Gravy or Ketchup?

In life sometimes you have to make tough decisions like when you are driving from the central part of Wisconsin to the central part of Michigan do you go through the UP or down through Chicago? Ok so this may not be a tough decision as we take the northern route 9 out of 10 times. The 10th time we drive through Chicago to remind us why we almost always take the northern route.

There are a lot of reasons to drive through the UP, smoked fish, fresh fish, light traffic and pasties. Yes pasties. For those of you who don't know what a pasty is it is a pastry filled with meat, potatoes and vegetables. Traditional UP pasties use rutabagas for the vegetable. The pasty is a UP tradition that was made for the miners as a 'one pot meal.'

I use to eat one every five years or so just to remind me of Wadsworth Hall cafeteria food. Now I eat them because it is a quick fix meal and simple to make. To make one all one has to do is stop at one of the many tourist traps in the UP along US2 and buy one. It doesn't get much easier than that. Our choice on Monday on our way back to Wisconsin was a store just east of Brevort on US2. It was the typical trap along US2 with plenty of UP memorabilia and a tiny restaurant all in one store. They sold homemade pasties either cooked, fresh or frozen. Our choice was frozen since we still had to get them home.

Once home just pop them in the oven and cooked them. This is where the tough decision comes in, do you eat them with gravy or ketchup?

If you are a true uper you eat them with ketchup. The wife must be a true uper because she likes hers with ketchup (she is actually born in the UP). There are a lot of things I like about the UP but ketchup on pasties isn't one of them.

This is how you can spot a troll in the UP(for those of you who don't know a troll is someone who lives under the bridge). Give someone a pasty and if they put gravy on it you know they aren't from the UP. I'm sorry but this is the only way I can eat one.

I normally don't like eating the ones you find in the store since all they are are cheap imitations but if I am going through the UP every now and then I get a craving and have to stop and buy a pasty.

So what is your preference, gravy or ketchup?

I thought I would post this picture too because I have been playing around with Photoshop. This is tonights meal.


Detroit Red Wings 2008 Stanley Cup Champions. Sounds great doesn't it?