Pasties, a 1800s era miner's lunch. A contemporary take on pasties.

[UncleDave]

Beautiful town and area.

Gorgeous country. View from the office.
There is a strong cornish heritage in this town. We have many employees that supplement their incomes from hobby mining.

It's also where TV as you know it was basically invented, but thats another thread.

When I hit a pasty place I typically get about 8-10 "small" ones, a weeks worth of lunches for the wife and I.

 

[thunderfog]

In West Virginia, due to the high numbers of Italian immigrants there, coal miners ate boat loads of pepperoni rolls...basically just pepperoni and mozzarella jammed into pizza dough. Still very popular there.

And because of those Italian backgrounds, West Virginia has some *very* good Italian restaurants, which might surprise people.

 

[Pablo]

In West Virginia, due to the high numbers of Italian immigrants there, coal miners ate boat loads of pepperoni rolls...basically just pepperoni and mozzarella jammed into pizza dough. Still very popular there.

And because of those Italian backgrounds, West Virginia has some *very* good Italian restaurants, which might surprise people.

No such thing as pepperoni in Italy, so they used some cured pork or something similar originally (pre 1920 or so) I assume. But yes if there was work Italians were there.

 

[ecotourist]

My grandfather was one of those Finnish miners in the iron ore mine at Ironwood, Michigan in the late 1890s. He was there long enough to have his name anglicized. He later worked in a copper mine at Butte, Montana, on a fishing boat off the west coast, and then farming in North Dakota and finally Manitoba.

I'm sure he ate many authentic Finnish pasties during his time in the UP.

Several of my grandfather's brothers settled in Ironwood. We were visiting cousins there and went to copy a few old photos at a store downtown. The clerk said "I don't know who you are but these people are all my relatives." With the passage of a couple of generations I expect I'm related to many people (maybe even most people) in Ironwood.

 

[Blueshound]

OP's pasty looks awesome.

Re: Italian pasty - around here they call it a calzone.

 

[74DartSport]

Many moons ago there were a lot of mines in the area. I’ve heard this is the best in our area-

Rocky's Pasties

Rocky's is a small, family owned takeout food business in Wharton, NJ, specializing in homemade Cornish style pasties.

www.rockyspasties.com

 

[irad]

A filling folded over with bread. SO appealing and basic.

One to avoid, however, are Jamaican pasties. They're easily >90% bread by weight. Once, I even went to a commercial Caribbean bakery in Queens. Their entire product line was substandard.

Food's gotta have have some nutritive balance. Carb content has come up on this board on occasion.
Also, I can't overlook that poorer workers' food from regions lacking refrigeration is going to be unacceptably greasy and likely refried.
Columbian restaurants have popped up around me and I cannot bring myself to order anything as it's all "bullet proof breaded belly bombers".

....not trying to be negative here...McDonald's don't serve broccoli either.

Try Mama's or Papa's empanadas on Steinway street. They have several locations in Queens now.

 

[4WD]

Drei im Weggla for me please.

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Nice - This area was settled by Czech & German farmers - the smokehouses have smokehouses

 

[vavavroom]

Drei im Weggla for me please.

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Nuremberg brats, spiced with marjoram rather than with its gauche cousin oregano. A fresh roll, coarse mustard, I'm in.

 

[Kira]

^^You had me at 'brats'.

 

[vavavroom]

Everybody is going to gain five pounds from reading this thread.

 

[sloinker]

My mother made these periodically until she passed in 2014. She was born and raised in San Francisco so maybe that was her indoctrination. She was half Russian 2nd generation and made borscht and Piroshki's also. Liked the Piroshki's,(Pirogi's?), borscht nyet.

 

[paulo57509]

Wednesday was pastie day at the M&M Cafe in Butte, MT. You had to get there before 3pm or they were sold out.

Destroyed by fire in 2021. Reopened next door a few years afterwards.

 

[Owen Lucas]

We have many employees that supplement their incomes from hobby mining.

Sounds intriguing. SO they have their own plot of land or a creek and pan / dig for gold?

 

[UncleDave]

Sounds intriguing. SO they have their own plot of land or a creek and pan / dig for gold?

Some have property, other rent a claim on a piece/ stretch of River, other just hoof it with a back full of gear to their " secret spot" on the river.

There's multiple rivers & streams coming down from the sierras and something like 5K miles of ditches flumes, rivers, and creeks throughout Placer and Nevada county.

A very high % of that system is piped and delivered to parcels of land delivered in one of the earliest systems of measurement still in use today - the miners inch.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Some have property, other rent a claim on a piece/ stretch of River, other just hoof it with a back full of gear to their " secret spot" on the river.

I thought this would be especially difficult to do in CA considering strict environmental regulations, especially piping water off of a stream!

Sounds like an exciting hobby!

 

[redtrucker610]

I like pasties. There was/is a shop called MR Pastie the next small town over from where I grew up. They would make them however you liked. Mom would stop one or twice a month and bring them home for diner. I haven’t had one in years though.

 

[vavavroom]

I thought this would be especially difficult to do in CA considering strict environmental regulations, especially piping water off of a stream!

Sounds like an exciting hobby!

30 years ago I and a few friends went hiking in Gold Country. We went off the trail and were following a small stream through a narrow gulch when three guys armed with rifles showed up high above us and told us we were trespassing on their land and to turn back immediately or else. We pointed out we hadn't crossed any fence or seen signs and were just hiking. We were forced to turn back and the three guys followed us for at least one mile. So yeah, be careful when you go hiking in areas like that and you are not 100% sure you are not on a trail. You never know who is doing what out there.

 

[Pablo]

I get miner fix on YouTube. Cheaper and more gold.

 

[UncleDave]

30 years ago I and a few friends went hiking in Gold Country. We went off the trail and were following a small stream through a narrow gulch when three guys armed with rifles showed up high above us and told us we were trespassing on their land and to turn back immediately or else. We pointed out we hadn't crossed any fence or seen signs and were just hiking. We were forced to turn back and the three guys followed us for at least one mile. So yeah, be careful when you go hiking in areas like that and you are not 100% sure you are not on a trail. You never know who is doing what out there.

You always have to be aware of where you are.

The other thing the place is known for is the green colored gold.

You were probably were about to stumble on a grow. Lots along river beds doing illegal diversion.

Lots of it thats legal as well fed off "x" miners inches deeded to the plot. Having a water right is the equivalent of Gold.

When I can walk into a random coffee shop in Amsterdam on a business trip and buy weed labeled to be from Grass Valley Ca you know it's a thing.