Traverse Northern Michigan's Magazine, December 2021

Traverse + ICE SKATING IN BENZIE

SIP: HOLIDAY HUMMER

PAHL’S SANTA EXPERIENCE

p.30

p.36

p.22

Ski the North's Snowbelt

Tom's Mom's Elves

A Lighthouse Christmas

NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

THAT HOLIDAY GLOW ‘TIS THE SEASON IN TRAVERSE CITY! ENJOY A DOWNTOWN TREE LIGHTING, FESTIVE PARADE AND PLENTY OF HOT COCOA.

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SPECIAL INSERT

Northern Home & Cottage

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DECEMBER 2O21

$4.5O

11/9/21 4:03 PM

May the good things of life be yours in abundance throughout the coming year.

embrace. educate. empower.

Dawn Hemming, MBA Autumn C. Soltysiak, CFP 600 E. Front Street. Traverse City, MI 49686 231.922.2900 I empower@hemmingwm.com www.hemmingwm.com hemming& Wealth Management, Inc. (”hemming& Wealth Management”) is a Registered Investment Advisor (”RIA”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (”SEC”).

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bac-tc.com | bacdesigntc.com

LAKEMORE RESORT located on Arbutus Lake is a quintessential example of the spectacular, impressive results of the synergy and collaboration between a builder like Bay Area Contracting and a team of interior designers like BAC Design Group.

Reservations Available!

Book your Vacation Rental

bac-tc.com | bacdesigntc.com

LakemoreResort.com T R AV E R S E C I T Y, M I C H I G A N

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2021 Parade of Homes Winner!

11/8/21 1:38 PM

T

Building and renovating Northern Michigan’s finest residences.

Meet the Team

Matt Block, Assistant Project Manager

Matt moved to Traverse City in May of 2014 from Southeast Wisconsin. He has many years of experience in Operations and Field Management with a focus on scheduling, team building, and logistics. Matt came from a background in framing and is driven to keep the team player atmosphere thriving on our job sites as well as the office. He is not afraid to get his hands dirty to make sure the job gets done. In his free time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. He joined the J Peterson Team in June of 2021 as our Assistant Project Manager.

joel@joelpetersonhomes.com • 516 E. Front St., Traverse City • 231.994.2168

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Traverse 12.21 INSIDE

F E AT U R E S

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT UP NORTH, PEOPLE, PLACES, FOOD AND EVENTS.

22 SHINE ON.

Step back in time and experience the coziness of a lighthouse keeper’s 1920s Christmas celebration with his wife and eight children at Northport’s Grand Traverse Lighthouse.

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS

26 A HOLIDAY STORY WITHOUT END

For children and adults alike, Traverse City has sparkled with enchantment each December for a century and counting. Here’s how to ring in the season downtown.

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BONDS FORGED IN SNOW With its 25 km groomed trail system, Forbush Corner Nordic Ski Center in Frederic will steal any cross-country skier’s heart. But that’s not all—with snowmaking, they're able to open earlier and stay open later than most resorts in Michigan.

It’s paradise.

BY KANDACE CHAPPLE PHOTOS BY BETH PRICE

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS / PHOTOS BY MICHAEL POEHLMAN

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photo by Beth Price

TRADITIONALLY SWEET

The elves are busy at Tom's Mom's Cookies as another holiday season brings thousands of orders. We visit the bustling Harbor Springs kitchen to discover the magic.

B Y K I M S C H N E I D E R / P H O T O S B Y M E L I S A M C K O L AY

NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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DOWNTOWN TC WITH BONUS APARTMENT Mother-in-Law Suite with Separate Entrance 4 Bedrooms/2 Baths

photo by Dave Weidner

Completely Updated Close to The Commons and shopping Attached Two Car Garage

1228 S. Union Street, Traverse City MLS #1894090 | $450,000

402 E Front Street, Traverse City, MI 49686

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DE PART M E N T S 7 | EDITOR'S NOTE

Ann Porter ASSOCIATE BROKER

231.944.4959

Ann@AnnPorterTC.com Visit AnnPorterTC.com for more information.

D OW N TOW N S U T TO N S B AY

(231) 271-3841 | bahles.net

9 | UP NORTH

Take a tractor-pulled hayride through the snow to meet jolly ol’ St. Nick at Pahl’s Country Store in Buckley, and warm up around a bonfire with some cocoa and roasted marshmallows. Plus, more festivities across the North.

14 | DECEMBER EVENTS

There’s plenty of cheer to go around this month, from light displays and parades, to winter strolls and wine tasting.

17 | TRAVEL

Give yourself the gift of relaxation with these cozy staycations and picturesque outdoor excursions.

18 | UP IN MICHIGAN

A retired principal reflects on how his mother-in-law, who had dementia, opened his eyes to small moments of joy.

Follow Us On Social Media now available

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facebook.com/mynorthmedia

21 | OUTDOORS

Tune up your skis and venture into the iron hills and snow-socked slopes of the Upper Peninsula.

41 | THE CULINARY NORTH The iconic Traverse City bar Lil Bo is back and full of the same smiles and laughter (plus a few new additions!); grab a sandwich at L’Chayim Deli in Beulah then hit the Benzonia Ice Rink.

47 | ON THE TABLE

These black walnut and dried cherry biscotti are perfect for dunking in some (extra!) coffee during the holidays.

51 | LAST CALL

For a wintertime take on Michigan’s favorite summer cocktail, we pair candy canes and coffee liqueur with vanilla ice cream.

52 | LOVE OF THE LAND

Grab a pair of snowshoes and meander through the wild, riparian habitat of the Sturgeon River Preserve.

instagram.com/mynorthmedia

ON THE COVER

pinterest.com/mynorthmedia

Downtown Traverse City shines bright during the holidays.

PHOTO BY DAVE WEIDNER

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Traverse

®

NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

A MyNorth Media Publication PRESIDENT/EDITOR IN CHIEF CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

Deborah Wyatt Fellows Michael Wnek

ASSOCIATE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR DIGITAL CONTENT WRITER & SOCIAL MEDIA PROJECT MANAGER

Elizabeth Aseritis Caroline Dahlquist

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Andrew VanDrie Kandace Chapple Cara McDonald Kim Schneider Heather Durocher

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Perfect Holiday Pairings

Julie Parker

DIRECTOR OF SALES

MARKETING DIRECTOR

berry Blue t with Merlo Cheese Goat

Rachel Watson Claire Houser

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

ot Apricdonnay Char Brie with

Tim Hussey Theresa Burau-Baehr

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR, SPECIAL SECTIONS

SALES ACCOUNT COORDINATOR

berry Black z with a a ir h S Goud Aged

Rachel Soulliere Stacey Brugeman

PROOFREADERS

ART DIRECTOR

Applebon with Bour onzola Gorg

Elizabeth Edwards Carly Simpson Allison Jarrell

SENIOR EDITOR

CULINARY COLUMNIST

h Peac bon with Bourchego n Ma ry Cher bon with Bour igianom r a P iano Regg

Vol. 41 | No. 7

Tabatha VanWingerden Mike Alfaro Ann Gatrell Julie James Meg Lau

DOWNTOWN PETOSKEY

Michigan Bourbon and Wine preserves from Food For Thought for next-level holiday entertaining Our small-batch, handcrafted preserves are made with farm fresh fruit, organic wines and top tier, local craft bourbon from Grand Traverse Distillery. Wonderful on crusty bread and pastries at your brunch table, pair perfectly with gourmet cheese and charcuterie (see photo above for inspiration!), stir into a cocktail, use them to elevate your holiday baking, or give as gifts.

Erin Lutke Ashlyn Korienek Libby Stallman

OFFICE MANAGER

Kim Stewart

BOOKKEEPER

EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICES

125 S Park Street, Suite 155 Traverse City, MI 49684 Phone: 231.941.8174 | Fax: 231.941.8391 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES

Visit MyNorth.com/Account to renew your subscription, change your address, or review your account.

Family run business specializing in Gourmet Cinnamon Rolls and Custom Roasted Coffee from a family German recipe passed down from Matilda ‘Tillie’ Dewes over 100 years.

Send a taste of Michigan to your family, friends, customers and co-workers this holiday!

Our TC Cherry Favorites gift box features popular gourmet cherry items that everyone will love – other gift options available.

Please email other subscription inquiries to info@mynorth.com or call 800-678-3416 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST. Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine, (ISSN10713719) is published monthly

by Prism Publications Inc., 125 S Park Street, Suite 155, Traverse City, MI 49684.

Periodicals class postage paid at Traverse City, MI 49684 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine, 125 Park St, Suite 155, Traverse City, MI 49684. Advertising rates available upon request. Subscription rate: $24.95 for 12 issues. Single issue price: $4.50. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. All rights reserved. Copyright 2021, Prism Publications Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Holiday Gift Sets

437 E. Mitchell St, Petoskey, MI 49770 231-753-2044 Wednesday – Monday 7am to 3pm www.tilliestafel.com •

@tilliestafel •

foodforthought.net

Save 25% on all orders with code DEC25Tmag.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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Thank you God for the gift of

1913

108 years

2021 Eph 2:8-10

GIFT GIVING MADE EASY

~ Unique Gift Giving ~ World Famous Smoked Pork Loin, Whole Smoked Turkeys, Smoked Turkey Breasts, Hams, Bacon, Sausage and Smoked Fish.

Nationwide Shipping Available at Plathsmeats.com 2200 East Mitchell Rd. at the corner of Mitchell & Division Roads PETOSKEY 231-348-8100 116 South 3rd Street ROGERS CITY 989-734-2232

4-PACK SAMPLER GIFT SETS

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May 21st - Dec. 23rd 10 am - 5 pm Closed Holidays & Sundays 4907 River Road, Frankfort 231-920-7085 CrystalLakeAlpacas.com 2nd boutique location in the Mercato in The Village at Grand Traverse Commons

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for the foodies on your list

Fustini’s most popular olive oils and balsamics together in an elegant gift set. Mix and match these classics for just about anything - marinades, sautés, dressings and bread dipping.

Stop by one of our locations or visit us online to order and ship with a gift message!

Let’s Get Together and Cook!

141 E FRONT ST • TRAVERSE CITY • 231-944-1145 PETOSKEY • ANN ARBOR • HOLLAND

FUSTINIS.COM

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editor's note

SMALL TOWN MAGIC

by DEBORAH WYATT FELLOWS

photo by Michael Poehlman

I

was walking with a dear friend, Carolyn Faught, the other day, and she was recalling her first job as a buyer for Lazarus in Cincinnati.

Founder Simon Lazarus started as a small retailer in downtown Columbus, Ohio, opening a oneroom men’s clothing store in 1851. He went on to build a huge department store franchise that dominated the Midwest until department stores began to struggle and Lazarus merged with Macy’s in 2005.

Carolyn was recalling the holiday season at Lazarus in the '80s, remembering the magical 6th floor that drew people from far and wide to immerse themselves in the decorations and mechanical moving elves. I was reminded of my family’s annual trip to Hudson’s in downtown Detroit where we’d walk past the windows that entranced us with the same magic and movement. We’d see Santa, leave our parents behind to enter the children’s shopping area and relish our Shirley Temples at the rare dinner out that followed. At the end of the evening, we’d drive back home down the freeway, a sea of lights flowing toward us as we left behind the city, Santa and drinks with maraschino cherries.

Simon Lazarus and Joseph Hudson started with small retail shops located in downtowns. Just like our Northern Michigan retailers, they had a dream, hung a sign and offered curated goods and customer service. But eventually, most of their downtown stores were shuttered. The retailers in our small downtowns each took a risk on a dream, hung a sign, but they remain in our downtowns. In our region, it is our small towns that provide the holiday magic. And what magic it is. Each town is lit so beautifully for the holidays against the dark sky that it seems as if you are entering a Hallmark card. The store lights glow, the retailers skillfully manage to create an environment of welcome, even relaxed shopping in a store carefully curated and beautifully displayed. You step outside from one store into the crisp air and twinkling lights before entering another warm and welcoming shop. Picking out gifts for family and friends always used to be a tactile experience—feeling that sweater, swinging that golf club, smelling the candle. In Northern Michigan, it still is, with a stunning dose of beauty and spirit.

My childhood holiday experience was quite different than that of my kids. Where mine was a trip downtown that seemed like I was entering a world completely outside myself, our kids’ holiday outing was the opposite. We were engulfed in community. On the prescribed night, we’d drive dark county roads muffled with snow to the small village where the kids attended school, heading to the Village Green

for caroling. Santa arrived on the volunteer fire department’s truck that the kids would chase to the community building with its wooden floors and big windows. Women dressed as elves stood behind a long cookie decorating table where the kids applied too much frosting and careful, or elaborate, decorations. There were appetizers, hot cider, coffee and desserts.

Before we knew it, we were on familiar backroads, gliding through the muffled quiet toward home. A few days later, we would head to one of our region’s small towns, shop for food we’d donate and then go shop to shop with the kids as they picked out gifts. When they got older, they would head off on their own, returning with flushed faces and packages, sharing in hushed voices the gifts they’d bought or maybe a sibling’s transgression. It was a safe, lovely outing that reinforced in our kids the value of shopping locally.

I don't know how to truly share the magic of our beautiful, simple and elegant holidays here in Northern Michigan. But I can tell you that it is the antithesis of online buying. Sure, we all buy online. If we didn’t much before the pandemic, we do now. But if there was ever a time to return to the magic, it is now. We are changed in many ways by COVID-19, but we have come away with the knowledge that connection has meaning. Connecting with family and friends, connecting with place, connecting with beauty and spirit, connecting with meaning. The holidays in our region embody it all. Whether you live here or head North, leave the computer behind and step into the magic. Happy holidays to you all.

Deborah Wyatt Fellows is founder and editor in chief of Traverse Magazine/MyNorth.com. debwf@traversemagazine.com NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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Celebrating 44 years

Beautifully White, Less Green.

COMING SOON

Can Be Personalized!

231.271.6895 • FrontPorchSuttonsBay.com Downtown Suttons Bay • Open Daily

Skiing, spectacular views, and apple-cheeked families around crackling fires indoors and out.

SAVE NOW Spend less green with pre-season prices at thehomesteadresort.com or 231.334.5100.

SM

Open Year Round

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G l e n A r b o r, M I 4 9 6 3 6 FOLLOW US ON Facebook | Instagram

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Up North.

PEOPLE | NATURE | ARTS | NOSTALGIA | BUZZ | WISDOM | CURIOSITIES

HO HO HO!

by CARLY SIMPSON

Meet Santa at Pahl’s Country Store in Buckley. Plus, more holiday events across the North.

photo by Dave Weidner

P

ahl's country store in Buckley has long been a destination for family fun and merrymaking, starting with a fall pumpkin patch in 1999 and expanding to include a corn maze, hayrides, pumpkin doughnuts, friendly goats and, come December, Santa. Visits with the jolly fellow have become a tradition during the past five years, and start with a tractor-pulled hayride through a snowy forest to Santa’s cabin. There, families can warm up by the bonfire, roast marshmallows and have a cup of cocoa. Christmas trees and wreaths are also for sale. “Our goal is to have a 'non-mall'-type Santa visit, and allow kids to see Santa without an audience,” says co-owner Holly Pahl. It's all a part of a larger vision to provide a family-friendly, affordable outdoor venue for generations to come. The Santa Experience starts the day after Thanksgiving, open on Fridays (4–7 p.m.), Saturdays and Sundays (12–7 p.m.) until Christmas. pahlscountrystore.com NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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up north

Crystal Downs Country Club

Suzy Voltz

• MLS 1893857

Lot Wooded Vacant RealEstateOne.com (231) 651-9711 suzy.voltz@gmail.com 57 N. Michigan Ave • Beulah • 231-882-4449

forecast

snow, Beauty & serenity Perfect

for a Getaway

SKI RESORT FUN A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS PARTY DEC. 11

Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire hosts a holiday dinner and dancing— individuals, couples and groups of any size are welcome, including small businesses or just friends. The event includes hors d'oeuvres, prime rib, dessert, a cash bar and dancing with entertainment by FeelGood, a Chicagobased tribute band that plays hits from the '60s to today. shantycreek.com HOLIDAYS AT THE HIGHLANDS DEC. 17–31

It’s completely accurate to call Boyne Highlands a winter wonderland. The Harbor Springs ski resort is twinkling with lights this time of year, and there are crafts, games, bonfires, treats, a tree lighting, Christmas dinner and more festivities for guests during the holiday season. Tip: Don't miss The Enchanted Trail, a two-mile walk along a beautifully lit trail, open on select dates including Dec. 10–12, 16–19 and 23–31. boynehighlands.com

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER WITH SANTA | DEC. 24

Dine with Father Christmas himself at Stein Ericksen’s. Located in Boyne Mountain’s Clock Tower Lodge, the Boyne Falls restaurant overlooks the resort’s snowy slopes and ice-skating rink. The menu includes savory delights like smoked whitefish and salmon displays, carved prime rib and walnut-crust pork loin, along with candied sweet potatoes and a selection of pies, cakes and pastries.

Reservations are highly recommended.

Call 231.549.6854. boynemountain.com CONCERTS & PLAYS ELF THE MUSICAL | DEC. 3–11

sleepingbeardunes.com 10

Based on the hilarious and muchloved movie, this musical adaptation presented by Northern Michigan University at Forest Roberts Theatre in Marquette will put you in the holiday spirit. nmu.edu/theatreanddance

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up north

WSCC HOLIDAY ROCK SPECTACULAR | DEC. 10

Get ready for a high-energy evening at Radiant Church in Ludington featuring guitarist Lou Musa from the Verve Pipe, Craig Avery and Kevin Depree from the Grand Rapids-based band, Brenna, along with special appearances from Groove 101, Edgar Struble and many more area favorites. pureludington.com THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR | DEC. 14

The NMC Concert Band performs Christmas and Hanukkah favorites at Traverse City's Milliken Auditorium.

“Sleigh Ride,” “Dreidel Dance” and “Christmas with Mozart” are just a few of the selections. MyNorthTickets.com MESSIAH | DEC. 16–17

The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra presents Handel’s “Messiah” at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts in Bay Harbor. German composer, George Frideric Handel wrote “Messiah,” an English language oratorio, in 1741. It remains a holiday favorite 280 years later. MyNorthTickets.com SMALL TOWN CHEER DECK THE HALLS: A MASON COUNTY DECORATING CONTEST | DEC. 1–27

Back by popular demand, Mason County residents may enter the Chamber's decorating contest, and a map will be published so you can take a tour of the lights. pureludington.com PETOSKEY HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE | DEC. 3

Merchants open their doors to offer warm greetings and the streets are filled with merry entertainment during this annual shopping event. petoskeydowntown.com

photo by Dave Weidner

ANNUAL WEST MICHIGAN B&B CHRISTMAS COOKIE TOUR | DEC. 3–5

This is your chance to see beautiful inns in Ludington and West Michigan decked out for the holidays, sample cookies and shop products on display from local merchants. ludingtonbedandbreakfast.com

EXTREEVAGANZA | DEC. 3

This night of giving hosted by the Otsego Community Foundation at Otsego Resort features live and silent auctions, raffles, music, a cash bar and an after-party. gaylordmichigan.net CHEBOYGAN PARADE OF LIGHTS | DEC. 4

Bring the whole family to enjoy! cheboygan.com BELLAIRE LIGHT UP THE NIGHT & SOUP COOK-OFF | DEC. 4

Take part in downtown Bellaire’s annual Soup Cook-Off, light parade and tree lighting. bellairechamber.org HARBOR SPRINGS MERCHANTS HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE | DEC. 4

An evening filled with shopping and treats, plus special music by the talented Petoskey High School Steel Drum Band. harborspringschamber.com CHARLEVOIX MERCHANT OPEN HOUSE | DEC. 4

Merchants will have entertainment, samples, refreshments, special sales, raffles and more. visitcharlevoix.com TRAVERSE CITY LADIES' NIGHT & MEN’S NIGHT | DEC. 9 & DEC. 16

These popular annual events are the perfect time to finish up your shopping at downtown stores, plus enjoy specials and refreshments. downtowntc.com

FIND MORE HOLIDAY EVENTS AT MYNORTH.COM/NORTHERN-MICHIGAN-EVENTS

NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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Elizabeth Blair

FinePearls

Ceramics by Elizabeth DeLyria

Everyday Luxe 115 W. Main Street ~ Harbor Springs, MI ~ 231.526.7500 WestMainPearls.com ~ ElizabethBlair.com Jewelers of America Cultured Pearl Association of America American Gem Society

-CLOSED-

Reopening Spring 2022 watch for

Holiday Pop -Up Shop December 2021 (231) 386-5529 PO Box 1 • Omena MI 49674

Paths twist and turn, eager for your next adventure. A clear blue sky stretches on for miles. Hills roll on forever, white with snow. Natural beauty comes into focus and sets the stage for the perfect getaway.

And there you are, in the middle of it all. In your element.

C R YS TA L M O U N TA I N .C O M

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up north

^ NEW UP NORTH A monthly column highlighting new businesses and community updates.

FLORA BAE HOME 209 HOWARD ST., PETOSKEY

Opening in May, this boutique owned and curated by Natalie Bae Lauzon carries a variety of artisanal goods, home decor, candles, apothecary items, accent furniture, house plants, jewelry and more with a focus on products from women artists and women-owned small businesses. florabaehome.com DETROIT WING CO. 1201 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY

A metro Detroit-based restaurant known for its wings and 19 housemade sauces opened its first location in Northern Michigan this fall. DWC has been ranked among the best spots for wings by Esquire, HOUR Detroit Magazine, Delish.com and others. detroitwingco.com

photo by Manistee County Historical Society

YEN YOGA & FITNESS 615 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY

Yen Yoga has partnered with Delamar Traverse City to create a new 3,000-square-foot studio within the renovated hotel offering yoga and hot yoga, cycling, fitness and mobility classes. There will be a dedicated entrance and Yen Yoga members will have access to Delamar’s pools, lounge areas, bayside deck and fitness room. Anticipated opening in winter 2022. yenyogafitness.com

Know of a business that just opened or have a fun community update? Let us know at editorial@traversemagazine.com.

TOUR MANISTEE COUNTY’S STORIED PAST Manistee County is home to an incredible collection of historical buildings, a major attraction for history-loving travelers. Many are showcased on eight themed tours highlighting 100-plus sites. These self-guided Manistee Historic Sites Tours include churches, the downtown district, homes, industrial areas, museums and the Riverwalk, and the tours are being expanded over the next 12 to 24 months by the Manistee County Visitors Bureau, which was awarded a $72,500 grant from USDA Rural Development. Other funding sources bring the project total to $150,000, allowing for a significant program expansion—most importantly, the inclusion of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians’ history in Manistee County through narratives and added spots such as the Cultural Corridor at Little River Casino Resort. More program enhancements will include the addition of 20-plus historical sites (private homes, Udell Rollaways and Lookout Tower and the Old Lyric Theatre, for example), a Founders Walk, route signage with QR codes offering access to digital content and an updated printed guidebook and online content at visitmanisteecounty.com. -C.S.

CHECK OUT STEM KITS FROM A LOCAL LIBRARY Kids can create an interactive toy, code a robot, build a play garden and design outfits. There’s a STEM kit for every age and interest. And thanks to a collaborative effort between Newton’s Road—a Traverse City nonprofit working to connect K-12 children with STEM learning—and Traverse Area District Library (TADL), STEM kits ranging from building sets to card games are now available in all 21 regional libraries in the fivecounty area (Antrim, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie and Leelanau).

The partnership began in 2019 between Barb Termaat, executive director of Newton’s Road, and Andy Schuck, TADL's youth services coordinator.

TADL’s main branch on Woodmere had about 80 STEM kits in circulation, but they weren't being heavily used. Termaat asked Schuck if they'd be interested in partnering with Newton's Road to increase access and interest. “Children really benefit from the hands-on, tinkering nature of STEM kits, so it's important for us as librarians to make sure every child in our region has the opportunity to try them,” Schuck says. “Seeing the moment that the proverbial light bulb turns on as they experiment never gets old.” The ripple effect has resulted in teachers borrowing the kits to incorporate into their lesson plans, STEM kit days at libraries and STEM kit activities at family events. tadl.org; newtonsroad.org –C.S. NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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TIX Watch for the MyNorthTix symbol and get your tickets at MyNorthTickets.com.

December edited b y LIBBY STALLMAN

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FRI

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This is your last month to enjoy the Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Home Tour. View eight of the North's most stunning residences from the comfort of your own home through video documentaries. This donationonly event benefits Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. The homes can be viewed online thru Dec. 31.

MyNorthTickets.com

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Stop by Crystal Mountain’s Job Fair in Thompsonville and interview with hiring managers for available winter jobs. Applicants are encouraged to apply online prior to attending. crystalmountain.com

TUE

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The Farmland 5K is a Europeanstyle run and/or bike race featuring dirt trails, rolling hills, turfgrass and optional knee-high barriers such as straw bales, fallen logs and fences. The event takes place at Rasho Farm in Traverse City. runsignup.com/farmland5k

NMC Jazz Bands presents a Winter Jazz Ensemble Showcase at the Milliken Auditorium in Traverse City.

MyNorthTickets.com Amical’s Cookbook Dinner Series features “The Spirit of Alsace” by Gabriel Kreuther.

The James Beard Award-winning chef showcases his refined global style, embracing the French, Swiss and German influence from his homeland of Alsace, and his adopted home, New York City.

The special menu is available Dec. 6–12. amical.com Learn to appreciate the subtle beauty of a widespread but often overlooked group of Michigan birds—the sparrow family. There are almost 20 different species of native sparrows found in our state.

Online presentations Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. ncmclifelonglearning.com

Please note, as these dates approach, some events may be modified, postponed or canceled. Check online or call ahead to confirm. Throughout the year, visit MyNorth.com/Northern-Michigan-Events for fun community happenings.

FIND MORE AT MYNORTH.COM > EVENTS

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THU

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Michigan author Angeline Boulley penned the instant #1 New York Times bestseller “Firekeeper’s Daughter,” a groundbreaking thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, no matter the cost.

(Soon to be adapted by Netflix!)

Choose in-person or virtual tickets for this Traverse City event. nationalwritersseries.org

SAT

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Otsego Resort’s Winter Wine Walk in Gaylord includes a beautiful winter stroll (or snowshoe or cross-country ski!) from the River Cabin to a roaring bonfire.

Along the groomed trail, you'll visit three tasting stations that are paired with light food.

MyNorthTickets.com New Year’s Eve 2021 promises to be one to remember at Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay. Their talented and inspired culinary team will present an exceptional multicourse, wine-paired dining experience for you and your loved ones at the luxurious inn.

MyNorthTickets.com photo by Dave Weidner

WED

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events

HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

by LIBBY STALLMAN

photo courtesy of Interlochen Center for the Arts

Four ways to celebrate Up North.

FAMILY FRIENDLY

ON STAGE

17th Annual Sparkle in the Park| Nov. 27–Dec. 31

Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" | Dec. 10–11

Each year, the Village of Bear Lake hosts Sparkle in the Park, a free drive-through light display in Hopkins Park featuring thousands of lights—90,000 just in the park, with more along US-31, and at local businesses and homes. Open nightly from 5–10 p.m. from Thanksgiving weekend through New Year’s Eve. A donation box is available for those who’d like to contribute to next year’s event. Watch for updates on Facebook. facebook.com/sparkleinthepark OLD-FASHIONED FESTIVITIES Victorian Sleighbell Parade & Old Christmas Weekend | Dec. 2–5

This popular annual event brings visitors to Manistee to experience the wonder of a Christmas gone by. The weekend is filled with a Festival of Trees, Craft Show, Jingle Bell Jog, fireworks and so much more. Don’t miss the parade with turn-of-the-century characters, elves on stilts, high school marching bands and, the star of the show, Belgian draft horses that pull a 30-foot Christmas tree down River Street. manisteesleighbellparade.com

The timeless story of Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker comes to life once again on Interlochen’s stage. Audiences are delighted by exceptional dancing, breathtaking costumes, dazzling scenic design and live accompaniment by the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet. Performances will be held in Corson Auditorium. interlochen.org

FUN RUN Traverse City Track Club’s Jingle Bell Run | Dec. 19

The Jingle Bell Run tours neighborhood streets bordering downtown Traverse City that are decked out in holiday lights and decorations. The event, highlighted by runners of all ages and abilities donned in festive costumes, is non-timed and followed by cookies and hot chocolate. Participants can donate to the Track Club’s Golden Shoe Fund, a program established in 2007 that partners with Running Fit to give shoes to area high school track and cross-country runners facing financial hardship. tctrackclub.com

FIND MORE HOLIDAY EVENTS IN THIS MONTH’S UP NORTH DEPARTMENT ON PAGES 10-11

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travel

TREAT YOURSELF

by HEATHER JOHNSON DUROCHER

Give yourself a gift: relaxation.

‘T

is the season for thinking of others— finding the perfect holiday gifts for family, baking treats for festive gatherings and giving back to your community. In the midst of it all, we say taking time for yourself should also top your December to-do list. Here are a few ways to enjoy a little relaxation during this busy season.

photo by Dave Weidner

Stay (kind of ) close to home. A weekend staycation provides that just-enough-time-away feeling. Head to Crystal Mountain in Benzie County for a peaceful getaway. Ski the slopes or hike the trails at nearby Michigan Legacy Art Park for some heart-pumping self-care, or opt for rest and rejuvenation by visiting the on-site spa for a variety of pampering services. Or, you just might want to stay in and cozy up with a good book. Reserve the resort’s bed and breakfast package, which includes nightly lodging and daily breakfast. Package available through Dec. 31. crystalmountain.com Experience small-town charm. If perusing local shops and enjoying good food and drink at downtown restaurants is your idea of recharging, make a weekend of it in one of the quaint towns dotting the Lake Michigan shoreline along US-31 north as you head toward the tip of the Mitten. Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Bay View are home to historic inns and hotels dating back to 1886 (check out Terrace Inn and 1911 Restaurant in Bay View for “quiet season” package pricing). Visit Petoskey’s Gaslight District and shop its numerous boutiques and galleries. theterraceinn.com

Downtown Petoskey

Break a sweat in the cold. If a solid Up North outdoor adventure is on your mind, sign up for the Farmland 5K and Free for All Bike race on Saturday, Dec. 4 in Traverse City. This locals-favorite east side event features a 5K run, seven-lap bike ride (about 12.75 miles total, on any bike you choose) and—for the especially adventurous—Farmland run and bike combo.

Breathe in the cold, fresh air as you tackle a few rolling hills, navigate wooded trails and wide-open spaces, and enjoy plenty of post-race fun (think bonfires and hot chili with friends). tctrackclub.com/farmland Slow your roll while embracing wintry weather. Reconnect with yourself and with nature by strapping on your snowshoes and taking a nice-and-easy stroll at a Michigan state park, many of which host guided snowy walks this time of year. At Ludington State Park, 1.5-hour guided programs take you past some of the most gorgeous park scenery, including snow-covered sand dunes. The park loans out 40 pairs of snowshoes on a first-come, first-serve basis and all walks are free. The park also offers classes for those interested in making top-of-the-line traditional wooden snowshoes they promise will last for generations. visitludington.com Heather Johnson Durocher writes from Traverse City, where she lives with her husband, Joe, and their three kids.

She is the founder of the travel and active lifestyle site MichiganRunnerGirl.com and also hosts a weekly podcast.

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up in michigan

Bill Smith and Faith

MOMENTS OF FAITH

by BILL O. SMITH

How a loved one with dementia changed my life.

S

ome people get gold watches.

I got Faith. It was little things at first—mixed-up names, keys in the freezer. But when she started leaving her beloved terrier outside in the cold, never remembering to bring her back in, the time had come to face what thousands of other families face. Faith lived alone. She needed a full-time caregiver.

I had been an elementary school principal for two decades and hadn’t planned on retiring any time soon. But nor had I planned on having a mother-inlaw who would be one of those rare souls who moves through the day with a quiet, egoless radiance. That was Faith, and I loved her.

I offered to help. Offer accepted. I moved to Faith’s cottage in the heart of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

In those first weeks, Faith’s oldest son arrived from California. Blank stare. “You know who that is,” her daughter reminded her, “that’s Kirk, your son.” And Faith responded, earnestly, “Now you’d think I’d remember something like that.”

You’d think so, but her world was rearranging itself. She often asked where her husband, Jack, was. “I’m so sorry, Faith,” I replied at first, “but don’t you recall that Jack passed away 15 years ago?” Faith would tear up. It took me a while to understand that my patient explanations of death were, in Faith’s world, nothing but recurring stabs of sadness. Soon my responses became something like, “He’s swimming at North Bar,” or, “He’s playing tennis.”

And Faith was content. Righteous lying—put it in your dementia playbook.

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I was learning that it was not my job to restore Faith into the world she used to live in. Instead, I needed to understand Faith’s new world, to allow myself to enter into it.

In her new world, memories were drowning, but moments offered a chance to soar. Some moments could be planned—like an opera simulcast at the State, or a milkshake run, or a fall color walk. But most arrived spontaneously—the impulse to share a hug, for instance, or a song, or a sunset.

In these moments—in Faith’s new world—I began trading the hope of recovery for interludes of beauty, and bursts of joy.

And along our journey together, Faith did much more than guide me into her world. She also opened the door into a new world of my own.

Faith loved birds. Late one winter afternoon, as she was watching chickadees at the feeder, a worried look crossed her face. Her eyes followed those dipping and darting little birds back into the cold forest shadows. Faith was by then losing the power to initiate speech, but her troubled expression spoke clearly. “Where do those chickadees go at night? Are they safe? Are they warm? Are they cared for?”

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up in michigan

WHEN OUR CLIENTS SPEAK, WE LISTEN.

Now, you should know that I had been making up stories and plays and rhymes for most of my educational career. It’s just the way my mind worked.

So now, as Faith and I flew after those It’s a simple but effective way of helping people reach their birds into the dark woods, I found financial goals - and it’s a way of doing business that Raymond myself blurting: “With chickadee caps on chickadee James has pioneered for more than 50 years. Make your voice heads, do they sleep eight across on count. Partner with one of our financial advisors and get chickadee beds?” guidance that’s in tune with your life. LIFE WELL PLANNED. Faith laughed. Laughter is always a beautiful moment, a burst of joy. So, I Maggie Beeler, AAMS®, CRPC® Jeff K. Pasche, CFA® kept going.

Investment Portfolio Associate Senior Vice President, Investments “From northern woods to the AlaWestern Michigan Complex Manager Shelley A. Stefanits bamas, what do chickadees wear for Complex Administrator Manager Susan G. Carlyon, WMS pajamas?”

West Michigan Complex Senior Vice President, Investments Thus, it went, and soon I finished ® Wealth Management Specialist “Chickadees at Night,” my first chilCourtney C. Davis dren’s picture book. We packed up the Client Service Associate James Spencer, ChFC®, AAMS® car and took a book tour. I’m 6 feet 5 Financial Advisor Barbara S. Shellman, MBA inches tall; Faith was 5 feet tall, Sr. Registered Stoops, AWMA maybe. We were an odd couple for Paul M.Client Bonaccini Jeff K.JimPasche, CFA®, CRPC® Service Associate First Vice President, Investments sure. But we shared so many giggles Vice President, Investments Senior Vice President, Investments and smiles and hugs, and so many ® ® Jennifer Youker, CFP , CRPC Accredited Asset Management Specialist Manager milkshakes along the way, preferablyTraverse City Complex Financial Advisor McDonald’s mint. I called it “the Tyne Hyslop Dennis J. Brodeur greatest trip she’ll never remember.”

Financial Advisor Three more books followed, and Vice President, Investments the newest one, “Chickadees in De- Wealth Management Specialist Jennifer Youker, CFP®, CRPC® cember,” has just arrived. All profits Financial Advisor are donated to organizations Faith Trevis E. Gillow would support: environmental Vice President, Investments Eric H. Palo groups, our local VFW Post, The SalWealth Management Specialist vation Army and The Father Fred Financial Advisor Foundation. Thank you, Faith—I Susan Carlyon James Spencer, ChFC, AAMS never imagined that your 85-year-old childlike spirit world would guide meFirst Vice President, Investments Associate Vice President, Investments into this wondrous new world.

Wealth Management Specialist Robert Fenton When the inevitable happens— Keith Carlyon when you or someone you love acquires Financial Advisor big health problems—I hope you won’t Senior Vice President, Investments spend too much time fixating on the past, on what is lost. The way to stay young is to look for the possibilities ahead. Plan for beautiful moments, delight in bursts of joy, discover a fresh sense of purpose. Surprising new worlds are out there, maybe as close as a backyard birdfeeder, or a loved one 13818 S West13818 Bay Shore Traverse MI 49684 (231) 946-3650 S WestDr Bay• Shore Dr. •City, Traverse City, MI •49684 that needs a helping hand.

(231) 946-3650 • www.raymondjames.com/Traverse-City

Bill O. Smith was a principal at local elementary schools for many years.

His chickadee books are available at area bookstores and at billosmith.com.

The books are printed in the U.S., with 100 percent of the profits donated.

©2015 Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. Raymond James® is a registered trademark of Raymond James Financial, Inc. 15-BDMKT-1770 ME/CW 4/15 Chartered Retirement Plan SpecialistSM, AWMA®, Accredited Wealth Management AdvisorSM; CRPC®, Accredited Asset Management SpecialistSM and AAMS® are trademarks or registered service marks of the College for Financial Planning in the United States and/or other countries. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks Certified Financial Planner™ and CFP® in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

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outdoors

SKI THE U.P.

by ANDREW VANDRIE

This winter, tune up your skis and venture beyond your usual seasonal range into the iron hills and snow-socked slopes of the Upper Peninsula.

photo by Andrew VanDrie

T

he chairlift swoops around the carousel, nudges into your knees and folds you into its embrace. It shutters out of the lift and hoists you skyward like a bush plane scrambling for altitude and then you, too, are held aloft— airborne and weightless. The view from the peak awaits, but you know the allure of a U.P. ski trip lies not only in the view and plunge from the summit, but also in those small moments discovered in getting here.

The Upper Peninsula, renowned for its wilderness, is stark and otherworldly in the dead of winter. The Straits are choked with ice floes, or deadlocked solid.

Mead Creek lies frozen on the Seney Stretch. And barren miles are broken only by the occasional county snowplows.

But a stop at Gustafson’s in Brevort offers smoked fish and meat sticks for the road, and hearty pasties for later are found at Muldoons in Munising.

Once in Marquette, Huron Mountain Bakery provides sweet treats for your ski weekend stay and sandwiches to tide you over (The Au Train is phenomenal!), and a quick pint at Ore Dock Brewing Company or Blackrocks Brewery says you’ve arrived.

The Upper Peninsula held in winter’s grasp is truly something to behold, especially from a peak gazing for miles upon a landscape clothed in white and a great, arctic lake farther beyond, before the thrill of coasting effortlessly over fresh powder.

Just be sure not to miss the moments on the way up: There are the parking lot brews with friends, the hot dogs roasted on camp grills and the sandwiches packed the night before. There are the cozy lodges and the warming whiskey cocktails beside a roaring hearth fire. But perhaps, more memorable than anything, is the U.P.’s gift of joy to be found amid so much stillness.

^ Hit the Slopes — Marquette can be the destination or a waypoint on your endeavor. Get a lift ticket at nearby Marquette Mountain for a day on the slopes. Boasting 25 trails, 1,300 feet of elevation and a fantastic view of nearby Lake Superior, this ski hill is for the whole family. marquettemountain.com Want to press farther north into iron country? Head to Houghton and its sister city across the river, Hancock, and to Mt. Ripley Ski Area, owned by Michigan Tech University. This compact hill boasts 21 runs and a surprising amount of drop and thrill. Cap off the day with a pint (or two) at Keweenaw Brewing Co. mtu.edu/mont-ripley Looking to find where the snow piles high and the pavement ends? Mt. Bohemia is your destination (mtbohemia.com). This completely ungroomed, backcountry skiing is unlike anything else available for the downhill enthusiast. Technical, unpredictable and challenging, this hill should only be undertaken by advanced skiers. Check out Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, complete with 25 individual log cabins that offer modern amenities—these are a terrific stay location for you and your ski party. keweenawmountainlodge.com

Andrew VanDrie writes from Traverse City. vandrieand@gmail.com NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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Shine On.

A lighthouse keeper’s 1920s Christmas at Grand Traverse Lighthouse

by Elizabeth Edwards Historical photos courtesy of Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum

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A “GRAND” GRAND TRAVERSE LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTMAS

By Bette McCormick Olli Opposite: Grand Traverse Lighthouse, dated 1938.

Below: Pages from the McCormick’s family album, showing the children by the flower bed structures their father built, dated 1928.

In

1922, James McCormick became keeper of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse on Northport Point. He brought with him his wife, Mary, and eight children. While their father faithfully tended the light, the children experienced an unforgettable childhood set against the rocky point panorama.

Summers were a blend of swimming, berry picking and playing games along the beach. Winters were harder. A trip to the privy meant fighting the north wind and struggling through a snowdrift that piled as high as 7 feet. Or perhaps worse, itching under long johns that stayed on until spring. The McCormick children left for school in the dark—a trip that meant walking a mile to meet the sleigh that would take them the rest of the eight miles to Northport. It was dark again by the time they returned home.

Christmas took the edge off the long, cold season.

Snug in the classic white and green building with its festive red roof, the McCormick family celebrated by singing around their pump organ, strapping pie tins to their feet to skate on the frozen lake and stringing cranberries for the tree. Many decades later, Bette McCormick Olli, the second youngest of the McCormick children, captured the spirit of those holidays in her reminiscence, “A ‘Grand’ Grand Traverse Lighthouse Christmas.” Read on to experience the joys of their simple celebration of Christmas at Grand Traverse Lighthouse.

“It looks like we’re in for a Nor’wester,” comments Pa as he pours a bucket of coal into the magazine of the old base heater. “She’s blowing a gager off the lake right now.” For an instant the red coals become smothered and blackened by the added fuel, but soon the flickering flames escape the isinglass windows and dance merrily upon the living room walls. In every glass Christmas tree ornament tiny fires begin to glow. The stove burns fiery red again and each window in the old cast iron cathedral sends forth warmth and cheer. Our faces, as we sit around the heater like chicks around a brooder, become as rosy as the cranberries we are stringing to decorate the tree. We withdraw our feet from the shiny nickel fenders where we have been warming our toes after returning from the woods. Somebody says they’ve got chilblains.

Earlier in the day we had trekked into the woods, braving the elements, two of the oldest kids pulling the youngest on a huge homemade green sled which John had christened Iona. The rest of the clan followed in single file, the tassels of our stocking caps bobbing up and down as we traversed over snow covered hill and hummock. Laddie, our little brown dog, trailed behind us, joyously barking and sniffing out every rabbit and squirrel track or plowing tunnels in the light fluffy snow with his nose. Teddy Bear, the calico cat brought up the rear and complained vociferously in her feline fashion, as cats often do.

Far into our enchanted Grand Traverse forest our little train came to a halt. There before our very eyes was what we deemed to be the most beautiful tree we had ever laid eyes on. It seemed a pity to cut it down. However, after a lengthy discussion and after getting approval from the brown dog and calico cat, we chopped it down and hauled it home for parental inspection.

Pa then saw to it that the tree was standing perfectly straight in the green metal stand, all NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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the while directing the kids to move it a little this way and now a little that way. When he decided that the tree was as straight as could be expected, the screws were tightened.

Ma’s high, reedy soprano floats from the kitchen throughout all the rooms, some strange ballad about poor young Caroline and her betrothed named Henry, all the while keeping time with her wooden spoon as she stirs up some concoction in her big brown crockery bowl. The sound of a cast iron pan scraping across the red hot cook stove lids and the ping of kernels as they explode against the sides of the pan heralds the delicious aroma of buttery popcorn. The delightful pop, pop, pop, of simmering cranberries as they split their skins rivals the sound of the popping corn.

One of the kids is sitting at the dining room table fashioning a blue basket and pink roses from crepe paper. Later the creation will be dipped in hot wax and when the wax hardens the basket and flowers will hold their shape. It is a Christmas present for Ma, which she will keep and cherish for years. In fact, it lasted until John became nervous about going to work on the Hyacinth, a lighthouse tender, and picked it all apart.

John is whittling one of his numerous little cork lighthouse boats, the shavings curling from his jack knife and falling into the kindling box behind the kitchen stove. Maybe he is making a present for his youngest brother. However, he teases and says he hasn’t quite decided who will get it.

Soon drowsiness induced by the penetrating heat from the stove overtakes us and heads unwillingly begin to nod. One of the kids wails peevishly as the red and green paper chain she is making falls apart. What had started out to be joyous undertaking has turned into a laborious chore.

“Time for bed,” Ma announces as she lights the wax candles on the tree, an annual Christmas Eve ritual. It is quite a treat to see the fluttering lights. The tree seems to come alive with a thousand winking eyes. But all too soon the candlelight is extinguished. We can’t take a chance of starting a fire. We beg Ma to play us a tune on the accordion so she plays a short rendition of “Red Wing.”

Then we pick up the little brass lamps and the calico cat. Little brown dog trails reluctantly behind and the sleepy crew enters the chilly hall and staggers up the stairs. We quickly jump into bed and nestle beneath the covers, falling soundly asleep to a duet of a whirring top and the cry of a mama doll.

It seems as though we have hardly fallen asleep when

“Time for bed,” Ma announces as she lights the wax candles on the tree, an annual Christmas Eve ritual. It is quite a treat to see the fluttering lights.

The tree seems to come alive with a thousand winking eyes.

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someone yells “Merry Christmas!” We jump out of bed unmindful of the cold floor, race down the stairs and jam up at the bottom. The door flies open and we tumble over one another onto the living room floor. Amid laughter and shouts we tear open the packages and there among the rib-

The original barn in which the McCormicks housed their animals.

Opposite: Today, visitors to the lighthouse museum can enjoy a walk through the restored keeper’s dwelling or climb the lighthouse tower for a stunning 360-degree view.

bons and bows is a celluloid donkey who will walk by himself down an incline shaking his head from side to side as he walks. Also, there is a wooden penguin which waddles stiffly down a slanted plane but disdains to move his head.

There are round cakes of paint glued to a cardboard strip with a brush attached which loses its bristles the first time you paint with it. A magic paint-with-water book makes beautiful red, green and blue pictures appear when painted with nothing more than water. There is a Jew’s-harp for our youngest brother, who has learned to play the instrument without knocking his teeth out. There is a harmonica for Doug who plays certain romantic “Big Band Tunes.” There are fancy bottles of ten-cent store perfume, one shaped like a violin, the other like a flower. This we girls will splash on the new lace hankies. There is a little rabbit fur monkey which climbs up a string and stinks so of strong glue that we can hardly stand the smell of him. We went along for years thinking that was the way all real monkeys stank.

Then there are the usual necessities like socks, caps, scarves and mittens.

Suddenly we turn our attention to the vicinity of the fireplace. Maggie has just discovered the coal that John has placed in her stocking the night before. She’s yelling at the top of her lungs that she is going to slaughter him. There they are, both of them, squared off to do battle. John is in his underwear with his trap door ajar and flopping with every little dance he does, and Maggie is in her shift with a garland round her head. She is a make believe snow princess straight off the make believe stage turned into a she-devil.

We all sit waiting for a repeat of World War I, however,

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Pa quickly nips all that in the bud as he firmly but calmly states, “Now you’ve said your little piece for the day and you don’t need to get into politics.” He punctuated his statement by vigorously shaking down the ashes in the grate.

We find our stocking with the orange in the toe and the fat Brazil nuts … There are miniature wax bottles filled with sweet colored sugar water. You could only get one little sip from each bottle, but we chewed the wax afterward. Hard candy of every description filled the sock, compliments of Clarence Scott’s store which is now Dame’s. Clarence always gave Pa a couple of bags of candy for promptly paying his grocery bill. Some people only

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Son One McCormick boy grew up to be a lighthouse keeper himself. Doug McCormick, James and Mary’s seventh child, joined the Coast Guard in 1934 and kept the light at St. Martin and Pilot islands. In 1980, long since retired and recently widowed, McCormick moved back to Northern Michigan.

Not long afterward, McCormick read a notice inviting the public to a meeting about restoring the lighthouse he grew up in. He attended—and knew he’d come home. For the next several years he pitched in with other volunteers to return the lighthouse keeper’s apartment to the way he remembered it as a child. McCormick pried up linoleum to expose the maple floors, scraped off lead paint, and brought his mother’s furnishings back to the lighthouse. Her circa 1910 oak table graces the dining room again, the pump organ is back in the living room, and even the clock hangs in its old spot.

In 1984, McCormick moved into the assistant lighthouse keeper’s apartment to assume the duties of Grand Traverse Lighthouse caretaker and tour guide, entertaining families and school groups with stories of his childhood. Among them is pointing out the step he sat on while he waited for his turn to eat at the dining room table during holiday dinners. “I kind of egged them all along, you know, so they didn’t eat everything,” McCormick says. But his favorite trick is telling children to listen for the creaking step—the one that means the ghost of his father, lighthouse keeper James McCormick, has come to tend the light.

got one bag and we somehow thought they must not be as honest as Pa. It never entered our heads that it could possibly be because we had more kids. Well, we eat candy until we are sick and it is time for dinner.

We sit down to dinner of roasted turkey, dressing and gravy. The white damask tablecloth is on the dining room table and set with Ma’s best Depression and carnival glass and a special cut glass berry bowl filled with strawberries canned during the summer.

Finally, darkness descends upon us and fills each and every corner of the dining room. The lamps are lit and once again a grand Grand Traverse Christmas has come and gone.

Excerpted from “The Way It Was: Memories of My Childhood at Grand Traverse Lighthouse,” by Bette McCormick Olli (Lighthouse Publications, 1990).

This feature ran originally in the December 2002 issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine. Elizabeth Edwards is Senior Editor of Traverse Magazine. lissa@traversemagazine.com

EXPERIENCE CHRISTMAS AT THE LIGHTHOUSE!

From Dec. 1-31, see the Grand Traverse Lighthouse decked out in vintage decor—much as it was in the McCormick family’s time. For hours and more information, click on “Events” at grandtraverselighthouse.com.

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A HOLIDAY STORY WITHOUT END FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE, TRAVERSE CITY HAS SPARKLED WITH ENCHANTMENT FOR A CENTURY AND COUNTING. BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS // PHOTOS BY MICHAEL POEHLMAN

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J ust before Christmas in the early 1900s, prominent lumberman DH Day bundled his large family into a sleigh laden with fur blankets and jingled them through the Northwoods for a Christmas shopping spree in downtown Traverse City, where they all stayed the night in adjoining rooms at the Park Place Hotel. Just before Christmas some 100-plus years later, my daughter, son-in-law, their two tiny boys and my mom and I, bundled ourselves out of our respective cars and checked into adjoining rooms at the Park Place to attend the annual downtown Christmas tree lighting and Holiday Parade.

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FINALLY CAME

SANTA

, WAVING FROM HIS

SEAT IN THE TRAVERSE CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT’S VINTAGE 1936 BRIGHT RED ENGINE.

The trip was only about 30 miles from our homes in Leelanau County, though it was one I’d dreamed of taking for years—ever since I’d read the essay that Day’s eldest daughter, Margaret Day Travis, wrote about the magic of those long-ago holiday trips. Margaret’s essay first ran in Traverse Magazine nearly 30 years ago and, in celebration of the season, several times since. (Read it online at link.mynorth.com/christmasessay.)

When that day finally arrived, my family’s excursion started in our respective Honda and Subaru hatchbacks; there were no sleighs tinkling with bells. But the Park Place greeted us graciously, as it did the Day family a century ago.

And the elevators? I do not know if the Day family stayed at the Park Place after 1930 when the tower was built and elevators installed. But if they had, the electronic doors, buttons and bellyturning lurches would have been as exciting to those children as they were to my grandsons.

That evening, wrapped tightly in wool, down

Santa makes an appearance at Traverse City’s annual tree lighting.

Top: The State Theatre joins in the holiday spirit.

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HOLIDAY FUN IN 2021 LIGHT PARADE, SANTA’S ARRIVAL & TREE LIGHTING NOVEMBER 20 HOORAY! THE PARADE RETURNS TO FRONT STREET AFTER BEING CANCELED IN 2020.

BLACK FRIDAY & SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY NOVEMBER 26 & 27 FIND WONDERFUL GIFTS FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST WHILE SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES.

LADIES’ NIGHT & MEN’S NIGHT DECEMBER 9 & 16 FINISH UP YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING AND ENJOY SPECIALS, REFRESHMENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT AT PARTICIPATING STORES.

FIND MORE DETAILS FOR EACH EVENT AT DOWNTOWNTC.COM.

Top: Dancers take to the street during Traverse City’s light parade.

Left: A crowd gathers downtown for holiday festivities and merriment.

Above: Ethan Fisher, entranced by the lights of the Traverse City Holiday Parade.

ETHAN STAYED AWAKE, HIS SLEEPY FACE READING LIKE THE

and fleece against the cold, we headed north on Park Street to the glowing lights of Traverse City’s Front Street, moving shoulder-to-shoulder with similarly pillowy-dressed people, all chatting cheerily. At Cass and Front, the crowd halted at the downtown Christmas tree where almost-3-yearold Ethan, riding on his dad’s shoulders, pointed happily as the colored lights beamed on—a Traverse City tradition for decades. Next, it was off to the corner of Union and Front where we waited for the parade on the steps of stately 102 W. Front St., a building erected in 1904 by lumberman Perry Hannah (Surely, the Day children were

HAPPY

awed at its 100-foot-tall grandeur!).

Our parade anticipation was checked by hot chocolate, friends with young children who joined us, and the exciting lights of the on-duty squad car parked nearby. At long last, the snake of blurred lights and thumping sounds rumbled past us—dancing sugar plum fairies, drummer boys (and girls), high school marching bands and floats of every size, shape and imagination. Finally, most exciting of all, came Santa, waving from his seat in the Traverse City Fire Department’s vintage 1936 bright red engine.

Nine-month-old Simon was long asleep in the pack on his mom’s back as

ENDING OF A STORYBOOK.

we returned to the coziness of our hotel rooms. But Ethan stayed awake, his sleepy face reading like the happy ending of a storybook. And I knew, and would have loved to have told Margaret, that 100 years have not tarnished the holiday sparkle of this beautiful city on Grand Traverse Bay. Elizabeth Edwards is Senior Editor of Traverse Magazine.

Michael Poehlman is primarily a portrait photographer living in Traverse City.

He specializes in people and personalities, attributing much of his experience to living and working for many years in New York City and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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Bonds Forged in Snow Ski the North’s snowbelt at this hidden winter wonderland in Frederic

by Kandace Chapple photos by Beth Price THERE ARE SHEETS, SHEETS, OF CORDUROY UP EVERY ALLEY; SWATHS OF UNTOLD BEAUTY

unfolding on cross-country ski trails that cut through snow-capped pines. I don’t mean to exaggerate, but the corduroy is literally as far as I can see: Smooth, pencil-thin, parallel lines, one after another, marching across the landscape, curving and dipping out of sight into the forest.

We are at Forbush Corner Nordic Ski Center in Frederic. I’ve lived in Michigan my whole life, and I have only known Frederic as someplace on the way to somewhere else, a cut-across, in the upper reaches of the Lower Peninsula.

I hadn’t realized, truth be told, that Frederic had anything in it.

That sounds bad, doesn’t it?

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“Don’t worry,” says Ann Wagar, “People 20 minutes away, up the road in Gaylord, haven’t even heard of us!”

Ann is the treasurer of the five-person board that now runs Forbush. (She says she’s actually in charge of a lot of things; they all are.) But anyone who loves Nordic skiing has paid the price for the lost opportunity of not knowing Forbush Corner.

This nonprofit, volunteer-run gem would steal any crosscountry skier’s heart. Because it’s not just any groomed trail system with a whopping 25 km of trails—it also has a dedicated 2 km loop that they make snow for from November through as late as April (for real, this is a big deal, ask your skier friends). Their 2 km “figure eight” trail is groomed with fresh snow and ready to go, as long as it’s cold enough to turn on the “snow sticks”—more on that later.

These snow-making abilities— made possible with a $1.2 million donation in 2019—mean that Forbush is able to open earlier and stay open later in the season than most resorts in Michigan. It also makes Forbush a very dependable choice for a ski weekend getaway, even if it’s not snowing.

We stop in to the pro shop to get ski passes and to rent classic cross-country skis for our two sons. My husband and I get our own cross-country skate ski boots on as we perch on an old wooden bench. We both love to ski; the boys are wondering what they’ve been talked into.

Before we hit the trails, I chat with Ginnis (yes, that’s the only name she goes by, pronounced like the beer) at the front counter.

“You’re going to LOVE it,” she says. “Go have fun!” She gives us a map and tips on where to head first. (The snowmaking loop!)

Before we leave, I visit a tiny little restroom that’s just big enough to get in and get out of. I feel like I’m in someone’s old farmhouse. And I learn that, actually, I am.

The Ski Center (that was once a farm) “Our pro shop used to be the farmhouse that Dave would stay in sometimes when he came home to visit his family,” Ann says.

Dave Forbush is the reason that Forbush exists today.

Forbush Corner—at the intersection of Co. Rd. 612 and Roberts Road just off Exit 264 on I-75—was a local landmark, recognizing that the Forbush family had been there for many generations. Dave’s great-great-grandparents were caretakers all the way back to the late 1800s for the acres and acres of apple trees owned by Ward Orchards.

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eventually built a house on the property, and Dave, a large animal vet for the State of Michigan, would come home to help his parents as they aged.

Dave started making ski trails on the property and invited his friends to join him in the winter. They all bunked in the old farmhouse—in what is now the pro shop.

“There were nine bunks … nine guys hanging out, drinking and skiing,” Ann says with a laugh.

As the years went by, Dave made a point of planting pine trees every year on the property.

Now, some 40 years later, his forethought has turned the old dying orchard into a beautiful forest. A few apple trees still remain on the property, and Ann says friends come picking to make pies every year to share, a nod to the past.

In the mid-1980s, Dave transformed Forbush Corner into a part-time cross-country ski facility. When he retired in

1995, he moved back and ran the business full-time.

Over the years, Forbush Corner blossomed into 200 acres—the Forbush family’s 100 acres, plus an additional 100 acres leased from the state. After his parents passed away, Dave moved into their home and turned the bunkhouse into the pro shop.

Opposite, top to bottom: The Pro Shop that was once a farmhouse; Ann Wagar overlooks the trail named after founder Dave Forbush; Larry Damic runs the new “Bully” groomer on a February morning.

Right, top to bottom: A mother-daughter team heads out on the freshly groomed trails; Writer Kandace Chapple and her family gather for a morning adventure with directions from Ginnis (pronounced like the beer!).

We stop into the pro shop to get ski passes and to rent classic cross-country skis for our two sons. My husband and I get our own crosscountry skate ski boots on as we perch on an old wooden bench.

We both love to ski; the boys are wondering what they’ve been talked into.

As time passed, Dave wanted to ensure that Forbush would carry on for future generations.

He chose five friends to form a trust to run the ski facility, not knowing that in a few short years, it would be necessary. Dave passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2014. The business was then turned into a nonprofit in 2019 as they pursued additional funding avenues for growth.

“Everyone loved Dave,” Ann says. “He remembered everybody and their story. It didn’t matter how many times you came up to ski.

Even once, he would remember you.”

Since the devastating loss of Dave, the team at Forbush has found ways to keep his memory alive. On New Year’s Eve, they have a champagne toast on Oz’s Overlook, a hill on the ski trail where Dave’s ashes are spread, along with those of his beloved dog, Glinda. (Look for the trail named after her: Glinda’s Glide.) And every March, Forbush has their annual “Founder’s Day” when they offer free skiing— they pick a date near Dave’s birthday. This year, it will be March 13, 2022.

“We are looking forward to the new season,” Ann says. “Most of the people who come are from southeast Michigan and Ohio or Indiana, and stay in Grayling or Gaylord.” (See the sidebar on page 35 for tips on staying in Gaylord.)

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The Bully (that everyone loves) The five friends who run the facility all work together for the bigger picture. Ann says, with a laugh, that none of them expected to be in charge. Nowadays, everyone pitches in with their own expertise. Howard Hansen is the president of the board and handles most of the legal end of things, as well as materials and project management.

Ann handles paperwork, managing the shop and the books. The other three members—Larry Damic, Mario Kennedy and Todd Hubbard—pitch in on maintenance and more, including running the groomers.

Our Day The day we ski at Forbush, it’s 10 a.m. on a Friday, and we are almost alone on the trails. It feels a little like our own special paradise. Forbush sees anywhere from 100 to 200 people a day on a typical weekend. We have squeezed in just before the rush.

With towering pines and rolling hills, the kids and I head for the “Snowmaking Loop,” as Ginnis advised. The 2 km loop is the most impressive trail of all, running 30 feet wide with two lanes, one in each direction. There are classic tracks cut into each side, with the middle swath open for

Our Forbush Corner outing ends in satisfaction. The sun is shining, and the family has actually accomplished a day together with no squabbles.

And now, they have a new toy: a PistenBully100 groomer, made possible by a capital campaign and generous donors. “The new machine is a real game-changer,” Larry says. “It saves us hours of grooming the trails and moving and leveling the man-made snow piles.”

The big rig has made all the difference in getting the most out of the world-class snowmaking equipment Forbush installed two years ago—the only one of its kind in the United States at the time it was installed.

The snow-making equipment project included building a 2-million-gallon pond on-site to pump water from and an underground piping system. The system feeds the 41 above-ground “snow sticks”—dozens of thin, white sticks that shoot snow onto the “snowmaking” trail. The system is the same as those used in several winter Olympics venues and runs 10 gallons of water per minute through each stick; the colder the temps, the more snow is produced.

“On a cold night, we can have 8- to 10-foot piles at each stick,” Ann says. “If it’s warmer, the piles are half that size.”

34

skate skiers. The broad berth makes it comfortable for all types of skiers. Young families can practice on it, with plenty of space to try and try again, while racers can dig in and use the large lane to navigate around others on the trail with ease. Snowshoers have their own trails, about 7 km worth, to explore elsewhere on the property.

We simply can’t get over the Snowmaking Loop’s vast perfection. Once completed, the boys and I decide to tackle more and head over to the Badlands trail, eventually sailing down through Dave’s Valley. In the meantime, my husband skate skis every trail out there; he loves it. His favorite? Rollercoaster, one of the original trails that Dave built on his own, back in the day.

Once we all meet up again, we check the map and decide to head back together; it’s lunch time. The last trail is an awesome downhill dubbed “Homerun Hill.” It’s a fun, wide-open rip right back to the parking lot and the yurt.

Yes, the yurt.

The yurt is another new addition, a roundabout benefit of COVID. With additional grant funding, Forbush was able to erect the funky and fun-looking yurt to provide a

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larger, socially-distanced warming area for skiers. Snacks and warm drinks are also offered.

The 2021-22 season at Forbush promises to have a few new goodies: They are working on a new section of snowshoe trail, raising money for a possible land addition of 80 neighboring acres, and are working on the yurt’s finishing touches.

Our Forbush Corner outing ends in satisfaction. The sun is shining, and the family has actually accomplished a day together with no squabbles. We gather all the gear back into the car and head home,

SPEND THE WEEKEND IN GAYLORD Just 20 minutes north of Forbush, Gaylord offers a hive of activity. Combine your serene skiing weekend with the bustle of this well-loved Northern Michigan town. Here, a few places to eat, drink, sleep and play.

^

PRE-SKI: Arlene’s Diner gets the breakfast vote from locals. Try their Polish Skillet: three eggs scrambled with kielbasa and onion served on a bed of pan fries topped with cheddar cheese. The Cinnamon Grilled Bread is a must-try for those with a sweet tooth.

They serve breakfast all day. arlenesdiner.net

^

POST-SKI: The Pine Squirrel Bar & Grill has big booming wooden rafters and pool tables that give a cozy post-ski warm-up feel. Try their Squirrely Burger—lettuce, tomato, onion, provolone and American cheese, bacon, ham and onion rings topped with squirrel sauce. Toast with a “Super Squirrel” mixed drink of vodka, blue curacao and razzmatazz! pinesquirrelgaylord.com

^

BREWS: Gaylord boasts an impressive Craft Beer & Tap Trail featuring 31 stops.

One favorite, with a name befitting of winter, is Snowbelt Brewing Co. Try their Brick Wall Cider if you “hit the wall” skiing! snowbelt.beer gaylordmichigan.net/play-inside

^

about two hours away. I love that we have found a new place to ski, but I love even more that we made memories on a gorgeous winter morning, together.

VISIT FORBUSHCORNER.COM FOR SEASONAL HOURS, RATES AND A MAP TO THIS LITTLE-KNOWN MICHIGAN GEM.

Kandace Chapple is a freelance writer and founder of the Michigan Girl Bike Club (which is a Snowshoe Club in the winter!). She can be reached at kandacechapple.com.

Beth Price is an editorial and commercial photographer based in Northern Michigan. It’s here where she finds much inspiration in the color palette and light that falls throughout the changing seasons. She’s passionate about capturing authentic human experiences that help achieve a greater appreciation for the natural world we live in.

LODGING: Head to Waters Inn, eight miles south of Gaylord and close to Forbush, if you want what their website calls the “The Peaceful Alternative.” This might be the perfect place to catch a restful night’s sleep after the Rollercoaster trail at Forbush. Rooms are rustic knotty pine with gorgeous quilted bedspreads, and they have a snowcam on their website to give you a look at the conditions before your arrival. Otsego Resort is the choice if you want lots of activities. Enjoy another kind of skiing here—downhill—as well as snowboarding and tubing. It’s a snow-lover’s paradise with on-site dining and lodging, too. Book a “Loft Lodge” to thrill the kids: there are four twin beds and a loft for the kids to play in. otsegoclub.com thewatersinn.com

Opposite: Kendall and Nelson Chapple conquer Dave’s Valley.

Top to bottom: Kandace laughs as Nelson sails by, out of control; Kendall bombs the last hill, dubbed the Homerun Hill.

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TRADITIONALLY

THE ELVES are busy at Tom’s Mom’s Cookies as another holiday season brings thousands of orders.

We go into the bustling kitchen to discover THE MAGIC.

by KIM SCHNEIDER photos by MELISA MCKOLAY

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For more than two decades, Sheryl McCleery has led the team at Tom's Mom's, while much of the daily operations are handled by her small, tight-knit crew.

The sky is a cloudless robin’s egg blue and the weather unseasonably warm, as a woman in a white polar bear sweater strolls the path to a pastel-painted brick building with gingerbread trim.

There’s a garland-draped picket fence around the courtyard, snowmen made of wire dressed in tiny hand-knitted hats and scarves and cardboard candy canes dangling from a tree. As church bells clang in the distance, someone hands the woman a bag of chocolate chunk cookies, hot from the oven, through the shop’s walk-up window.

And if you think this is as Hallmarkperfect a holiday scene as you might get, you haven’t yet stepped inside Tom’s Mom’s Cookies on one of the year’s last mailing days before Christmas.

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T

om’s Mom’s has been a Harbor Springs institution for more than 35 years and counting. It’s been open year-round for 25 of those years under the ownership of Sheryl McCleery, who now hands over much of the day-to-day operations to her baking, mailing and serving crew of five. Her team is supported by the assorted high schoolers who come in after school for the enviable job of “chunking the chocolate” the same way it’s been done at Tom’s Mom’s for decades.

One advantage of visiting the store in late fall and winter, rather than the summer, is that lines are far shorter for picking up a classic chocolate chunk cookie, a chocolate caramel pecan, an old-fashioned molasses or maybe a white chocolate macadamia nut. But

that doesn’t mean the intensity level has slowed. The cookies are just going out the door by a different means— getting sent out the back by way of boxes and colorful cookie tins, heading into delivery trucks and filling holiday gift orders.

For three-plus weeks, the baking team comes in when it’s dark and leaves when it’s dark. That is the commitment needed to bake just one holiday season’s some 3,500 dozen cookies—or 42,000 individual beauties. In those 270 batches are 5,400 eggs, more than 1,100 pounds of chocolate (Belgian, Denver dark), 270 pounds of butter and 1,000plus pounds of flour.

What’s the secret to the 38

continual demand for the same basic cookie base, changed up with the addition of different nuts and chocolate varieties?

“I have to hand it to Tom and those who first developed the recipe,” says McCleery.

“The cookies stay soft and don't get hard. We started with three varieties, and now we have 23. I can take the same method and make whatever I want out of it. It ends up being the same soft, chewy cookie.”

Visit the kitchen as the sun streams through the windows into what resembles a cozy farmhouse, and you may suspect the secret might be about more than proportions. Maybe, you think, it has a lot to do with the precision and passion that goes into the baking of these cookies.

B

ehind a floor-to-ceiling stack of mailing boxes, seasonal employee Sue Standish is rolling out a batch of dough, dividing it roughly into cookie-sized bits then placing a single ball on a kitchen scale.

“So close!” she says as she takes away a centimeter or so of dough, weighs it again, finds she’s short and adds a touch more. “I’m trying to get exactly 3 ounces on that scale. I gave that a little roll because I had to add to it.”

Only when at optimal weight does the cookie dough go onto the tray for baking. Directly across the woodtopped island prep space, colleague Robin Baldwin is following the same process with a peanut butter base.

She’s apparently put too much effort into her mixing, at least according to Manager Jill Vansloten, who is mixing huge batches of dough while also

Clockwise from top: Tom's Mom's pick-up window, dressed up for the season; The Tom's Mom's team works long hours to bake about 42,000 cookies; Dividing cookie dough into 3-ounce balls is key to baking perfectly sized cookies.

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working the ovens and carefully watching the old-fashioned timer attached to the wall. She is always vigilant when it comes to achieving perfection. A few of the peanut butter cookies flattened out a bit like a pancake when baked, so Vansloten instructs Baldwin not to work the dough quite so much.

Perfection is key, and not just because the cookies have to be the perfect circumference to fit into the packaging tin.

The team knows that customers come seeking more than a cookie; they’re buying a memory in a bite. Some customers have been coming for years (just like Vansloten did as a child), sometimes for generations now, returning for a vacation cookie then ordering or sending some to family and friends at Christmas as a reminder of a Harbor Springs visit or cottagetime magic.

“We have a commitment to make the best cookie we can every single day,” McCleery says. “We’re really fussy about it. You know how it is. You go into a restaurant where you had a great meal one time, and the next time it’s not so good. You may give it one more try, but you don’t go back. Worse than that, you tell other people. If you make it good every time, that’s how your business grows.”

The whole team knows there is no room for mistakes. It is a tricky dance to work together, making so many cookies in the small space, but it is an especially sweet one, says Standish, who admits to taste testing at least one cookie a day. “I like to think of all the people getting cookies for Christmas,” she says, “like we’re the little elves.”

close friend. He later offered franchises.

A friend of McCleery’s started one in Harbor Springs in 1985 and hired McCleery to work for her in the summer.

Ten years later, McCleery bought out her friend and left her career as a social services supervisor, turning a career dealing with crises into one with the continual aroma of baking chocolate.

“What a difference,” she says. “Everybody’s happy all the time. And cookies are such a part of Christmas.

Think about it. You put them out for Santa with a glass of milk.”

While the cookies have found success since Tom’s early days, the store’s

nothing but phone calls.’ And I did. The phone would ring, I’d pick it up, put the receiver down and get another. It was like that all day for weeks. I finally had to say, ‘We can’t even process your order for a month, we’re that far behind.’”

And it didn’t end there. The store would get a new boost whenever the network would replay the episode. Rachel Ray went on to feature the cookies as ‘snack of the day,’ and there’s a photo of McCleery alongside the “Today” show’s Matt Lauer on yet another national appearance.

The store also grew organically, through word of mouth in the region, McCleery says, and she keeps evidence of that on the same publicity wall.

Next to the “Today” show shot is a photo of a customer sitting cross-legged outside the store as if levitating. “My first cookie left me hallucinating about the second one, which I would buy the next day,” the accompanying letter says.

“You get a tradition.

That’s what it is,” McCleery

The team knows that customers come seeking more than a cookie; they’re buying a memory in a bite.

T

he original elf was, not surprisingly, named Tom. Tom Kneeland opened his store in Charlevoix with the nearly identical recipe of today, but he made a just slightly smaller cookie. As the story goes, the recipe came not from his mom, but from someone like a mom—the mother of a

Above L-R: Manager Jill VanSloten, Lori Kowalski, Robin Baldwin, Cori Baldwin, Susan Standish and owner Sheryl McCleery are all smiles amid a busy holiday season.

fortunes took an even better turn for McCleery when she moved to the Spring Street location in 2000, where it still sits. That year, a producer with the “Food Network” passed by this more visible location on the way to interview an area chef and was intrigued by the cookie shop with the storybook vibe.

“After that, I would get these intermittent phone calls saying, ‘I want to do a spot on you guys,’” McCleery recalls.

“They finally came in 2001, and it took them another year to put it on the air.”

The impact of that exposure was huge. “That was life-changing, literally life-changing,” McCleery says. “I had called people who’d gotten exposure on the network who said, ‘You need to install an 800 line. You’re going to get

says. “That’s a beautiful thing for everybody—customers, me, the bank account. Now, after all these years, people are saying, ‘We come to Harbor just to eat cookies,’ or ‘It’s the first place we stop when we come to town.’ We hear stories of people driving from all over to get them. It warms my heart to know we’re still doing such a good job 35 years down the road. It really does.”

Kim Schneider is a travel writer specializing in Michigan adventures, food and wine. The Midwest Travel Journalist Association has named her Mark Twain Travel Writer of the Year, and she’s the author of “100 Things to Do in Traverse City Before You Die.” Melisa McKolay is an award-winning photographer based in Traverse City, specializing in lifestyle portraiture and documentary photojournalism. mckolayphoto.com NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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EDITOR’S NOTE

LIVING (IT) UP HERE IN THE WINTER

photo by Bill Milne

T

hose of us who have lived year-round in Northern Michigan, season to season, are familiar with the oft-asked question posed by those who have never experienced it here past Labor Day: “What’s there to do around here in the winter?” The short answer usually includes outdoor sports— cross-country and downhill skiing, snowshoeing, snow-biking, snowmobiling, ice fishing, ice skating, even curling at Stormcloud Brewing Company in Frankfort and Broomstack Kitchen & Taphouse in Maple City. Bored? It usually feels like there are too many choices.

If we haven’t glazed over our questioner with those answers, most of us year-rounders will tick off the fabulous craft brewpubs that dot almost every small town in our region and the way they host trivia nights and other lively games in the winter. And then there are our numerous wineries that stay open all winter (Bring your snowshoes to those open for a tramp in the vineyards!).

And, of course, there is the excellent Northern Michigan food scene bursting with restaurants that range from our bigger towns of Traverse City and Petoskey, out to our small towns where you can always count on a tavern serving up great breakfasts and memorable burgers.

But if I have really grabbed my listeners, I will add that loving Up North winters starts with your home nest. Some of the home essentials for cozying up from December through March? Windows to watch the snow falling on trees or a frozen lake—and a cardinal sighting always raises the spirits. A kitchen that you love to cook in alone or with family and friends. A large table for serving long candle-lit but casual dinners. A fireplace—wood or gas it doesn’t really matter; what matters is the way those flames warm your soul.

In this issue you will see two homes that are beautifully nestedout for winter by homeowners who spend a good chunk of the winter here. You’ll also meet the winners—builders, architects, designers and more—of our Home Sweet Home Awards. Be assured that these are some of the folks you’ll want to check out when you get to outfitting your home for living it up here in winter.

Here’s to what some people call the best season of all!

Elizabeth Edwards is senior editor of Northern Home & Cottage.

Lissa@traversemagazine.com

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Northern Mood

Icy Blue Wintergreen

&

CURATED BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS

»

SHADES OF A PERFECT WINTER.

Glass Wall Tile What would it look like if you cut a square of ice out of a frozen Northern pond?

We think a lot like this glass wall tile by Kalkaska artist Cyd Dutcher of Avant Glass.

Synchronicity Gallery, Glen Arbor. $150

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synchronicityartgallery.com NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2021-22

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4

2

3

1

1. Distressed Blue Dresser Use it as a dresser—or a buffet.

Either way this blue beauty makes the room. $599 lakestreetdesignstudio.com 2. Grinch Tree Collin Jenks, owner of Random in Petoskey, asked his mother (and artist) Lyn Jenks to design something for his downtown shop for the holidays that felt “like the Grinch.” Her answer?

These funky little trees, each with its own attitude. Tree shown here, $17

5

3. Blue Cube Sculpture Year-round yard (or house!) art by Ferndale artist Joseph LaMontagne. Powder-coated steel, 30” tall. Synchronicity Gallery, Glen Arbor. $350 synchronicityartgallery.com 4. Green Kitchen Cabinets Petoskey-based designer Renee Guthrie made these maple-framed inlaid cabinets sing with cypress green paint.

Pricing on request.

5. Hand-woven Throws Catherine Siterlet weaves the colors of Northern Michigan into her gorgeous throws.

Wrap yourself in the colors of snow-dusted waters. Made from mohair, cotton, silk, handspun alpaca, linen and rayon. $250 catherinelsiterlet.webs.com

lakestreetdesignstudio.com

randompetoskey.com

photo of green kitchen cabinets by Natalie Stroster Photography. All other photos by David Weidner.

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collections

FIREPLACE STYLE

Who doesn’t love a grand old fieldstone fireplace with its stone chimney rising to the rafters? But sometimes the home style, room style or even the budget just doesn’t work with it. It turns out, there’s more than one way to light your style on fire!

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS

RURAL INDUSTRIAL Architect: Ray Kendra, Environment Architects Builder: Dave Thompson, LTD Construction

RAY KENDRA’S riff on this modern barn-style home includes a black steel roof, black-framed windows and polished concrete floors—a backdrop that called for a fireplace with a rural-industrial vibe. The core of the fireplace is a form-follows-function, high efficiency Rumford-style prefabricated unit with a shallow depth and pleasingly modern square proportions. “The beauty of this fireplace is the simplicity of lines and materials,” Kendra says.

“The bolted steel lintel complemented the industrial vocabulary of other features found throughout the house,” he continues. Kendra went on to face the fireplace in a granite that appears dripped with shades of black and brown—an effect that perfectly blends with the homeowner’s collection of modern art and furnishings.

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photo by Todd Zawistowski

Location: Old Mission Peninsula

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FIREPLACE STYLE

TRADITIONAL ELEGANCE Designer: Vee Mossburg, Cottage Company Builder: Cottage Company Location: Harbor Springs

photo by Cottage Company

“WE WANTED to create an elegant, calm and artistically inspiring area that featured classic elements with a modern twist that would be both fresh and timeless,” says designer Vee Mossburg of this remodeled fireplace. To that end, Mossburg faced the fireplace in a Calcutta Chaldean marble and painted the wood mantel in Benjamin Moore White Dove. The bird-motif fireplace grate is a French antique from the Louis XVI period.

Clean-lined, 4-inch wainscoting painted in Benjamin Moore Summer Shower (mixed to a quarter strength) and an impressionistic still life from the Harbor Springs gallery Tvedten Fine Art finishes the tableau.

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y

FIREPLACE STYLE

FARMHOUSE FRESH Designer: Elizabeth Drake Location: Leelanau County

THIS FIREPLACE is located in a nook tucked off the kitchen and used primarily by the woman of the home. While the rest of this house is outfitted with several handsome granite-faced hearths, designer Elizabeth Drake wanted to give this one a more feminine touch, delivering with this beauty clad in Ann Sacks tile. The fireplace screen, blue dishes and white Staffordshire dog, all curated from the homeowner’s personal antique collection, round out the look.

photo by Werner Straub

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house and home

THREE BARN FARM A DESIGNER AND HER CREATIVE CLIENT TEAM UP TO REINVENT FARMHOUSE STYLE IN THIS STUNNING LEELANAU PENINSULA FARMHOUSE.

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS / PHOTOS BY WERNER STRAUB

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he seeds of this project were sown

many years ago when the homeowner toured a show-house in Lake Forest, Illinois, that was designed by Chicago-based designer Elizabeth Drake. “She asked me,” Drake recalls, “‘If we ever build a farmhouse, will you design it?’”

A number of years later, the homeowners were ready to build that farmhouse on land they purchased in the heart of the Leelanau Peninsula. The couple had definite ideas about what they wanted in this home. First and foremost, it needed to be a layout that welcomed their four married children and their grandchildren for visits all year—including this family’s allimportant holiday gathering. “That was the driver of this house,” Drake says. “A place for every married child and their children with plenty of space to make them feel welcome.” That plan needed to include a kitchen big enough for the 10 adults and five children in this family of cooks and foodies to gather in—and a separate dining room in the great room where the fuss and

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muss of cooking could be left behind for long, relaxed dinners.

Beyond those wishes, the couple wanted an exterior and interior design that fit the peninsula’s bucolic farm country—a design that would be as natural and organic as the large garden that they had already cultivated on the property. To that end, Traverse City-based architect Jim Elkins, now retired but then with the firm Strong, Drury & Elkins, designed the classic white board-and-batten farmhouse complete with a fieldstone chimney and foundation and metal roof. A connected garage and a separate building that houses an office and art studio are painted a perfect barn red.

The home’s interior was a happy and seamless collaboration between Drake, Elkins and the homeowners. “What I love best about my work is

ASSORTED ANTIQUES THAT DRAKE AND THE HOMEOWNER CURATED FROM THE COUPLE’S HOME IN CHICAGO ADDED TO THE TIMELESS FEEL.

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Photography by Beth Singer

“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”

Frank Gehry

TRILLIUM

TRILLIUMSHORE.com Custom Homes Custom Homes www.trilliumshore.com

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when I am able to design a home from the ground up—from the finishes to the furniture,” Drake says of the project. “When the finishes and the furnishings play together, there is an alchemy.”

As Drake explains, that alchemy began with the color choices. The homeowner, an artist, embraces bright, bold color and she charged Drake with basing the home’s palette on a sunny yellow (think: the yolks of farm-raised eggs!) and green, the shade of new plant shoots in the spring. Barn red and sky blue would be ancillary colors. “The trick was to keep the look from getting cute—that is a slippery slope,” Drake says.

Drake succeeded in avoiding the cute factor by grounding the home in natural materials: a mix of white oak and slate floors, wood-beamed ceilings and granite-faced fireplaces and chimneys.

Assorted antiques that Drake and the homeowner curated from the couple’s home in Chicago added to the timeless feel. Among the pieces are an early last-century portrait of a relative, a pine console that Drake turned into a powder room vanity and a primitive-style wooden statue of Abe Lincoln (a nod to the

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couple’s home state of Illinois).

Pops of color and fresh twists on traditional elements are key to the home’s overall style. The sunny yellow makes its appearance on interior barn doors, including one that disguises the refrigerator, as well as on wainscoting in the front entrance. Likewise, a classic sofa is upholstered in spring green-and-white dotted fabric. Wallpaper with motifs including fresh green-and-white buffalo plaid (in a nook of the kitchen), birch trees hung with pears (a bath-

room), whimsical cows (another bathroom) and charming chickens (the laundry room) add playfulness to the traditional home. The homeowner pitched in, painting a huge antique buffet sky blue and coral.

The home is a lively, comfortable sanctuary in all seasons of the year. But it really proved its mettle when six adults and one small child quarantined in it during the pandemic lockdown. “The house functioned like a champ,” Drake says.

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2021 Marvin Lumber and Cedar Co., LLC. Architecture by Peterssen/Keller Architecture, Minneapolis, MN.

Petoskey and Traverse City MI Petoskey and Traverse City MI Petoskey and Traverse City MI www.tmmill.com www.tmmill.com www.tmmill.com Petoskey and Traverse City MI www.tmmill.com

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2021 Marvin Lumber and Cedar Co., LLC.

©

More than 25 years of experience in building distinctive homes while exceeding the expectations of discriminating clients. © 2021 Marvin Lumber and Cedar Co., LLC. 2021 Marvin Lumber andMarvin CedarLumber Co., LLC. © 2021 and Cedar Co., LLC.

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jim@cooleycontracting.com

2021 Marvin Lumber and Cedar Co., LLC.

NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2021-22

2021 Marvin Lumber and Cedar Co., LLC.

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resources Interior Design Elizabeth Drake @drakeinteriors elizabethdrake.com Architect Jim Elkins, formerly of Strong, Drury & Elkins Builder Kevin Hall Builders kevinhallbuilders.com Flooring Artistic Tile wideplankflooring.com Apex Wood Floors apexwoodfloors.com Kitchen Design nuHaus @nuhauschicago nuhaus.com

COMINS, MICHIGAN 1-800-818-9971

woodworkersshoppe.com NHC

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house and home

LOVE AFFAIR WITH A LOG CABIN THIS ELK LAKE CABIN HAD AN EXQUISITE SETTING, BOATLOADS OF CHARACTER— AND OUTDATED STYLE. WITH A TALENTED DESIGNER, THE DEVOTED OWNERS TRANSFORMED THE HOME TO MAKE IT THEIR OWN.

BY ELIZABETH EDWARDS PHOTOS BY BILL MILNE , MILNE STUDIOS

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B

usy

chicagoans

tim

and

liz

had

their

hearts set on finding a vintage log cabin in Northern Michigan, one that, as Tim says, “felt like a summer camp.”

Having vacationed at The Homestead in Glen Arbor, they began their search on nearby Glen Lake and Lake Leelanau, but didn’t find exactly what they wanted. A property for sale on Torch Lake got them interested in the east side of Traverse City and, while they didn’t purchase that property, it did make them realize that the lakes on the east side of town are just as blue and beautiful as the westside lakes.

So, when a circa 1930s-40s log cabin on Elk Lake came up for sale, they had a look. If the quaint cabin with its log siding and even more quaint wavy Bavarian trim weren’t enough, the 200 feet of stunning frontage where two streams join to gurgle as one into Elk Lake, was. Sold! The cabin’s bones were good, but the couple knew they’d need to update the kitchen and redo the hodgepodge of additions to create a consistent rustic theme. But the bearskin rug that had stretched across the ceiling of the

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original section of the cabin for who knows how long? As far as Tim and Liz were concerned, that wasn’t going anywhere.

In Traverse City for the closing on the cabin in the fall of 2014, the couple dropped into the furniture/design store Urban Diversions, owned by Dale and Teresa Campbell, then located on Union Street, but now relocated to the corner of US-31 and Bunker Hill Road in Williamsburg. Dale is an award-winning designer of furniture and interiors, including kitchens and bathrooms. Tim and Liz walked into Urban Diversions to look at furniture. They came out having hired the Campbells to manage the entire renovation project. “We’d had some bad experiences with contractors in Chicago,” Tim says. “Knowing that someone we could trust was going to be all over this project from ideas to managing the contracting was a really good feeling.”

At Dale’s recommendation, Tim and Liz hired contractor Brad Smith of All-Ways Construction. Later in the project, after completing the interior, Smith retired, and Dale recommended that Kris Arnold of KA Construction finish exterior renovations. Dale's first major suggestion

26

A PINE-CLAD CEILING, A WALL COVERED IN HALF-LOGS AND A HAND-SCRAPED OAK FLOOR ROUND OUT THE RUSTIC THEME.

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was to open up the beautiful view of Elk Lake from the foyer, which was blocked by a staircase. By moving a few walls around, Dale found a spot for the staircase that didn’t block the view, and the All-Ways team built a new one with half-log steps, peeled-log supports and handsome wrought-iron railing spindles.

Mission #2 was giving the later additions to the main cabin—rooms that included the living and dining room and that were hung with drywall instead of log—a more rustic cabin-like feel. To that end, Smith and his team jacked the walls up, took out all their supports and replaced them with pine beams—placed so that an antique canoe, found

by Dale, could hang from the ceiling between them, and

so that the huge antlers of a trophy elk mounted over the fireplace wouldn’t scrape them. A pine-clad ceiling, a wall covered in half-logs and a hand-scraped oak floor round out the rustic theme. The remaining drywall is painted a vintage shade known as “haint blue,” that long ago was thought to ward off evil spirits.

The kitchen got a makeover with knotty pine cabinets trimmed in hickory (to match a hickory table and chairs in the breakfast nook), designed by Dale. A generous new 4-by-10-foot island is topped in a leathered quartzite called Golden Galaxis, as are the perimeter counters and the counter-to-ceiling backsplash. Some rearranging of walls in the master bedroom made room for a walk-in

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closet and bathroom large enough for a soaking tub (as well as a new powder room off the foyer). Additionally, three bedrooms and a bath upstairs were redone to accommodate guests and the couple’s two sons.

The cabin is furnished largely with furniture sourced from Urban Diversions. Among the pieces are a pair of mahogany chairs designed with a vintage nautical feel, as well as two chairs with magnificent scrolled arms that is a part of Dale’s own Waterfront Lounge collection. And much of what didn’t come from Urban Diversions was either collected by Dale (a stuffed Wolverine in honor of Tim, a University of Michigan alum) or Dale helped commission— including the fabulous wall-sized Michigan-shaped mirror framed in Michigan stones that hangs in the dining room.

The cabin is still a work in progress. Among the most recent changes are all-new Marvin windows framed in Wineberry (a shade of red) cladding. Even so, the family is as comfortable here as if they had owned it for generations. As the years roll by, it is feeling less like a summer camp and more like the dream place for Tim and Liz to retire.

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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR OFFICIAL SPONSOR: GOLDEN FOWLER HOME FURNISHINGS AND FEATURED SPONSORS: HONOR ONEKAMA BUILDING SUPPLY AND MCLAIN DESIGNS

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WHITE & LIEBLER architects

resources Designer, Project Manager, Furnishings & Cabinet Design Dale Campbell Urban Diversions urban-diversions.com Contractor Brad Smith All-Ways Construction Kris Arnold KA Construction of Northern Michigan ka-construction.com Windows & Doors Marvin Windows and Doors marvin.com Appliances Wolf-Subzero urban-diversions.com

architecture | planning | sustainable design

117 howard street, petoskey mi 49770 www.white-liebler.com 231-347-6870

Let’s Create Something Beautiful Proud Dealer of Dutch Made Cabinetry Full Design Service • Kitchen & Bath .k.

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HOME SWEET HOME AWARD WINNERS! We asked our readers to vote for their dream home design-and-build team.

Drum roll, please …

BY ELIZA B ETH EDWA R DS

Best Architect

“I have always looked toward the vernacular in architecture as inspiration for my work: in the natural, in the manmade, in the cultural, in anything that defines the origin of a place. It motivates me every day … and I have always had great clients to indulge this passion.”

—KEN RICHMOND

>

When architect Ken Richmond opened his Traverse City-based firm 22 years ago, he was looking forward—and backward. Richmond’s keen eye and passion for the historic landscape and lifestyle of the North—from lakeside Victorian cottages to rustic cabins and farmhouses—shape his designs. The results are homes that blend exquisitely into their sites, while offering all the amenities his clients desire to live their best Up North lives.

photo by Allison Jarrell

RICHMOND & ASSOCIATES

Best Home Builder

CMB CONSTRUCTION The C in CMB Construction stands for owner Colin Bushong’s first name. But it could just as well stand for “Collaboration.” For two decades, Bushong has begun each residential building project with a blank slate, listening carefully to everything from his clients’ ideas to their budgets. Then, along with his skilled team of designers and woodworkers, he sets out to find resourceful, affordable ways to make their dreams come true.

“We are humbled and honored to win this award! Building fine homes is our passion. We take great pride in our build quality and process. Helping people build their dream home is an amazing experience.”

—COLIN BUSHONG

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Best Landscape Designer

photo by Jason Hulet Photography

DROST LANDSCAPE

> Best Interior Designer

KITCHEN CHOREOGRAPHY

“It’s a joy to work in the landscape industry in beautiful Northern Michigan. Our team has grown from a few guys in a barn 30 years ago to over 100 people, including my two sons, Dusty and Travis Drost, serving our community today. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

—BOB DROST

>

There is no shortage of accolades to describe the work of Angela Goodall and her team at Kitchen Choreography.

Elegant, stylish and flawless all come to mind. But one adjective that especially pops is seamless. From molding to flooring, whether it’s in a laundry room, powder room, kitchen or a whole house interior, Kitchen Choreography’s work integrates seamlessly with the environment around it. What’s more, Team KC prides itself on working seamlessly with contractors and homeowners—an especially important quality since so many of their clients are second-home owners who aren’t usually on-site during construction.

Some artists work on canvas. Bob Drost works across landscapes where his mediums are nature’s most basic elements such as earth, water, fire, plantings and rock—big, boulder-type rocks. Show him a rock and he’ll shape an entire outdoor fireplace around it, turn it into the ledge of a cascading pool or use it to punctuate the finale of a grand outdoor staircase. And where there is form, there is function.

Drost Landscapes are designed to hold up to Northern Michigan’s elements, so that homeowners can relax and revel in the outdoors.

“Winning this award is very heartwarming, both to me and our design crew at Kitchen Choreography.

Northern Michigan is home to many talented designers and it is a great honor to be recognized among them.

Thank you to everyone who voted and recognized our hard work and passion for this industry!”

—ANGELA GOODALL

NHC

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•

MYNORTH.COM

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11/3/21 5:09 PM

Best Renovation and Remodel

WATERFRONT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & BUILDERS Several years ago, Joe Lucier purchased a home maintenance and construction company from his mentor, Gregg Garn. In a matter of months, the company grew from 12 to 50 employees and added more luxury homes to its project list. How does growth like that happen?

Mostly word-of-mouth from their happy customers in the Emmet County area. Waterfront Property Management & Builders may have gotten bigger, but Lucier says the smallest home maintenance jobs still receive the attention to detail his company has become known for.

The 2021 Home Sweet Home Award Winners!

A R C H I T E CT FIRST: Ken Richmond SECOND: Bourgeois Architects THIRD: White & Liebler

HOME BUILDER FIRST: CMB Construction SECOND: Waterfront Property

Management & Builder THIRD: Paul Maurer General

“To all our valued customers in the beautiful Northern Michigan area, the Waterfront team gives a resounding ‘Thank you!’ We love where we live and strive to serve and improve the communities we grew up in.

Thanks for helping us move toward our vision of becoming the most loved, most trusted and most used remodeler in Emmet County!”

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

—JOE LUCIER

FIRST: Drost Landscape

Contracting

INTERIOR DESIGNER FIRST: Kitchen Choreography SECOND: The Inner Structure THIRD: New Leaf Interiors

SECOND: Traverse Outdoor THIRD: Zimmerman

Landscaping Inc

R E M O D E L A N D/O R R E N O VAT I O N C O N T R ACTO R FIRST: Waterfront Property Management and Builders, Inc. SECOND: Kitchen Choreography THIRD: Biggs Construction

Services Inc

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NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2021-22

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11/3/21 5:09 PM

Your Dream.

Revealed.

Dreams often are shaped by reality, now let reality be shaped by your dreams.

Our passionate team will thoughtfully design your perfect vacation home, a bold basecamp for daytime adventures and a warm hearth for long winter nights — in a home your family will treasure for generations.

amdgarchitects.com/cottages 616.454.1600

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11/3/21 4:27 PM

Value is about so much more than low prices.

When it comes to furniture & mattresses, you’d think it’s all about low prices.

Real value is about so much more.

When you add personal attention and friendly guidance for everyone, that’s real value.

We invite you to come experience real value —Today’s furniture the way YOU imagined it!

Discover how we’re REDEFINING VALUE by scanning this QR Code with your smartphone camera!

s ’ y a d To Golden-Fowler HOME FURNISHINGS

1221 NHC COVER.indd 4

1137 S Garfield Ave Traverse City, MI GoldenFowler.com

231-946-7330

@GoldenFowlerTC

11/3/21 4:27 PM

er or e of c g d ur r.

T he Cu l i nary North

Kind of a Big Dill (pickle spears wrapped with ranch cream cheese and ham in a fried wonton), Baby E's Popper Burger, Betty's Cowgirl Chili and Grilled Cheese

local cuisine . drinks . restaurant guide

E! D I N I N G OUT

WELCOME BACK

n

by CARLY SIMPSON

n

Lil Bo is once again full of smiles and laughter.

T

on

y

photos by Dave Weidner

y

raverse city native jenni scott has decades of memories from spending time at Little Bohemia. “I used to come here a lot, especially working in the service industry,” she says. “They’d stay open so those people getting out of work late would have a cool place to hang. I even worked here for a bit.”

The full menu includes an olive burger—a nod to one So, when the neighborhood bar closed and went up of Little Bohemia’s most iconic dishes—along with po’ for sale in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, Jenni boys from Jenni’s food truck Betty’s Hot Dish (she always and her sister and parents stepped in to purchase it in recommends the pickle-brined chicken po’ boy). Betty’s April, becoming just the third family Cowgirl Chili, a six-time winner of the to own the West Front Street icon, Downtown Chili Cook-Off, is on the which dates back to the early 1930s, menu every day (It’s got bacon, beef and beginning as a hot dog stand with pulled pork. Order it!) and so is a deviled bootlegging in the basement. egg of the day with funky toppings like The restaurant reopened in July crispy Spam and Thai chili sauce.

2021 as Lil Bo, a longtime nickname Lil Bo is open seven days a week from of Little Bohemia. The Scotts kept the 11 a.m.–2 a.m., except on Sundays, when knotty pine interior and brought back hours are noon to midnight. The scaledthe pool table, but the life-size Stordown but dynamite late-night menu kicks mtrooper light above it is new. So is in at 9 p.m. There’s live music every Thursthe custom bar with Michigan matchday, football on Sundays and, in keeping books, and Jenni and her brother made with tradition, Service Industry Night on the tables topped with vintage recipes, Mondays.

Co-owner and Chef Jenni Scott Mardi Gras beads and concert tickets.

“I’ve loved this place for a long time,” “We spruced up the bathrooms Jenni says, “and it’s really good to see and put some paint outside, but we let it be what it people laughing in here again.” wants to be, which is a bar,” Jenni says.

540 W. Front St., Traverse City, lilbotc.com NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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11/3/21 4:21 PM

! s e Y

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223 St. Joseph (M-22) Suttons Bay, MI - (231) 271-6033 | Enerdynet.com

Give an annual gift subscription this year starting at just $19.95... link.MyNorth.com/GIFT21

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11/8/21 2:02 PM

T he Cu l i nary North Grab & Go BUNDLE UP IN BENZIE

by CARLY SIMPSON

A ready-made meal and the best place to take it.

GRAB:

L'Chayim Delicatessen L’Chayim has been a Benzie County favorite for nearly 30 years, with the year-round Beulah deli opening in 1992 (the Frankfort location is open seasonally May–October). Co-owner Jonathan Clark grew up in Beulah, moving to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for a few years after college. It was his first introduction to bagels, corned beef and pastrami, and when he moved back home, he knew he wanted to start a Jewish deli. Three decades later, you know they’re doing something right. The bagels are baked fresh daily, the cream cheese is made in-house, too, and the cookies are big and melty. Plus, there’s a full lineup of sandwiches. Try the Tripoli—turkey, ham and hard salami layered with provolone, lettuce, tomato and mayo on Jewish rye—or the Tel Aviv—roast turkey with a kick of pepper jack and roasted red peppers with lettuce and honey mustard on pumpernickel.

274 S. Benzie Blvd., Beulah, lchayimdelicatessen.com GO:

Take your sandwich of choice and your ice skates two minutes down the road to Academy Park (next to the Benzonia Public Library). The ice rink, nearly the size of a football field, is being maintained by Chris Howard, owner of The Cottage Pros, and his team, who hope to have it ready by Christmas break, assuming

JUST A BITE Smoked Trout Chowder on a brisk december day, settle into a leather armchair by the

fireplace at The Queens Head Wine Pub in Cheboygan. The charming building, wonderfully original name and relaxed atmosphere make it feel like an English pub (John Costin, who owns The Queens Head with his wife, Marcella, is in fact from London). Now, order a bowl of smoked trout chowder. It’s the definition of comfort food— warm, hearty, absolutely delicious—and the trout is sourced locally from Big Stone Bay Fishery in Mackinaw City. Pair it with a pint, or find a bottle to share from the wine cellar. Cheers! 250 N. Huron St., Cheboygan, thequeensheadwinepub.com –C.S.

our Northern Michigan weather cooperates. The Cottage Pros stepped up to build the rink last winter after it’d fallen by the wayside for two years. Chris and Jonathan, of L'Chayim, both skated on the rink as kids, as have many in the Benzie community. The Betsie Current did a beautiful story about the effort and the love it took to get the rink going again, including a free skate lending program created by Dr. Lisa Musgrave, a Beulah dentist, that will be available again this year through the library (benzonialibrary.org). Read that article at bit.ly/3tj5icZ and go make your own memories at the rink.

Academy Park, corner of Traverse Avenue and US-31 NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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photo by Dave Weidner

Benzonia Ice Rink

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GUIDE R E S T A U R A N T

UPCOMING EVENTS 12/4

A CHRISTMA S BY CANDLELIGHT CONCERT ERICKSON CENTER FOR THE ART S

| WATER VIEW | RED HOT BEST RESTAURANT 2021 BLD | BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER BAR | ALCOHOL SERVED $ | ENTRÉES INDER $10 $$ | $10-20 $$$ | ABOVE $20

PETOSKEY & MACKINAC STRAITS ALANSON/BAY HARBOR/INDIAN RIVER

12/14

Dutch Oven Bakery French toast, farmer’s omelette stratas and

sandwiches on famous homemade bread. 7611 US-31, ALANSON,

231.548.2231 BL • $

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR NMC CONCERT BAND

Knot Just a Bar Contemporary sports and oyster bar perched on

12/18

Vintage Chophouse/Wine Bar All-American steakhouse flavored with retro sophistication. INN AT BAY HARBOR AUTOGRAPH

WINTE R WINE WALK OTSEGO RESORT

the Bay Harbor marina. 820 FRONT ST., BAY HARBOR, 231.439.2770

LD • BAR $$-$$$ •

COLLECTION, 3600 VILLAGE, HARBOR DR., BAY HARBOR, 231.439.4051 LD • BAR • $-$$$

Vivio’s Northwood Inn Locals love this cozy, rustic, wildlife-

decorated log cabin with Italian cuisine and specialty pizzas.

4531 S. STRAITS HWY., INDIAN RIVER, 231.238.9471 LD • BAR • $-$$

“LOCAL TICKETS ONE PLACE”

HARBOR SPRINGS/PETOSKEY Beards Brewery Pizza, burgers, salads, wings and culinary surprises including pho. 215 E. LAKE ST. PETOSKEY, 231.753.2221 LD • BAR • $$

Boyne Highlands Main Dining Room—Casual American with Scottish influences. Focus on fresh, seasonal, local ingredients.

Seminole Pub. 600 HIGHLANDS DR., HARBOR SPRINGS, 231.526.3000 BLD • BAR • $–$$

Chandler’s Dining inside or on the patio offers two ways to

savor this eatery’s upscale menu. 215 HOWARD ST., PETOSKEY, BEHIND SYMONS GENERAL STORE, 231.347.2981 LD • BAR • $$-$$$ City Park Grill Hemingway drank at the massive mahogany

bar in this casual spot. Scratch cuisine, wood grill, hand-cut steaks, pastas, fresh whitefish, and live entertainment. 432 E.

LAKE, PETOSKEY, 231.347.0101 LD • BAR • $$

Jose’s Authentic taqueria with made-to-order Mex. 309 PETOSKEY ST., PETOSKEY, 231.348.3299 LD • $

Julienne Tomatoes Fresh sandwiches, comfort food, and

homemade pastries like lemon raspberry bars, banana caramel flan. 421 HOWARD ST., PETOSKEY, 231.439.9250 BL • $

Mitchell Street Pub and Café Classic pub with fresh pea-

nuts, fantastic nachos, Maurice salad, patty melts. 426 E. MITCHELL ST., PETOSKEY, 231. 347.1801 LD • BAR • $-$$

The New York Restaurant Looks like the East Coast, tastes

like heaven. 101 STATE ST., HARBOR SPRINGS, 231. 526.1904 D • BAR • $$-$$$

MYNORTHTICKETS.COM

800.836.0717

Odawa Casino Resort Sage—Sumptuous fine dining with curried grilled lamb loin, salmon saltimbocca, seared scallops and an extensive wine list. 1760 LEARS RD., PETOSKEY, 877.442.6464 D • BAR • $$-$$$

Palette Bistro Little Traverse Bay views with casual upscale dining, outdoor seating and an evolving seasonal menu. Wine bar, weekend brunch and popular happy hour. 321 BAY ST., PETOSKEY, 231.348.3321 LD • BAR • $$-$$$ •

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The Culinary North Pour Public House Charcuterie, gourmet sandwiches, salads, soups, bruschetta. 422 E. MITCHELL ST., PETOSKEY, 231.881.9800 LD

Red Mesa Grill Colorful decor and creative Latin American cui-

• BAR • $$-$$$

sine with Costa Rican and Argentinean influences punctuate this lively spot. 117 WATER ST., BOYNE CITY, 231.582.0049 LD • BAR • $$

Roast & Toast Daily house-made soups, bread, bakery items

Stiggs Brewery Hand-crafted brews, from-scratch food like

and salads. On-site coffee roasting. A consistent MyNorth Red Hot Best winner. 309 E. LAKE ST., PETOSKEY, 231.347.7767 BLD • $

Sam’s Graces Café & Bakery Artisanal bakery and brick oven pizzeria. 324 E. MITCHELL ST., PETOSKEY, 231.489.8278 BL • $ Side Door Saloon Excellent sandwiches, quesadillas, steak, whitefish and pastas. 1200 N. US-31, PETOSKEY, 231.347.9291 LD • BAR • $

whitefish cakes, bourbon chicken sandwich, top sirloin wagyu steak. 112 S. PARK ST., BOYNE CITY, 231.497.6100 LD • BAR $-$$

Shanty Creek Resort Lakeview—Innovative regional cui-

sine at Shanty Creek Resort. Breakfast, lunch & dinner; The River Bistro—Breakfast buffet, sandwiches, pizzas and 45 regional beers on tap; Arnie’s at the Summit—Breakfast, lunch, (spring-fall); Ivan’s Mountainside Grill—Schuss Village-Pub food. 1 SHANTY CREEK RD. (M-88), BELLAIRE, 800.678.4111 BLD •

Bennethum’s Northern Inn Fresh eclectic cuisine and updated regional favorites in a cozy Northwoods setting. Creative kids menu, Sun. brunch. 3917 SOUTH OLD 27, GAYLORD, 989.732.9288 LD • BAR • $-$$$

Cellar 152 Gourmet meals to take out or eat in, at a wine bar on the Elk River. 152 RIVER ST., ELK RAPIDS, 231.264.9000 BLD • BAR • $-$$

Chef Charles’ Culinary Institute of America-trained Chef

Charles Egeler makes gourmet pizzas, Ligurian-style takeout pesto, salads and sandwiches in a classic pizzeria. 147 RIVER ST., ELK RAPIDS, 231.264.8901 LD • $

Stafford’s Bay View Inn Gracious 1886 inn with a big veranda, glorious gardens and bay view, American fare. Sun. brunch. 2011 WOODLAND, PETOSKEY, 231.347.2771 BLD • $$-$$$

BAR • $$ •

Short’s Brewing Co. Sip Joe Short’s fabulous brew, and dine

Harbor Cafe Traditional breakfasts and lunches with some fun specialities like cinnamon swirl pancakes and a Reuben omelette. 129 RIVER ST., ELK RAPIDS, 231.264.8700 BL • $

Stafford’s Perry Hotel Circa-1899 hotel with a wraparound

ST., BELLAIRE, 231.498.2300 LD • BAR • $-$$

The Local All-American breakfast and lunch done better. 145

front porch and killer views of Little Traverse Bay. 100 LEWIS ST.,

PETOSKEY, 231.347.4000 LD • BAR • $$–$$$

Stafford’s Pier Regional cuisine. Pointer Room—fresh sea-

food. LD • BAR • $$ Dudley’s Deck—LD • BAR • $$ Chart Room—D • BAR • $$ 102 BAY ST., HARBOR SPRINGS, 231.526.6201 Tap30 Pourhouse Inventive sliders, award-winning chili, Frito pie and more along with 30 beers on tap. 422 E. MITCHELL ST.,

PETOSKEY, 231.881.9572 LD • BAR • $-$$

Teddy Griffin’s Roadhouse Casual spot to grab ribs,

steak or fresh fish after golf or skiing and catch the game on TV. 50 HIGHLAND PIKE RD., HARBOR SPRINGS, 231.526.7805 D • BAR • $$

Terrace Inn Planked whitefish and housemade desserts in a

Victorian setting. 1549 GLENDALE AVE., PETOSKEY, 231.347.2410 D • BAR • $$

Thai Orchid Cuisine Outstandingly fresh and authentic

noodles, curries and salads. 433 E. MITCHELL ST., PETOSKEY, 231.487.9900 LD • $-$$

Villa Ristorante Authentic handmade pasta, osso buco and hand-rolled cannoli star. 887 SPRING ST., PETOSKEY, 231.347.1440 D • BAR • $$-$$$

Willow Inspired farm-to-table modern American cuisine with global wine and craft cocktail bar. 129 EAST BAY ST., HARBOR SPRINGS, 231.412.6032 D • BAR • $$-$$$

CHARLEVOIX & CHAIN OF LAKES BELLAIRE/BOYNE COUNTRY/WALLOON Barrel Back Smoked pork tacos, chopped salads, gourmet pizza and pasta, grilled beef tenderloin and more. Over 20 craft beers on tap and signature cocktails. 4069 M-75, WALLOON LAKE, 231.535.6000 LD • BAR • $-$$$

Boyne City Taproom Craft beer, wood-fired pizzas, wraps, burg-

ers. 220 S. LAKE ST., BOYNE CITY, 231.459.4487 LD • BAR • $-$$

Boyne Mountain Resort Everett’s Restaurant & Lounge—

from the deli menu in a renovated hardware store. 121 N. BRIDGE

Terrain Restaurant Honest yet ambitious contemporary

American food with a focus on local ingredients. 213 N. BRIDGE ST., BELLAIRE, 231.350.7301 D • BAR • $$

Walloon Lake Inn Exceptional culinary skills play out in a newly

renovated, century-old pine-paneled lakeside lodge. 4178 WEST ST., WALLOON LAKE VILLAGE, 231.535.2999 D • BAR • $$-$$$ •

CHARLEVOIX Bridge Street Taproom Michigan craft brews, beer-friendly

small plates, local charcuterie and bird’s-eye views of the yacht traffic on Round Lake. 202 BRIDGE ST., CHARLEVOIX, 231.437.3466

LD • BAR • $-$$ •

The Cantina Tacos and tequila with indoor and outdoor

seating. Live entertainment. 101 VAN PELT PLACE, CHARLEVOIX, 231.437.3612 LD • BAR • $-$$

Charlevoix Pizza Company Scratch-made dough, fresh in-

gredients, golden crust, prepared daily. Plus, cheesy bread and wings. 311 BRIDGE ST., CHARLEVOIX, 231.437.6300 LD • $-$$

East Park Tavern French-influenced American cuisine featur-

ing prime rib, John Cross Whitefish and specialty cocktails. 307 BRIDGE ST., CHARLEVOIX, 231.547.7450 LD • BAR • $$–$$$

AMES ST., ELK RAPIDS, 231.498.2190 BL • $$

Otsego Resort American and international menu, nice wine

list in a log lodge overlooking the Sturgeon River Valley. The Duck Blind Grille—Casual evening dining. 696 M-32, GAYLORD, 989.732.5181 D • BAR • $$

Paddle Hard Brewing A fun-loving community hangout with

artisan tacos, pizzas and brews. 227 E. MICHIGAN AVE., GRAYLING,

989.745.6388 LD • BAR • $$

Pearl’s New Orleans Kitchen Every day’s Mardi Gras at this festive spot, where Cajun, Creole, seafood, sandwiches and big brunches accompany lively zydeco, jazz and blues. 617 AMES ST., ELK RAPIDS, 231.264.0530 LD • BAR • $-$$

Ray's BBQ, Brews & Blues A BBQ joint on the banks of the Au Sable River. 204 INGHAM ST., GRAYLING, 989.348.1515 LD • BAR • $$ •

Spike’s Keg O’ Nails An Up North classic for burgers since

1933. 301 N. JAMES ST., GRAYLING, 989.348.7113 LD • BAR • $

Sugar Bowl Restaurant This vintage 1919 eatery serves

whitefish, prime rib and Greek specialties. 216 W. MAIN ST., GAYLORD, 989.732.5524 BLD • BAR • $$-$$$

Esperance Gourmets will adore dishes prepared with dazzling

LEELANAU COUNTY

CHARLEVOIX, 231.237.9300 D • $-$$$

lunch. 102 S. BROADWAY, SUTTONS BAY, 231.271.2233 BL • $-$$

technique in this specialty food and wine shop. 12853 US-31 N.,

45th Parallel Cafe Artsy spot with creative breakfast and

That French Place Authentic French crêperie and ice cream

Art’s Tavern Burgers, whitefish, steaks, Mexican and pizza.

shop. 212 BRIDGE ST., CHARLEVOIX, 231.437.6037 BLD • $

Grey Gables Restaurant Graceful, intimate, Victorian atmo-

Smelt year-round at this legendary watering hole. 6487 W. WESTERN AVE., GLEN ARBOR, 231.334.3754 BLD • BAR • $-$$

sphere across from the harbor. 308 BELVEDERE AVE., CHARLEVOIX, 231.547.9261 D • BAR • $$-$$$

The Bluebird Cinnamon rolls, whitefish, seafood, steak, pasta,

Pigs Eatin’ Ribs Real smokehouse with mouthwatering BBQ.

RIVER ST., LELAND, 231.256.9081 LD • BAR • $$ •

Weekend breakfast. 1418 BRIDGE ST., CHARLEVOIX, 231.547.7447

BLD • $-$$

Scovie’s Gourmet Fresh salads, sandwiches, soups and

baked goods star here. Dinner is bistro-style comfort food. 111

creative global feasts during the off-season. Sun. brunch. 102 E.

Boone Docks Log lodge with roomy deck, shrimp, burgers, steaks. 5858 MANITOU BLVD., GLEN ARBOR, 231.334.6444 LD • BAR • $$

Boone’s Prime Time Pub Seafood, steaks and burgers in a

Elegantly prepared fish and game dishes. BLD • BAR • $-$$$; Eriksen’s—Stunning view of the slopes and menu with Austrian and German touches. BLD • BAR • $-$$; Forty Acre Tavern— American pub fare with an extensive beer list. LD • BAR • $-$$

cuisine in a Hobbit-style Earl Young stone structure. 106 PINE

Café Santé Beside Lake Charlevoix featuring bistro classics.

Terry’s Place Small white-tablecloth eatery with a high tin

MAPLE CITY, 231.228.8869 LD • BAR • $

ST., CHARLEVOIX, 231.547.2799 D • BAR • $$

Villager Pub A Charlevoix hangout for nearly four decades,

pizza. 103 W. PHILIP ST., LAKE LEELANAU, 231.256.9912 LD • BAR • $-$$

Bier mac ‘n’ cheese, cocktails, 26 beers on tap. 202 S. LAKE ST.,

LD • BAR • $-$$

231.994.2121 BL • BAR • $–$$

Provisions Wine Lounge Sommelier curated wines by the

ELK RAPIDS/GAYLORD/GRAYLING

1 BOYNE MOUNTAIN RD., BOYNE FALLS, 855.688.7024

1 WATER ST., BOYNE CITY, 231.582.8800 BLD • BAR • $-$$ •

Corner Bistro French-inspired small plates, classic cock-

tails, wine, beer, Sunday brunch. 102 N. BRIDGE ST., BELLAIRE, 231.409.7088 LD • BAR • $-$$

Lake Street Pub American pub with outdoor patio and firepit, BOYNE CITY, 231.497.6031 LD • $

glass and bottle, classic cocktails, Michigan craft beer and small plates. 123 WATER ST., BOYNE CITY, 231.582.2151 LD • BAR • $$

BRIDGE ST., CHARLEVOIX, 231.237.7827 LD • $-$$

Stafford’s Weathervane Local fish, seafood and regional

RIVER LN., CHARLEVOIX, 231.547.4311 LD • BAR • $$ •

ceiling. Try the perch or filet mignon. Mouthwatering. 101 ANTRIM with two distinct sections. Known for Great Lakes whitefish, Mexican, ribs and pizza. 427 BRIDGE ST., CHARLEVOIX, 231.547.6925

American House Wood Fired Pizza Full menu and tradi-

tional Neapolitan-style pizzas made with San Marzano tomatoes and fresh ingredients. 151 RIVER ST., ELK RAPIDS, 231.264.6062 LD • BAR • $$

cozy cabin with a fireplace and a lively, friendly wait staff. 102 JOSEPH ST., SUTTONS BAY, 231.271.6688 LD • BAR • $$

Broomstack Kitchen & Taphouse Great burgers, hand-cut

fries, Sicilian-style pizza. Curling rink. 172 W. BURDICKVILLE RD., Dick’s Pour House Homemade soups and pies, sandwiches,

Fiddleheads An eclectic breakfast and sandwich shop serv-

ing beer, wine and cocktails. 202 W. MAIN ST., LAKE LEELANAU,

Fischer’s Happy Hour Tavern Rustic family-style roadhouse

known for burgers, soups and raspberry pie in season. 7144 N. M-22, BETWEEN NORTHPORT AND LELAND, 231.386.9923 LD • BAR • $

Funistrada Casual trattoria features Italian specialties such

as veal saltimbocca and lasagna. 4566 MCFARLANE, MAPLE CITY/ BURDICKVILLE, 231.334.3900 D • BAR • $$ N NO O RR TT HH EE RR N N M M II CC HH II G G AA N N '' SS M M AA G G AA ZZ II N N EE

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The Culinary North Garage Bar & Grill BBQ & bar eats are served at this pareddown watering hole with garage doors & a dog-friendly patio.

Oaky’s Tavern Burgers, pizza, pasta, sandwiches. Friday night

The Homestead Whiskers Bar & Grill—pizza, wood-grilled

OLD MISSION PENINSULA

1 WOODRIDGE RD. (OFF M-22), GLEN ARBOR, 231.334.5000

zas along with fresh ales crafted on site. 13512 PENINSULA DR.,

108 S WAUKAZOO ST., NORTHPORT, 231.386.5511 LD • BAR • $-$$

ribs, burgers and more. Dine inside and out. D • BAR • $-$$

Hop Lot Brewing Co. Family-friendly microbrewery with

specials. 9205 US-31, INTERLOCHEN, 231.276.6244 LD • BAR • $-$$

Jolly Pumpkin Wood-fired steaks, fresh fish, and artisan piz-

TRAVERSE CITY, 231.223.4333 LD • BAR • $$

four-season patio and games serving ribs, tacos, wings and a s’more kit to top it all off. 658 S. WEST BAY SHORE DR., SUTTONS

cally sourced fare and craft cocktails. 13512 PENINSULA DR., TRA-

Joe’s Friendly Tavern A rustic, comfy spot with bar food:

Old Mission Tavern Prime rib, fresh fish, pastas and ethnic

BAY, 231.866.4445 LD • BAR • $-$$

whitefish, burgers, sandwiches, chili and soup. 11015 FRONT ST., EMPIRE, 231.326.5506 BLD • BAR • $$

Knot Just a Bar Fish and burgers in a modern, beachy pub

Mission Table Farm-to-table restaurant serving seasonal, lo-

VERSE CITY, 231.223.4222 D • BAR • $-$$ •

specials—this lushly landscaped spot hosts two fine-art galleries: Bella Galleria and sculptor/owner Verna Bartnick’s studio.

17015 CENTER RD., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.223.7280 LD • BAR • $$

perched over pretty Omena Bay. 5019 BAY SHORE DR. (M-22), OMENA, 231.386.7393 LD • BAR • $-$$ •

DOWNTOWN TRAVERSE CITY

La Bécasse Part the heavy velvet curtains and find a Provençal

Amical Friendly French bistro with a bay view, fireplace and street

paradise. C-675 & C-616, BURDICKVILLE, 231.334.3944 D • BAR •

$$-$$$

NEW Leelanau Coffee Roasting Breakfast Bistro Arabica coffees, breakfast sandwiches, sourdough pancakes, cinnamon rolls and more. 101 S. MAIN ST., LELAND, 231.994.2202 BLD • $ Market 22 Deli, pizza, bakery. Eat in or takeout. 497 E. HAR-

BOR HWY., MAPLE CITY, 231.228.6422 BLD • BAR • $

Martha’s Leelanau Table A European-style cafe with an emphasis on regional cuisine made from scratch. 413 N. JOSEPH

ST., SUTTONS BAY, 231.271.2344 BLD • BAR • $-$$$

NEW Nittolo's Restaurants Two restaurants under one roof.

Nittolo's Pizza: Unique brick-oven pizzas. Seafood & Social: Ora king salmon, Alaska halibut, Chilean sea bass and more. 104

MAIN ST., LAKE LEELANAU, 231.994.2400 LD • $$-$$$

North Country Grill & Pub The Boone family keeps the clas-

patio. Prix fixe menu from 4–5:30pm. Sun. brunch. 229 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.941.8888 LD • BAR • $$-$$$ •

NEW Artisan Waterfront Restaurant & Tavern Casual

fine dining experience with Great Lakes-inspired cuisine inside the DELAMAR Traverse City resort. 615 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY,

231.947.3700 LD • BAR • $$ •

NEW Bahia Spanish-Latin fusion restaurant focused on tapas and shared small plates. 127 S. UNION ST., TRAVERSE CITY,

231.421.3669 D • BAR • $$

Benedict A family-friendly restaurant offering breakfast and

lunch sandwiches, pastries, salads, soups and more. 237 LAKE AVE., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.421.1000 BL • $-$$

Blue Tractor Cook Shop An Old Town favorite with fromscratch food. 423 UNION ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.922.9515 LD • BAR • $-$$

sics while flirting with fondue, fried pickles, Phillys and Cubans.

Brasserie Amie A Parisian-style brasserie bistro in downtown

New Bohemian Cafe A neighborhood coffee shop and deli,

231.753.3161 LD • BAR • $$

420 N. ST. JOSEPH ST., SUTTONS BAY, 231.271.5000 LD • BAR • $$

also home to Baia Estate Winery tasting room. 110 S. WAUKAZOO ST., NORTHPORT, 231.386.1034 BL • $-$$

Pegtown Station Pizza, subs, burgers, sandwiches, salads

and breakfast—all done well. 8654 S. MAPLE CITY RD., MAPLE CITY,

231.228.6692 BL • $

Streetside Grille Seafood, burgers, pasta, flatbread pizzas,

great beer list and more. 111 N. ST. JOSEPH ST., SUTTONS BAY, 231.866.4199 LD • BAR • $$-$$$

TC serving up brunch and dinner. 160 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY,

LINGTON ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.946.8700 LD • $$-$$$

Cousin Jenny’s Cornish Pasties Homemade pasties. 129 S.

UNION ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.941.7821 BLD • $

Western Avenue Grill Pasta, seafood, whitefish and burgers. 6680 WESTERN AVE. (M-109), GLEN ARBOR, 231.334.3362 LD •

Firefly A dazzling small-plate menu, sushi, steaks and burgs at a sophisticated hotspot on the river. 310 S. CASS ST., TRAVERSE

Wren Contemporary comfort food and a constantly changing

The Flying Noodle House-made fresh pastas and sauces, sandwiches and salads. 136 E. FRONT ST., 231.252.4725 LD •

las, enormous wraps, sandwiches and smoothies. 108 S. UNION,

CITY, 231.932.1310 LD • $-$$ •

BAR • $$

The Good Bowl Fast casual Vietnamese. 328 E. FRONT INTERLOCHEN Bradley’s Pub & Grille Burgers, ribs, bluegill, brisket, trout

and so much more. 10586 US-31, INTERLOCHEN, 231.275.6401 LD • BAR • $-$$

Dilbert’s Soups, sandwiches, omelettes and other home cook-

ing served in a homey atmosphere. 11303 US-31, INTERLOCHEN, 231.275.3005 BLD • $

Hofbrau Lively cedar-paneled former general store serves lo-

cals and Interlochen performers. Steak, seafood, bluegill and barbecue. Sun. brunch. 2784 M-137, INTERLOCHEN, 231.276.6979 LD • BAR • $-$$

ST.,TRAVERSE CITY, 231.252.2662 LD • BAR $-$$

The Green House Café Sandwiches, soups and salads. 115 E.

FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.929.7687 BL • $

Grand Traverse Pie Co. Exceptional cream and fruit pies, coffee, baked goods, pot pies, chicken salad and quiche. 525 W. FRONT ST. AND 101 N. PARK ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.922.7437 BL • $

Hexenbelle Serving items like housemade hummus and flat-

bread, coconut curry fried rice, chocolate olive oil cake and locally roasted BLK MRKT Coffee. 144 HALL ST., SUITE 107, TRAVERSE

CITY, 231.486.6128 BL • $

Mackinaw Brewing Co. Nautical-themed brewpub offers

great house-smoked meats, several styles of beers, tasty char-burgers, fish and ribs. 161 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.933.1100 LD • BAR • $$

46

Mode’s Bum Steer Classic steakhouse serves tender, well-aged

charbroiled Black Angus steaks, seafood, ribs, soup, sandwiches.

125 E. STATE ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.947.9832 LD • BAR • $$

North Peak Brewing Co. Wood-fired pizzas, seafood, sand-

wiches, microbrewed beer and a jam-packed bar scene. 400 W.

FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.941.7325 LD • BAR • $$

NEW Oakwood Proper Burgers High-quality, locally-sourced, sustainable ingredients, from the MOO-ville ice cream to the burger and the bun. 1108 E. 8TH ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.253.1513 LD • $$ Omelette Shoppe Vast array of omelettes, homemade breads and pastries, soup and sandwiches. 124 CASS ST., 231.946.0912, AND 1209 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.946.0590 BLD • $

Pangea’s Pizza Craft pies, creative toppings and a rooftop

deck and bar. 135 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.946.9800 LD • BAR $-$$

Poppycock’s Fresh seafood, pasta, unique sandwiches and salads, including vegetarian specialties and award-winning desserts. 128. E. FRONT ST. TRAVERSE CITY, 231.941.7632 LD • BAR • $-$$

NEW Rad.ish Street Food Featuring gourmet plant-based cui-

sines—all farm-to-table, seasonal vegetables and herbs, vegan sushi, housemade tofu and more. 346 E. FRONT ST., SUITE #2, TRAVERSE CITY, 231.943.1145, AND 3593 BUNKER HILL RD., WILLIAMSBURG, 231.421.5077 LD • $

Rare Bird Brewery The likes of pork belly sliders, oysters on

the half shell and great burgers served up alongside great beer.

229 LAKE AVE., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.943.2053 LD • BAR • $$

Red Ginger Wrap yourself in fresh, sleek surroundings and high-quality Asian fusion cuisine. 237 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY,

Seven Monks Taproom Pair any of 46 beers on tap (includ-

TRAVERSE CITY, 231.932.2233 LD • BAR • $

GRAND TRAVERSE AREA

231.946.5093 BLD • BAR • $$

The Cooks’ House A sweet little dollhouse of a spot, home to sustainable local cuisine with a French sensibility. 115 WEL-

VERSE CITY, 231.995.0570 BLD • BAR • $

ST., NORTHPORT, 231.386.1055 BLD • $

ST., SUTTONS BAY, 231.271.1175 D • BAR • $$

menu, elaborate Sun. brunch. 300 E. STATE ST., TRAVERSE CITY,

231.944.1733 D • BAR • $-$$$

The Dish Cafe Eclectic menu with creative salads, quesadil-

menu to feature locally sourced ingredients. 303 N. ST. JOSEPH

Minerva’s In the historic Park Place Hotel. Italian-American

Bubba’s Happening Front Street spot with battered mahi and chips, burgers, chimis, salads and tacos. 428 E. FRONT ST., TRA-

The Tribune Ice Cream and Eatery House-cured lox, breakfast burritos, meatloaf sammies and burgers. 110 E. NAGONABA

BAR • $$

Mama Lu’s Modern Day Taco Shop Fresh tortillas with a mix of traditional and modern ingredients at this hip, fun taqueria and bar. 149 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.943.2793 LD • BAR • $$

Scalawags Whitefish and Chips Ultra-fresh Great Lakes fish fry. 303 E. STATE ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.933.8700 LD • $

ing European Trappist ales) with your burger, thin crust gourmet pizza, salad or lively sides like sweet potato frites and Scotch egg. 128 S. UNION ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.421.8410 LD • BAR •

$-$$

Slate Prime cuts of beef and the freshest seafood with inspired toppings and sides. 250 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.421.5912

D • BAR • $$$

Sorellina Authentic Italian pasta, zuppa and insalate. 250 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.421.5912 LD • BAR • $$-$$$

Taproot Cider House Brick oven pizza, great salads, inven-

tive entrees paired with hard cider, microbrews, wine and spirits.

300 E. FRONT ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.943.2500 LD • BAR • $-$$

The Towne Plaza Eclectic American cuisine focusing on local ingredients with extensive outdoor seating and a casual atmosphere.

202 E. CASS ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.929.0900 BLD • BAR • $-$$$

Thirsty Fish Sports Grille Family-friendly sports bar with

seafood, burgers, steaks, pasta and a 600-gallon fish tank. Live music on the patio. 221 E. STATE ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.252.4157

LD • BAR • $-$$

TRAVERSE CITY–EAST Don’s Drive-In A ’50s-style diner and drive-in with booths,

burgers, fries, shakes, nostalgic jukebox. 2030 US-31 N., TRAVERSE

CITY, 231.938.1860 LD • $

Grand Traverse Resort and Spa Aerie—16th-floor pan-

orama of East Bay and regional fine dining. Music on weekends.

D • BAR • $$-$$$ Sweetwater American Bistro—BLD • $$ 100 GRAND TRAVERSE BLVD., ACME, 231.534.6000

T R AV E R S E / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1

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11/3/21 4:21 PM

T he Cu l i nary North On the Table DINING IN

YULETIDE TREASURE

by STACEY BRUGEMAN

This season, give the gift of this native nut.

Stacey Brugeman is a Leelanau County-based food and beverage writer and editor. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, Travel + Leisure, Eater and Denver’s 5280, where she served as Restaurant Critic. Follow her on Instagram @staceybrugeman.

^

Black Walnut Biscotti

Makes up to 32 cookies 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1⁄₄ teaspoon salt 1 cup cane sugar 1⁄₄ cup olive oil 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup black walnut pieces, toasted 1⁄₂ cup dried Michigan cherries 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and olive oil until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue beating the mixture until it is smooth. Reduce to low speed and gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Using your hands, knead in the walnuts and cherries.

3. Divide the dough in half and form into two 12-inch logs. Place the logs on the parchment paper and widen them by gently pressing the tops with your fingers to flatten them. Bake for 20 minutes, until they are cooked and fragrant but not especially colorful. Remove them from the oven, turn the heat down to 300 degrees and allow the loaves to cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes.

4. Once the loaves have rested, use a serrated knife to cut each log into slices about ¾ inches in width. Place the slices back on the baking sheet on their sides and return the pan to the oven—baking the slices an additional 10 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool right on the pan. –S.B.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

1221_TVM_culinary north.indd 47

photo by Dave Weidner / styling by Sarah Peschel

M

y sister-in-law loves christmas even more than I do. When her huge box arrives in the mail, I eagerly slice through the tape to peek inside. Her packages, adorned with foraged pine boughs or dehydrated orange wheels, are picture-perfect set atop our tree skirt in the exciting days leading up to Christmas morning. There’s often one package, however, that we don’t let wait until the 25th—her annual batch of biscotti. It's the perfect treat. Who doesn’t need extra coffee and something special to dunk in it during the holidays?

Borrowing her tradition, I recently started making a moreMichigan biscotti of my own. My take on this Tuscan classic is studded with dried cherries and black walnuts, which are native to the Great Lakes region. The historic Michigan farmhouse that my husband and sister-in-law grew up in was home to a few black walnut trees. The Michigan sheep barn that my greatgreat-grandparents converted into a home was also flanked by the fragrant nut. In both instances, the sticky, green racquetball-sized husks would fall all over the gravel driveways. Black walnuts are notoriously hard to open and, according to family lore, my great grandfather would remove the husk by driving over them with the 1940s family Oldsmobile!

I’m not suggesting you try this at home, but I absolutely recommend getting your hands on some already-shelled meat from this forgotten nut and making a batch of biscotti. The signature fragrance of black walnuts works mysteriously well with the olive oil in this Italian dunker. Make a double batch, tie it with twine and tinsel, and share some with your favorite teacher, mail person or anyone else working extra hard this month. Just be sure to save a few for yourself. You’ve earned it with that second cup of coffee.

47

11/3/21 4:21 PM

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11/8/21 2:05 PM

The Culinary North Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation Publication Title: Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine. 2. Publication Number: 10713719. 3. Filing Date: 9/23/21. 4. Issue Frequency: monthly. 5. Number of issues published annually: 12.

6. Annual subscription price: $24.95. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication (not printer): 125 Park St, suite 155, Traverse City, Grand Traverse County, MI 49684. Contact Person: Erin Lutke Telephone: 231-941-5976. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher (not printer): same 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Deborah Wyatt Fellows, same as above. Managing Editor: Elizabeth Edwards, same as above. 10.

Owner: Prism Publications, Inc, same as above, Deborah Wyatt Fellows, same as above. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: none. 12. Tax Status has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication Title: Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: 10/21. 15. Extent and nature of circulation, Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: a. Total number of copies (net press run): 14,828. b. Paid circulation: (1) mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541. (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies and exchange copies): 12,214. (2) Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies and exchange copies): 179. (3) Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid distribution outside USPS: 2,421. (4) Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 0. c. Total paid distribution [sum of 15b. (1), (2), (3), and (4)]:14,814. d. Free or nominal rate distribution (by mail and outside the mail) (1) Outside-County copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (2) In-County copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (3) Copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0.

(4) Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail (carriers and other means): 0. e. Total free or nominal rate distribution (sum of 15d (1), (2), (3) and (4)): 0. f. Total distribution (sum of 15c and 15e): 14,814. g. Copies not distributed: 650. h. Total (sum of 15f and g): 15,464. i. Percent paid (15c/15f x 100): 100%.

No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: a. Total number of copies (net press run): 15,228. b. Paid circulation: (1) Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541.

(Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof and exchange copies): 12,125. (2) Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof and exchange copies): 150. (3) Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other paid distribution outside USPS: 2,940. (4) Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 0. c. Total paid distribution [sum of 15b. (1), (2), (3), and (4)]: 15,215. d. Free or nominal rate distribution (by mail and outside the mail) (1) Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (2) Free or nominal rate in-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 0. (3) Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0. (4) Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means): 0. e. Total free or nominal rate distribution (sum of 15d (1), (2), (3) and (4): 0. f. Total distribution (sum of 15c and 15e): 15,215. g.

Copies not distributed: 500. h. Total (sum of 15f and g): 15,715. i.

Percent paid (15c/15f x 100): 100%. 16. Electronic Copy Circulation, Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months. a.

Paid Electronic Copies: 500. b. Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 15,314 c. Total Print Distribution (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 15,314. d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies) (16b divided by 16c X 100) 100%. I Certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic and print) are paid above a nominal price. Yes. 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership will be printed in the 12/21 issue of this publication. 18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: Deborah W. Fellows. Date: 9/24/21. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties).

Randy’s Diner Soups, salads, sandwiches, all-you-can-eat cod.

1120 CARVER ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.946.0789 BLD • $

Geno’s Sports Bar and Grill Burgers, broasted chicken, pizza, soups, salads. 14848 THOMPSON AVE., THOMPSONVILLE,

Red Mesa Grill Colorful spot with a fireplace, flights of tequila and Latin American cuisine. 1544 US-31, TRAVERSE CITY,

L'Chayim Delicatessen NY-style deli with sandwiches and

Smoke and Porter Public House An American smokehouse

Lucky Dog Bar and Grille Burgers, smoked wings, brats,

231.938.2773 LD • BAR • $-$$

231.378.2554 LD • BAR • $

bagels. 274 S. BENZIE BLVD., BEULAH, 231.882.5221 BL • $

where farm-to-table and whole beast butchery meet the fire pits.

Serving microbrews, wine and liquor. 1752 US-31, TRAVERSE CITY,

231.383.4499 LD • BAR • $-$$

Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel Bourbons 72—Seafood,

The Roadhouse Traditional Mexican cuisine with a cool cantina atmosphere. 1058 MICHIGAN AVE., (US-31), BENZONIA,

231.642.5020 LD • BAR • $-$$$

prime rib and more. 7741 M-72, WILLIAMSBURG, 231.534.8700 D

• BAR • $-$$$

TRAVERSE CITY–SOUTH Boone’s Long Lake Inn Steaks, prime rib, seafood, daily spe-

cials. 7208 SECOR RD., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.946.3991 D • BAR • $$

Centre Street Café Fine and flavorful sammies, soups, salads

and pasta, with daily specials. 1125 CENTRE ST., TRAVERSE CITY,

231.946.5872 BL • $

The Filling Station Microbrewery Thin-crusted wood-fired

sandwiches, craft beer, cocktails. 223 S. BENZIE BLVD., BEULAH,

231.882.9631 LD • BAR • $-$$

Ursa Major Bistro Breakfast, burgers, sandwiches. 245 S. BENZIE BLVD., BEULAH, 231.383.4250 BLD • $-$$

CADILLAC Blue Heron Cafe Dazzling upscale sandwiches, soups and

salads as well as from-scratch pastries. 304 N. MITCHELL, CADILLAC,

231.775.5461 BL • $

Hermann’s European Cafe Austrian-born master pastry chef

flatbreads and flavorful house brews revitalize the Depot. 642

RAILROAD PL., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.946.8168 LD • BAR • $-$$

Hermann Suhs creates international cuisine, seasonal specialties and divine desserts in an Alpenhaus-style dining room. 214 N.

MITCHELL, CADILLAC, 231.775.9563 LD • BAR • $$

The Kitchen Salads, wraps, tacos. All to go. 1249 WOODMERE

Herraduras Mexican Bar & Grill Authentic dishes like

AVE., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.947.8646 BL & EARLY D • $

flautas, enchiladas and carnitas, plus shrimp chimis and steaks.

1700 S. MITCHELL ST., CADILLAC, 231.775.4575 LD • BAR • $

TRAVERSE CITY–WEST Apache Trout Grill Rough-hewn eatery affords a great bay

Maggie’s Tavern Chili, burgers, steaks, wet burritos and kid

selections are served up in a lively 19th-century setting. 523 N.

view along with ribs, steak, pasta and salad. 13671 S. WEST BAY

MITCHELL, CADILLAC, 231.775.1810 LD • BAR • $

Harrington’s By the Bay Sunday brunch, seafood, steaks, burgers, sandwiches—with a bay view. 13890 S. WEST BAY SHORE

FRANKFORT/MANISTEE

SHORE DR., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.947.7079 LD • BAR • $$ •

DR., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.421.9393 BLD • BAR • $-$$$ •

PepeNero From-scratch southern Italian cuisine. 700 COTTAGEVIEW DR., STE. 100, TRAVERSE CITY, 231.929.1960 LD • BAR • $$ Red Spire Brunch House Classic American fare: breakfast

and lunch all day. 800 COTTAGEVIEW DR., STE. 30, TRAVERSE CITY, 231.252.4648 BL • $$

Sleder’s Family Tavern Bar fare and entertainment under

the original tin ceiling in one of Michigan’s oldest saloons. 717 RANDOLPH ST., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.947.9213 LD • BAR • $-$$

Spanglish Authentic, homemade Mexican fare with occasional American accents. 1333 YELLOW DR., TRAVERSE CITY. 231.943.1453 BLD • $

Sugar 2 Salt This brunch spot shakes up the same ol' same ol' with dishes like duck and everything served up with seasonal produce. 1371

GRAY DR., STE. 300, TRAVERSE CITY, 231.492.4616 B • $-$$

Trattoria Stella Hip locally sourced fare with an Italian ac-

cent. 1200 W. ELEVENTH, TRAVERSE CITY, 231.929.8989 LD • BAR • $$-$$$

West End Tavern Craft cocktails, wood-roasted chicken and

more elevated pub fare served up beside West Bay. 12719 SOUTH

Birch & Maple Scratch cuisine prepared with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients. Friendly folks and fab craft cocktails.

727 MAIN ST., FRANKFORT, 231.399.0399 BLD • BAR • $-$$

Blue Fish Kitchen + Bar New American cuisine, traditional fare, vegetarian and vegan. 312 RIVER ST., MANISTEE. 231.887.4188 LD • BAR $-$$$

Dinghy’s Local favorite for 27 years. Famous for smoked meats including ribs, wings and more. Half-pound burger. Sandwiches & salads. Legendary Friday fish fry. 415 MAIN ST., FRANKFORT, 231.352.4702 LD • BAR • $$

The Fusion Asian delights like fiery curries and lettuce wraps

(plus creative cocktails) served in a serene atmosphere on Frankfort’s main drag. 300 MAIN ST., FRANKFORT, 231.352.4114 BLD • $–$$ •

Hotel Frankfort Fine dining served up at this in-town inn. 231

MAIN ST., FRANKFORT, 231.352.8090 BLD • $-$$$

North Channel Brewing Co. Watch the action at the drawbridge in a refined industrial atmosphere with meats smoked daily and excellent craft beers on tap. 86 WASHINGTON ST., MANISTEE, 231.299.1020 LD • BAR $-$$ •

Stormcloud Brewing Brewing Belgian-inspired ales to pair

with inventive, smart bistro fare. 303 MAIN ST., FRANKFORT,

WEST BAYSHORE DR., TRAVERSE CITY, 231.943.2922 LD • BAR • $$ •

231.352.0118 LD • BAR • $-$$

BENZIE, MANISTEE & CADILLAC

turned their food truck into a restaurant dream-come-true with ultra-fresh tacos on hand-pressed corn tortillas, aguas frescas and tamarind mules. 344 RIVER ST., MANISTEE, 231.887.4441 LD

BENZONIA/BEULAH/THOMPSONVILLE Crystal Mountain Resort Thistle Pub & Grille—Wood-

Taco 'Bout It Mexican Fusion Tavo and Tarrah Hernandez

• BAR • $-$$

paneled eatery, continental and Scottish specialties. LD • BAR • $-$$$ Wild Tomato Restaurant & Bar—Family Favorites.

BLD • BAR • $-$$ 12500 CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN DR., THOMPSONVILLE, 231.946.3585 OR 231.378.2000

Five Shores Brewing Craft brewery with appetizers to

share and pressed sandwiches. 163 S. BENZIE BLVD., BEULAH,

231.383.4400 LD • BAR • $-$$

FIND MORE NORTHERN MICHIGAN RESTAURANTS!

MyNorth.com > Food & Drink > Restaurants

NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

1221_TVM_culinary north.indd 49

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11/3/21 4:21 PM

Traverse + LON G LAKE ISLAND

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11/8/21 2:09 PM

T he Cu l i nary North Last Call

WHITE CHRISTMAS

by STACEY BRUGEMAN

P

Mommy might kiss Santa Claus if he brings her this wintertime take on Michigan's favorite summertime cocktail.

eople tend to think of a hummer as a summertime sipper. The cocktail is, after all, a frozen treat. The boozy beverage can be traced back to two different Detroit-area bartenders who blended white rum and Kahlúa with vanilla ice cream in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While it originated in the Motor City, it seems to have migrated north in more modern times and is today a favorite among Northern Michigan’s woody boat set. I’ve seen them served at the historic Cupola Bar at Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel, at the Hack-Ma-Tack Inn, a restaurant housed in an 1894 fishing lodge on the Cheboygan River, and at Leland’s Riverside Inn—the century-old eatery that sold them to-go during lockdown. I first learned how to make the Michigan dessert drink in high school, when we discovered a vintage blender deep in the cupboards of a friend’s Walloon Village cottage. Today, I swap the Kahlúa for coffee liqueur from Mammoth Distilling (mammothdistilling.com), Ann Arbor Distilling (annarbordistilling.com) or Eastern Kille (easternkille.com). A friend of mine, who started slinging drinks at her family’s Detroit-area tavern at age 18 and spent many subsequent years behind the bar, insists that hummers are even better during the holidays. She’s got a point. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream make a lot more sense in the comfort of your Christmas jammies than during swimsuit season.

^

Holiday Hummer

photo by Dave Weidner / styling by Sarah Peschel

Serves 1 1 candy cane 1 ½ ounces white rum 1 ½ ounces coffee liqueur 2 scoops vanilla ice cream 4 ice cubes Place candy cane into a Ziplock bag and whack with the back of a bar spoon or kitchen mallet until crushed.

Place crushed candy onto a small plate. Pour a shallow amount of water onto a second small plate. Set the rim of your cocktail glass first into the water, then into the candy, coating the edge of the glass.

Set aside. Into a blender, add rum, coffee liqueur, ice cream and ice cubes and blend on high speed until the ice cubes stop clattering and the mixture is smooth but still thick. Quickly pour into the glass with crushed peppermint candy, and serve immediately. –S.B.

Stacey Brugeman is a Leelanau County-based food and beverage writer and editor. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, Travel + Leisure, Eater and Denver’s 5280, where she served as Restaurant Critic. Follow her on Instagram @staceybrugeman.

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Not flexing your mixology muscles tonight?

Here’s what area beverage professionals are drinking right now.

Becky Hemmingsen, who has managed the wine selection at Hansen’s in Suttons Bay for more than 20 years, is “fixed on Francs” this winter. Both Cabernet Franc and Blaufränkish are “cool climate reds that do exceptionally well up here in Northern Michigan,” she says.

Hemmingsen is especially excited about winemaker Paula Ciccone’s 2017 Ciccone Vineyard & Winery Cabernet Franc.

Made with 100 percent estate-grown fruit, the bottling from one of Leelanau County’s first 10 wineries has notes of smoke, plum and cranberries. Pair it with any holiday menu this month, especially pork tenderloin. cicconevineyard.com, $27 per bottle

While some may shy away from an ESB (which stands for Extra Special Bitter) due to the intimidating name alone, beer geeks know that the ale that is celebrated for its interplay between malt and hops is often less bitter than many popular IPAs. Heather Addison, store manager at Maxbauer Specialty Meat Market, gets her hands on the smallbatch Workshop Ball Peen ESB every chance she gets. It’s the perfect pour for bowl games and fantasy football this month, she tells Traverse. Don’t forget to grab some of Maxbauer’s beer salami or sriracha-lime wings to go with it. –S.B. traversecityworkshop.com, $11 per four cans

NORTHERN MICHIGAN'S MAGAZINE

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love of the land

SNOWSHOE THE STURGEON

by ALLISON JARRELL

hile it’s accessible year-round for hiking, the Sturgeon River Preserve truly shines in the winter. Just north of Gaylord, HeadWaters Land Conservancy’s flagship preserve offers about a mile of trail along the scenic Sturgeon River and into the surrounding forest—an easy hike or snowshoe that’s perfect for families. (The preserve’s boardwalk is ADA accessible as well.)

In the North’s winter months, snowshoers can meander along the river and enjoy the varied terrains of this protected riparian habitat—old cedar and hardwood swamps and upland maples bearing elk rubs (marks from one of the largest elk herds east of the Mississippi).

In 2013, with the help of local Eagle Scouts, the conservancy was able to permanently protect this property, which became HeadWaters’ first public preserve. Since 52

then, HeadWaters has been hosting annual winter snowshoe hikes at the site (RSVP at headwatersconservancy.org or follow HeadWaters Land Conservancy on Facebook for event details).

The conservancy also offers a free snowshoe borrowing program, made possible through a grant from United Healthcare. Families can borrow shoes—adult, children and toddler sizes—for a day or even a weekend, so long as they’re returned before any scheduled hikes.

(Scan the QR code for details.)

Sturgeon River Preserve is open year-round for low-impact recreation: running, hiking and dog walking (no mountain bikes or hunting permitted). Please note: the trail is not groomed in the winter. The trailhead is located at 3749 Whitmarsh Rd. in Vanderbilt, and visitors can park on the shoulder of the road.

For more info on Sturgeon River and HeadWater’s other preserves, visit headwatersconservancy.org.

photo courtesy of HeadWaters Land Conservancy

W

Grab your snowshoes (or borrow some!) and take in the wild, snow-laden sights of the Sturgeon River Preserve.

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11/3/21 4:22 PM

Creating an Estate Plan It’s not too early to start preparing for the future. The first step you’ll need to take is to evaluate your situation and then develop a strategy that helps meet your needs. When you create your estate plan, consider the following factors and how they interact when working with a qualified estate-planning attorney.

Account Registration

Beneficiary Designation

You should properly register your investment accounts by listing the correct individual(s) as the owner(s) of each account. Make sure all names are spelled correctly. If you have a living trust, you should generally register the accounts into the name of the trust.

Assets that designate a beneficiary, such as life insurance policies or retirement assets, will pass automatically at your death to the designated beneficiary, regardless of your will or living trust. As a result, take time to review these designations to help make sure they are consistent with your overall estate plan and personal goals.

Will A will describes how your assets will be divided and distributed at your death. This document also names the person(s) who will manage your estate at your death.

It is important to note that a will governs the disposition of assets held in your individual name only. It does not govern assets held as “joint tenants,” those that designate a beneficiary or those held within a revocable trust. However, a will can help ensure that your individually owned assets transfer at your death as you intended.

Living Trust Often you can use a will in conjunction with a living trust. You can create this trust during your lifetime for your own benefit. At your death, the trust will distribute your assets in the same way a will does, but without the high degree of court involvement.

You may want to consider establishing a living trust if you want to: • Avoid the costs and formal requirements of the probate process • Protect your and your family’s privacy from the Financial Advisors in Traverse City public aspects of the probate process

Durable Power of Attorney With a durable power of attorney, you designate an individual to make financial decisions on your behalf with respect to your individually owned assets. The power of attorney may be broad, or you may limit the powers that you grant to such an individual.

This document also provides incapacity protection if you become disabled. Please note, however, that assets transferred to your living trust are generally not governed by the power of attorney. Instead, your trustees will have decision-making authority with respect to those assets.

Health Care Directive/Living Will/ Power of Attorney for Health Care With these documents, you name your health care agents to act on your behalf for medical treatment decisions if you’re unable to act for yourself. These documents also express your specific wishes with respect to the administration of life-prolonging procedures when you cannot communicate them.

Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors are not estate planners and do not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult a Financial Advisor qualified tax professional or an attorney for advice regarding your in Interlochen situation.

Heather J Boivin, AAMS®

John Tredway

Yancy Boivin, AAMS® 3285 South Airport Road West 231-933-5263 John W Elwell, AAMS®

Andrew Weaver 125 Park Street, Suite 250 231-947-3032

• Protect assets should you become incapacitated or 806 S Garfield Ave, Suite B 3285 South Airport Road West eventually need help managing your financial affairs 231-932-1290 231-933-5263

Financial Advisor

Jim Mellinger John W Elwell, AAMS® 3588 Veterans Dr 12935 SW Bay Shore Dr, Ste 310 3588 Veterans Dr Traverse City, MI 49684-4569 231-947-1123 231-947-0079

Jamie Keillor 4110 Copper Ridge Dr, Building D, Suite 202 231-252-3561

Greg Williams edwardjones.com 513 S Union St 231-933-0881Member SIPC

Bill Collin 9672 US Highway 31, Ste 400 231-276-1355

Call or visit any of our financial advisors in the area.

231-947-0079

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OLD MISSION PENINSULA This meticulously maintained home is tucked away against a backdrop of rolling hills and vineyards, offering 300 feet of shared frontage along the shores of Grand Traverse West Bay.

1196 Quaker Valley Drive in Traverse City 3 bedrooms · 3.5 baths · 2,431 sq. feet · 300 shared waterfront feet · $495,000

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231-838-2700 325 EAST LAKE STREET, PETOSKEY, MI 49770

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11/4/21 5:43 PM