Letho’s: Pasties were the largest and meatiest of the pasties tested. The crust was thin and crisp. The filling was dense. There were sliced potatoes layered into the filing. Haiwatha: Haiwatha’s pasties had the thickest, flakiest crust of the three pasties tested, giving the pastie more of a hot pocket type feel to it. The filing was moist and had a more “free form” texture. There were visible chunks of potatoes and rutabagas in the mix. Maldoon’s: Maldoon’s crust was also thin and crispy, but not quite as thin as Letho’s. It’s shape was also more rounded. The filing consisted of a larger percentage of fluffy, diced potatoes in the mix. Despite being physically larger than the Haiwatha, this pastie had the lightest texture of the three pasties tested. Oddly, it almost resembled a knish.

So the obvious question becomes, which was best? The answer is: it depends. One of the things I learned while eating numerous pasties was that what would be considered “best” is really more of a matter of personal preference than anything else. None of the above pasties were bad. In fact, all of the above pasties were pretty good and I wouldn’t be disappointed by any of them. But if you’re someone who appreciates a flaky crust, Hiawatha is going to be your preference whereas if you are a meat person, then Letho’s is probably your best choice. Personally, I found Maldoon’s lighter balance of filing, crust, and texture to be “best,” but that’s like, just my opinion man. My wife actually preferred Haiwatha’s non-traditional chicken and vegetable pasty over the beef versions, describing it as a hand-held chicken pot pie. Now, while there may not be a “best” pasty, I am 100% confident there are several worst pasties out there. My recommendation would be to stick to the more popular pasty places instead of some random road side souvenir store or gas station.

A few other notes: -The recommended cooking time for reheating a pasty was 20-30 minutes at 350. This resulted in a warm pasty with a limp crust. I found that every pasty, regardless of the manufacturer. benefited from being in the oven for a full 40-60 minutes. This resulted in a hot pasty with a crisp crust. -In terms of condiments, ketchup is clearly superior to gravy. Ketchup improved pasties by providing sweetness, sourness, and tomato umami, all of which pasties are lacking. (I could get into the science of why adding an acid to long cooked foods is beneficial, but I won’t.) Gravy was very one-note. It didn’t enhance the flavors of the pasty, but rather muted them by making the pasty taste like gravy. Plus they often had a gloppy texture. -We had one dessert pasty (from Maldoon’s) which was simply terrible. The filing was canned pie filling and with the filing being so wet and gloppy the crust remained soggy....

I have Cornish heritage, lived in Cornwall for 10 years, and still visit several times a year. While visiting my cousin in the U.P., I was encouraged to try a local pasty. Driving into Munising, my wife spotted this shop – it looked charming, so we spun around and pulled into the car park.

Outside was a plaque explaining what a pasty is, proudly stating this was among the top U.P. pasty shops. All sounding very promising! We walked in with high hopes.

There was a window to the kitchen, and I peered through. They were making a batch of something – but not pasty-shaped, and certainly not crimped. These wouldn’t even pass for Devon pasties. I thought maybe they were making a special order, so I went to the counter.

Meanwhile, my wife browsed the attached gift shop (perhaps a sign in itself). The vegetarian pasty filling was listed as carrot, broccoli, and cauliflower – things you’d never find in a traditional Cornish pasty, meat or veg. And no sign of turnip (or rutabaga, as it’s called here) – a key ingredient!

Still, I ordered one. I nearly fell over when told it would be $9, but thought “Well, the reviews must mean it’s worth it.” Oh, how wrong I was.

The pastry was undercooked yet somehow dry and crumbly. There was no seasoning – it tasted of nothing at all. It gave me heartburn and made me feel unwell. If it had been a decent vegetable pie, I might have accepted it for what it was – but it wasn’t even that.

I’ve eaten countless Cornish pasties and even some Devon ones, and this was the worst by far. I’d sooner have a Ginsters from a motorway service station – and that’s...

This is the second time I’ve been here in the last decade because I live in Ann Arbor and not near here in the slightest. But let me tell you, if I lived near here, it could be a problem, because these pasty’s are so delicious! I get the chicken ones with chicken gravy and they have a yummy flavor with the right seasoning and the flakiest crust. This time we brought our kids and my son devoured his. I also got four to take home that were frozen, because you can order them, hot, cold, or frozen. We got the ones we ate there hot and the ones to go frozen. We also got a blueberry and apple pie pasty to go which I will be trying soon as well. The only thing to watch out for is that my hands were full and I had two bags full of food, they are very heavy and the paper bags are very thin, the one bag ripped and all the food spilled onto the ground. One of the gravy’s spilled on the ground and all over the bag and pasty’s. It was an enormous mess. There was a long line I stood in and did not want to stand in it again for a replacement and I just spent $70 in pasty’s, I ran in to the front and explained what happened (I mean, she literally just saw me) and asked for a replacement gravy, she seems annoyed and seemed like she wanted to charge me, but she hesitated and gave it to me, which I appreciate. We...