If you are looking for an inexpensive, hearty, tasty meal, the Pasty Shack may be the place for you.

The Pasty Shack (4746 J Street) is the only restaurant that sells strictly pasties in Northern California, according to manager Bill Mier.

A pasty is an old-English pastry filled with meats and vegetables. They supposedly originated in Cornwall, England during the 1300’s. Miners brought them to America in the 1800’s.

In mining times, pasties were pre-cooked and eaten as meals by miners later in the day.

Bill Mier, manager of the Pasty Shack is passionate about his work. The Pasty Shack has been in business 63 years and has changed locations in East Sacramento several times. The original owners, the Harris family, opened in a small alley on K Street in 1945.

Mier chooses to only sell pasties because he believes it is mandatory to keep to the same recipes that were in place when the restaurant started in the 1940’s.

Mier received his recipes from the Harris family. “We have stuck to the same recipes since the existence of our restaurant,” said Mier. However, over the past four years he has added additional recipes such as the Mexican and tamale pasties.

The Cornish (beef, diced potatoes, onions), the Tamale (pork, potatoes, onions), and the Bavarian (beef, cabbage, bell peppers, and onions), all cost $6.20. The Vegetarian pasty- containing a variety of vegetables, and diced potatoes- costs $5.45. The Chicken pasty (mushrooms and potatoes) costs $5.70. The most popular pasties are the Cornish and Chicken.

If you’d like to save even more money, you can take the pasties home to cook in your own oven. They take 40 minutes to cook and five minutes to cool, but cooking will save you 25 cents.

Because of the restaurant’s historic roots, many East Sacramento families have been going there for years. “We have many regulars. In fact, they probably make up 80 percent of our business,” Mier said.

“We also have many families coming in. I’d say our customers range from age six to 86. Because we’re the only [pasty] place in town, we have a great age span,” he said.

Even though the Pasty Shack gets a lot of “walk-in” business, their main revenues are derived from large restaurant and pub orders.

“We supply numerous British pubs in Sacramento, including Streets of London, (1804 J Street),” Mier said.

Mier, as well as his two part-time employees and a full-time baker bake about 250 pasties a week just for pubs.

They also often make huge deliveries to State offices during major occasions, as well as to the UPS headquarters for business meetings. Overall, approximately 200 pasties are made daily.

These pasties were very popular at the State Fair. However, according to Mier, the summer months are much slower for business because pasties are served hot.

This summer was especially difficult with the worsening economy.

Ten Juniors and Seniors have been to the Pasty Shack. Among these students, there was a range of opinions.

Junior Matt Akins said that he immediately fell in love with the restaurant after trying it the after he moved to Sacramento two years ago.

“I love pasties in general, especially when someone else makes them for me,” said Akins. He loved the variety and taste of the Pasty Shack’s pasties.

Junior Marco Siragusa, however, feels differently. He too first went to the Pasty Shack when he moved to Sacramento as a young boy.

“It was awful. It was greasy and just gross. It’s like a crappy, ruined calzone,” he said.

I found the Pasties were delicious and quite fairly priced given the large quantity of meat and vegetables. I tried the Mexican Pasty (available only on Thursday) and found it scrumptious, it was spicy, and overall satisfying.

Because there are only six tables at the Pasty Shack, most orders are take out.

If you’re in the mood for a tasty, filling meal, try the Pasty Shack for a taste of old England.