U.P. North Sandwich & Pasty Co. – Richland

• 8140 N. 32nd Street
• Richland, MI 49083
• (269) 692-1344
• Website
• Menu

Richland is not quite on the way to Grand Rapids, but it was for me today.  I got sent on a little mission just outside of Richland before I made my way to Grand Rapids to start my work day.

After completing my task, I headed north on M-89 to the Circle K to get gas, and , of course, a Polar Pop.  I wasn’t really looking for something for lunch, but when I passed U.P. North Sandwich & Pasty Co., I turned around and headed back.

Before eating at the original U.P. North location in Allegan, I had never had a Cudighi sandwich before…..and I liked it.  I heard a few months ago that they opened a second location in Richland, which is really almost as inconvenient for  me as the Allegan location.  Both are places I just don’t go that often.

The Richland U.P. North is right on M-89 just to the north of downtown…or, south of the Circle K.  The restaurant takes up a rather large space is a very odd building.  They share a parking lot with the business next door, but there is also a pretty large lot behind the business if finding a spot is a little tough.

There are entrances right off the front of the building which butts up to 32nd Street, but the side entrance brings you right to the order counter. 

The signature item is the Pasty, but the menu also has a number of sandwiches (including the cudighi), salads, and subs.  I picked up a menu on my way in just to look it over, but in reality, I knew exactly what I wanted.

I walked up to the order counter where the lady asked if I had been there before.  I said I have been to the Allegan location, but not this one then ordered a cudighi sandwich to go.  They have the option of a regular sandwich which is the Italian sausage patty with Mozzarella and marinara.  They also have one with the works that comes with green peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  I stuck to the original. I had originally wanted to get an order of fries too, but I forgot and decided it was better without.  The sandwiches don’t come with sides and it would have cost extra.  I wasn’t super hungry anyway nor did I need the fries, so I didn’t add the fries to my order.

The tab for the sandwich was just under five bucks which I paid cash for.  I took a seat at one of the tables in the large dining room to wait for my order.  I knew it would take a few minutes so I made myself comfortable and looked over the sweets they keep in a display case near the door.

A few minutes after sitting down, the cashier came out of the kitchen with a Styrofoam box.  She handed me a couple napkins and I was on my way.

Almost as soon as I got out of town, I popped the box open and picked up the sandwich.  The Italian bread that they use is rather large and thick.  The cudighi is a whole lot of sandwich, but a lot of it is bread.  The Italian sausage patty has a little bit of spice to it.  There was just enough marinara sauce on the sandwich to give the sandwich enough flavor, but not so much that I dripped it all over my dress shirt needing to stop for a Tide-To-Go stick.

U.P. North is one of my favorite places that I don’t get to that often.  The pasty isn’t something that interests me, but the cudighi is a sandwich I’m willing to make a trip to the Upper Peninsula for.  One of these days, we’ll get up to Marquette, but until then, Richland isn’t all that far……

Cudighi