Pasties

When I think of food from the UK I think Fish & Chips. (walked past a fish & chip place this morning called The Codfather.) I had never heard of a pasty until a few months ago when my co-workers went to a British shop in Salt Lake for lunch. But pasties are a HUGE deal here.

The first week I moved here I had two of them. (not in one day...) That first week was so cold and wet and my insides were a shaky anxious mess and those pasties set me right.

What is a pasty? It's basically a pot pie shaped like a calzone. Lots of buttery flaky crust surrounding piping hot chicken and vegetables gooieness. They can't be healthy for you, but it feels like eating a pocket of sunshine on a cold drizzly day.

I give you the pasty.

Fortunately, the day that I ate this one, I had just signed up at a small gym near my house. Not realizing that weights were measured in kilograms rather than pounds, I had a very intense work out. Not that a pasty is great recovery food, but I don't think it did much damage either. As long as I don't eat them on a regular basis...

This is my favorite shop for them, and as you can read on the door, they are voted best pasty in Cheltenham. It's no lie. I wanted to get better photo's of the shop, but the girl working the counter flipped out when I started taking pictures. I did ask this fellow if he minded me taking the picture. He didn't. There are a few rows of tables and chairs in front as well, and even on the wettest days people are sitting there drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

(and don't let the Extra 'gum' on the counter fool you. It is not normal sticks of gum like in the States.)