Northern Express - Feb 14, 2022

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Exotic Meats Cookbook Queens 3 Restaurant Weeks 50+ Meal Deals NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • feb 14 - feb 20, 2022 • Vol. 32 No. 07 Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 1

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letters Bret Albright, Traverse City Get to Know Benson How well do you know Michigans Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson? A graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Law, Benson is a recognized expert on civil rights law, education law, and election law. She has dedicated her career to protecting voting rights and preserving our democracy, which she absolutely believes is being threatened by the machinations of the GOP. Elected to office in 2018, Benson oversaw Michigan’s 2020 election, which, despite being conducted in a pandemic, saw the highest turnout in state history. With 5.5 million votes cast, 3.3 million of them by absentee ballot, the election has been proven, repeatedly, to be the safest and most secure election in Michigan’s history. More than 250 audits confirmed the election’s integrity, as did the Republican-led State Senate Oversight Committee that found no widespread election fraud.

Still, the GOP continues to claim otherwise and is engaged in an undemocratic fight to drastically limit voter access. They are attempting to use a loophole in Michigan law to circulate a petition, deceptively titled “Secure MI Vote,” which, with 340,000 signatures, would enable them to bypass Gov. Whitmer’s veto and ram these provisions into law.

These restrictive provisions not only prohibit the mailing of absentee ballots but also ban a link on the SOS website to allow voters to obtain an absentee ballot, forbid access to ballot drop boxes after 5pm the day before elections and require voters to mail a photocopy of their ID with their mail-in ballot. The GOP fears the only way they can win elections is through misinformation and voter suppression.

Fortunately, for those of us who recognize that free and fair elections are the very soul of our democracy, Benson is a fighter who will do everything in her power to stop this cynical power grab.

Bradford Krull, Traverse City Aggravated Assault What we face today is an assault on Democracy. When Republican legislatures pass laws that restrict voting rights and attempt to overturn the will of the people through legislation, then we become a fascist state.

What we are witnessing, in our times, is the dumbing down of America. When millions support an authoritarian rule by somebody like Trump, then democracy is hanging by a thread. People that have actual

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CONTENTS feature

Joel Papcun...................................................10 Great Meals, Hot Deals..................................13 Habibi Middle Eastern Coney.........................14 Restaurant Roundup......................................16 February is Snow Fun.....................................20 Cookbook Queens..........................................23 Vernales........................................................25

columns & stuff Top Ten........................................................4

Spectator/Stephen Tuttle...............................6 High Notes (sponsored content).......................7 Opinion.........................................................8 Weird............................................................9 Dates........................................................27 Film..........................................................33 Nitelife..........................................................34 Advice......................................................35 Crossword.................................................36 Astrology...................................................36 Classifieds................................................38

Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase PO Box 4020 Traverse City, Michigan 49685 Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Executive Editor: Lynda Twardowski Wheatley Finance & Distribution Manager: Brian Crouch Sales: Kathleen Johnson, Lisa Gillespie, Kaitlyn Nance, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris, Jill Hayes For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 838-6948 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Joe Evancho, Sarah Rodery Roger Racine, Gary Twardowski Charlie Brookfield, Randy Sills Jason & Sheri Ritter

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Contributors: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny, Ross Boissoneau, Jennifer Hodges, Geri Dietz, Craig Manning, Jillian Manning, Amy Martin, Steve Tuttle, Anna Faller, Victor Skinner, Al Parker Copyright 2020, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly.

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Rev. Steven B.Thompson, Benzonia

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Christian Prosperity Doctrine is Idolatry Prosperity is taught by TV evangelists and, like Trump, sucker people into thinking they’ll get richer if they invest. Christ never said “Follow me to get rich,” for just the opposite is true; the rich never joined.

Trump got all his money from his father, being a complete failure in business, and using a false prosperity lie. Inflation is what he left us with and a screwed-up government. The Federal Reserve pumped

power in our government have condoned anarchy and the overthrow of democracy.

These are people that are elected to run our government. That is really scary.

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Colin Bohash, Honor

up the economy by putting money into the stock market and banks, giving us a false economy. Now we are paying because there’s too much money in the system, making it worthless or inflation.

Politics is all about money, for in a capitalist society, money is power. Everything Trump did is like a mob boss. It’s funny — he never told the truth ever, knowing absolutely nothing about Jesus or morals. He needs to go to jail, and I can’t believe he can even be accepted by anybody anymore, especially those claiming to have morals. Divide and conquer works when you use fear, lies, and sucker those with hatred, but look where it leaves us, destroyed in all ways.

False prophets, like most TV evangelists — like Kenneth Copeland is worth 300 million. How can you call him a Christian except that he’s a good con man sadly overlooking direct words of Christ and using God to get rich as moneychangers do.

Further, I joined a right-wing men’s group to try to understand how they could connect Christianity with politics. You can’t. Or it’s idolatry, for in politics, it’s only about money.

For shame to accept this con, which opposes Christianity at its core. Please never associate politics with religion; they aren’t the same, and if you do, you’re a money changer who Jesus hated and whipped. It’s OK to have morals or be a good example, but Trump was a joke of any morality. Further, having money isn’t evil, just how you acquire or use it. If I were looking to get rich, I would join these TV evangelists for the easy money, then buy politicians via Citizens United, never paying taxes for churches, exempt even if political.

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An Open Letter Dear Sens. Gary Peters, and Debbie Stabenow: Senator Bernie Sanders wanted to give free college to all children who are citizens of the United States. But this idea was called socialism, the idea unpopular. I believe we do want a good education to be available and affordable to as many as want it. There are no panaceas, but the closest thing is, without any doubt, education.

Currently, the price of college loans is spread between 2.94 percent and 12.99 percent (fixed rates). At the same time, the rate of inflation was 2.44 percent in 2018, 1.81 percent in 2019, and 1.25 percent in 2020. I am sure that the three-year low for 2020 was exceeded in 2021. My point here is that, right now, the best rate of interest paid on savings accounts is 0.50 percent. So even in the low-inflation year 2020, your savings on deposit at the highest rate available for savings accounts were losing value (from inflation) at 2 ½ times the best interest rate.

What I suggest is needed to promote education and make college affordable is that the Federal Reserve provide for — or even mandate — that all U.S. banks begin special Future College Student Savings Accounts that pay interest on these accounts equal to the rate of inflation, plus a bit more so that money put away for a child’s education wouldn’t lose money but even earn a small percentage, say 0.25 percent above that daily adjusted interest rate to the rate of inflation.

Of course, money put into these accounts would require some restrictions, like no withdrawal for any other purpose (other than an emergency to be defined by the Fed) until the student has graduated, and all student debt and bills are paid.

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top ten Cannabis for sale at Smoke on the Water fest?

Does a festival featuring recreational marijuana vendors require a different approach to security or liability than one featuring beer or wine vendors?

That’s the question with which the city of Manistee is grappling.

Last week, the Salt City Rock and Blues group requested permission to host a music event during the annual Manistee National Forest Festival this summer. The music event, set for the evening of July 2, would have a Deep Purple tribute band as headlining act. The event theme: “Smoke on the Water,” a nod to Deep Purple’s signature song and — wink, wink — to the proposed sale of cannabis flower and edibles (within a cordoned-off, welldefined area) from five local dispensaries.

In a letter to the city council, the Salt City Rock and Blues nonprofit noted that the majority of voters in Michigan — Manistee included — voted to legalize recreational marijuana in 2018 and since that time, Manistee has proven itself an industry leader, ranking third in the state in overall retail sales.

“The Manistee marijuana industry has proven themselves to be excellent civic partners, providing support for various causes — Salt City Rock and Blues’ LaborFest among them,” the letter states. “The permit fee of $6,000 would be paid for by the dispensaries. Salt City Rock and Blues would sponsor the event and would profit from the sale of tickets to concertgoers. Proceeds would be used to continue our efforts to build a state-of-the-art amphitheater at First Street Beach.”

Because the meeting was a study session, council members took no formal vote but did express concern about security (Smoke on the Water has committed to providing) and the city’s potential liability. One council member noted that there has been no increase in crime or other issues since recreation marijuana sales started in Manistee, adding that the city police Chief Josh Glass had previously shared that he’s never had to wrestle a marijuana smoker to the ground but has had to several times with folks who had been drinking. James Grabowski, a former police officer who sits on the council countered that he has had to wrestle both.

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tastemaker Rueben Egg Rolls

Archie’s Fresh Food Truck in Traverse City takes eating local to a whole new level — specifically, that of the “Average Joe.” “We want people to know that they don’t have to spend $100 for all-local foods,” says chef Jon Petrie. “These things are all at our fingertips — you just have to search for it a bit.” Their Reuben Egg Rolls, however, are a no-brainer. A fresh take on classic brewery fare, this spanking-new starter packs all the flavor of a full-sized sammie and presents it in a bite-sized package. Each roll is stuffed with sauerkraut, Ida Valley Farms corned beef, and strings of ooey-gooey Swiss.

From there, each deconstructed sub is tightly encased in a rice-noodle wrapper, before a quick deep-fry closes the deal. Finished in the oven and served alongside scratch-made Thousand Island dip, this delicious shareable plate is best paired with friends — and maybe an elastic waistband. $13 for 3 rolls. Find it at The Workshop Brewing Company, 221 Garland Street, Traverse City. (989) 745-5233, Archiesfresh.com

4 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

Gaylord’s Winter Wonderland Festival By foot, by boat, by sled, Alpenfrost arrives Feb. 19–20! As part of the winter celebration, Sturgeon River Paddlesports will offer winter rafting adventures from 3pm-5pm Sunday, Feb. 20. Trips are about 1.5 hours long. The cost is $37, and you must register ahead of time: (231) 525-6878. Other events over the weekend include a parent-pulling-kid Idadorad, Frosty 5K 2022, Alpine Brick Lego Tournament, Alpenfrost Sound Journey, a soup cook-off, and much more. Search “Gaylord Alpenfrost” on Facebook.

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Hey, watch it Murderville

If your favorite part of Saturday Night Live is when the actors break, Murderville is for you. Ostensibly a crime show starring Will Arnett as a hapless detective, it has a pretty nifty twist that takes it into truly clever territory. Each episode Arnett’s Terry Seattle is paired up with a new partner, but they’re a celebrity, and they’re playing themselves. And get this — while everyone else in the cast has a script, the celebrity guest stars (including Conan O’Brien, Annie Murphy, Sharon Stone, and Kumail Nanjiani) have to improvise and follow the clues to figure out which of three suspects committed the crime. Silly, breezy, and incredibly low stakes, the audience can play along, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? style to figure out whodunit, but the show’s true pleasures come from watching the celebrities react to the show’s gleefully goofy shenanigans. Streaming on Netflix.

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Jolly Pumpkin, on Old Mission Peninsula, is one of nearly 40 eateries participating in Traverse City’s Restaurant Week.

Think Tank: IAF Speaker Ken Jarrett to talk China

Most of us have Ukraine on the brain right now, and if we’re thinking about China, we’re likely limiting that to the settings of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Kenneth Jarrett is guaranteed to change that. The former director of Asian Affairs for the U.S. National Security Council, Jarret will be the next guest of Northwestern Michigan College’s International Affairs Forum. At 6pm Feb. 17, he’ll jumpstart a conversation about China — the topic: Is Détente Possible? — with Steve Fisher, IAF cochair and a former executive who spent 15 years in Asia with global management firm A.T. Kearney.

Expect to hear some nuanced insights into the U.S./China relationship, especially where commerce and diplomacy intersect. Jarrett — who served 26 years in the Foreign Service, including as consul general in Shanghai and as deputy consul general in Hong Kong — spent five years as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. The event will be broadcast over Zoom. Register at www.tciaf.com to receive the livestream link and bring your questions for a live Q & A.

Get Hooked! Free Fishing Weekend Feb. 19–20

Stuff We Love: Penciling in Meal Deals Restaurant Week is just around the corner in several northern Michigan towns. Mark your calendars for: • Traverse City Restaurant Week: February 20–26 • Harbor Springs Area Restaurant Week: February 25–March 6 • Gaylord Spring Restaurant Week: April 15–April 22 Last but not least, keep your eyes peeled for these restaurant extravaganzas, whose specific dates haven’t yet been announced but typically come around each spring: • Glen Lake (April/May) • Frankfort & Elberta (June)

Michigan’s first Free Fishing Weekends of 2022 will take place Feb. 19-20. Twice a year (the other weekend usually falls in June), residents and out-of-state visitors can enjoy worldclass fishing on two back-to-back days — without a fishing license. (All other regulations apply.) Grab your rod, cut a hole, and take advantage. Sitting on overturned buckets on the ice not your thing? Skip the frozen lake and head to a forest instead. During these two days, the DNR also waives the regular Recreation Passport entry fee to all of Michigan’s 103 state parks. Learn more at Michigan.gov/FreeFishing.

8

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bottoms up Fjord Norwegian Farmhouse Ale If you haven’t been to The Filling Station Microbrewery in Traverse City, it’s a must-visit.

They’re known for their wood-fired flatbread pizzas and high-quality, diverse beer menu.

One of their latest brews is one surely not to miss — their Fjord Norwegian Farmhouse Ale. Clocking in at 4.6% ABV, this ale can certainly be considered “sessionable,” which is perfect because you’ll definitely want more than one. The enticing aroma is reminiscent of lemongrass, orange, and subtle notes of ripe melon. Taking after the aroma, the flavor is quite similar, and the addition of white wheat adds a pleasant tanginess, noticeable especially mid-palate. An especially unique element of this beer is the yeast, called Kveik. Used for countless generations by farm brewers and small breweries in Norway, kveik has become a rising star globally. As reflected in this beer, certain strains are known for imparting citrus or tropical flavors. Enjoy a glass in-house or get a growler to-go at 642 Railroad Place in Traverse City. (231) 946-8168, thefillingstationmicrobrewery.com

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 5

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Ph 231-459-4259 www.boppispizza.com eat pizza. be happy.

downtown boyne city 231.459.4259 • www.boppispizza.com

by Stephen Tuttle

There are now at least 11 states — Idaho, A signature is required & full payment must beOklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, New received by PJ’s before a die will be made.

Hampshire, South Carolina, Arizona, North Dakota, Arkansas, Florida — that have passed legislation banning the teaching of Critical 1133 S. Airport Rd. W., Traverse City • (231) 929-9866 Race Theory (CRT) in their public schools. www.bigapplebagels.com WIFI

For approval please sign:

That’s sort of ironic since CRT is not being taught in any K-12 public school in any of those states, or in any other states for that matter. They’ve decided to ban something that doesn’t exist, a preemptive strike against a myth.

In fact, slavery was part of the foundation on which our early economy was built and the engine that then drove it, particularly in the South. In 1775, the colonies had a population of about 2.5 million, but we already had nearly 85,000 slaves. By 1860, there were nearly 4.4 million enslaved people here.

And though slavery ended in 1865, it took a civil war and its 700,000 deaths to do so. Even then, the lingering impact of slavery continued to fester. The Ku Klux Klan was formed the same year we constitutionally banned

And we cannot teach early American history without taking a deep dive into the egregious sins of both slavery and our treatment of those who were already here when we Europeans started showing up.

The problem here is the conservative legislators in these states, and others considering walking down similar paths, have cynically and erroneously connected CRT to any discussion of race or slavery. They then use that false connection as an excuse to avoid difficult discussions on difficult subjects. Florida has even introduced legislation that makes it illegal for public schools to teach subjects that cause “discomfort” to white students.

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CRT is a specific academic exercise, designed to be discussed at the college and university level, which posits our country, constitution, laws, and institutions were designed specifically to disadvantage minorities, especially Black minorities, to the benefit of the white people who created those laws and institutions. It has never been part of a K-12 curriculum anywhere.

Our history, however, is and should be part of K-12 curricula. And we cannot teach early American history without taking a deep dive into the egregious sins of both slavery and our treatment of those who were already here when we Europeans started showing up. If that causes some discomfort for poor, sensitive Brittany and Justin, good — because that part of our history must be told along with our lofty ideals and successes. If the truth of our history makes today’s students uncomfortable, maybe they’ll work a little harder to make sure those horrors are not repeated.

Florida trying to sugarcoat our history is especially noxious since it was at the vanguard of both slavery and mistreatment of indigenous people.

In 1539, Hernando de Soto brought the first African slaves to what is now Florida.

(The first to arrive in the U.S. came in 1526, brought by Spaniard Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon to what is now Georgia.) de Soto was also the first to enslave local people. When native Timucuan tribesmen resisted de Soto’s efforts, he murdered about 200 men, women, and children, the first recorded massacre of native people by Europeans. It was only the beginning.

slavery; segregation, lynchings, financial discrimination like red-lining, and Jim Crow laws proliferated. All of that is an important part of our history, and if sharing those truths with this generation of schoolchildren causes them angst, so be it.

Our teaching of our treatment of those already here when the “explorers” came calling has always been lacking in reality. And those intrepid pioneers who headed west, aided by our military, were less honorable than we’ve been previously taught.

In 1491, the population of North America might have been as high as 50 million, and about half of them lived in what is now the United States. There were cities with tens of thousands of inhabitants, significant farming, governments, treaties.

A century later, 90 percent of that population had been wiped out, mostly by the inadvertent transmission of all manner of diseases for which indigenous people had no immunity.

Those we didn’t accidentally kill, we murdered or moved. Our policy of “manifest destiny” was an idea conjured up by a magazine article, not some divine instruction. We either eliminated by lethal force or relocation those who were in our way.

Our early economy at least partially depended on slavery, which was accepted by our Constitution. We’d have not been able to expand beyond the East Coast had we not overrun those who were already here. That’s part of our historical reality we should be teaching.

We presumably already teach the upside of our history: an idealistic and egalitarian country willing to take on a grand experiment in governance. That we are still a work in progress is testament to the resilience and stamina of that experiment.

But banning any part of our history, especially for what is primarily cynical political advantage, does a grievous disservice to our current students and our future.

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6 Countries in 6 Weeks JANUARY 17 - FEBRUARY 27 Appetizer > Entrée > Dessert

The perfect way to enjoy the remainder of this winter season: Enjoy a meal at the most cozy eatery around — your own home. (If the pressure of preparing a special meal for friends and family stresses you out, take advantage of the pandemic’s silver lining. The option to order outstanding takeout that travels well is now available at most any restaurant now!)

However, if you’re ready to wow your guests with a dish of your own making, consider taking that tried-and-true meal to the next level by cooking with infused cannabis oil.

You don’t need to be a deft chef to cook up a batch for yourself. Using a base of coconut oil, olive oil, or even butter, you can infuse a number of fatty oils with cannabis flower or, even easier, a flower concentrate or CBD oil — all of which are available from Dunegrass — at home.

A multitude of recipes are available online, and your Dunegrass budtender can help you find one that suits your taste and skills, as well as advise you on safe dosing according to the product and its use.

Perhaps you’d want to serve up a spoonful in your salad dressing or for dipping into with some fresh-baked bread. Many of our customers enjoy a small dose of THC-infused coconut oil in their morning coffee; maybe your guests would like to try it with their post-meal Joe? If you’d prefer not to add the task of infusing oil to your recipe prep, you’re not without options. Passing around a small tray with a variety of purchased edibles (say, cinnamon “mints” as a palate cleanser, chocolate-covered espresso beans, or berry-flavored gummies) makes for an easy and delicious between-course option for guests. Or, for dessert, split a dosed chocolate bar into individual pieces and serve on a tray with a mix of fruit or pastries; a single chocolate piece as the proverbial “cherry on top” of a dish of ice cream looks and tastes lovely, too.

As always with edible or oils infused with THC or CBD, start low and go slow.

If you’ve infused your own, make certain you’ve done the correct conversions to calculate the dose of THC or CBD each serving contains. And finally, whether you’re adding an edible or infused oil to your meal, communicate clearly with guests to ensure they are fully aware of each dosing, so they don’t overindulge or drive home under the influence.

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Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 7

ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT guest opinion

By Gary Howe US-31/M-72 — aka Grandview Parkway — is set for a major rebuild in 2023 and again, on another section, in 2024. It’s a highway carrying 30–40,000 motor vehicles a day.

It serves the region’s trucking industry as a state trunkline and is part of the national highway system. It moves us when we drive and delivers goods to our doors.

306 Elm - Kalkaska

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It is also part of Traverse City’s downtown, and as it runs along the Grand Traverse Bay shoreline, it splits several neighborhoods and is an obstacle to accessing prime parkland.

As such, access for all users along the route is paramount. We use this corridor to reach parks, beaches, businesses, and services.

And we do so using varying modes of travel — over 2 million people walk and roll along multiuse waterside trail every year. The path and the highway, for better and worse, are both parts of the region’s economic success and high quality of life.

Yet, there’s always room for improvement.

The parkway is one of those problematic thoroughfares that doesn’t serve any single purpose all that well. The organization Strong Town would call it a “stroad,” neither a street nor a road. A road connects us from point A to B, with few obstacles and limited access along the way. For roads, speed is the priority. A street is more complex; it’s where life happens. Accessibility is the priority, and speeds are slow for all users. Streets are safe and productive by design.

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8 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

Compared to other infamous stroads, calling our parkway a stroad isn’t totally accurate.

The parkway is not South Airport Road nor 28th Street in Grand Rapids. On those roadways, you’ll find five to eight lanes of automobile traffic, dozens of conflict points at intersections, and inefficient land-use patterns that cost more to maintain than the taxable revenue they generate. They’re also inhospitable to almost all users, particularly those on foot or bike.

I’ve been part of the region’s streets and highway discussions for over a decade now.

We face the same conflicting priorities each time: Are we designing a street or a road?

It’s always something in between when it comes to the trunklines. The reasons for that are multilayered and complicated beyond the scope of this column. The short version is multiple interests and constraints based on policy and funding from City Hall to D.C. In 2010, the debate was about Division Street. Due to public pressure, community involvement, and political higher-ups securing funding, a $500,000 planning process was born. The process involved stakeholders from adjacent neighborhoods, businesses, nonprofits, and local representatives, to name only a few interests.

There were many very long meetings over several years. And, in the end, Traverse City still has a stroad on the west side of town.

But, it’s an improved stroad. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)

and City of Traverse City narrowed lanes, planted trees, added safe crossings, and the traffic no longer rattles the homes of adjacent homes in the middle of the night. It spurred trail development leading west, and now families confidently cross the road. It’s not perfect, but it’s better.

That was a long process that ended with results open for debate on their effectiveness.

I don’t know anyone 100 percent happy with the end product. For example, some wanted to abandon four lanes in favor of three.

Still, others at the table chimed for five or six lanes the entire length. Some residents wanted their streets blockaded off from any turning traffic. There was even mention of a dedicated bus lane from Chum’s Corners to Front Street, known as a bus rapid transit — a terrific idea to transition the region away from single-occupant vehicles.

The result didn’t include any of these ideas, but the process informed the ongoing discussion. People, organizations, and agencies came together. They learned from one another. And, in a spirit of constructive dialogue, everyone involved, everyone who engaged, informed the result.

That process and Traverse City’s Bayfront Plan and Corridor Master Plan also informed the current planning for Grandview. As a result, and due to stakeholder engagement since last year, access for people along Grandview Parkway will improve in 2023. As presented last week, MDOT’s design calls for narrow lanes to calm traffic and provide room for protected midblock crosswalks.

And, the proposed squaring off of the intersection at Front and Grandview is transformative. It improves safety and access for all users and sets the stage to change the character of the entire corridor in years to come. As a result, Traverse City will finally have an entryway that doesn’t serve as a slingshot for hurling 3,000-pound cars into the heart of downtown.

And yes, there’s still room for more improvements. The City Commission will weigh in over the next few weeks. MDOT remains open to constructive suggestions.

And the city has an opportunity to engage public and private partners to extend the trail east from Delamar Hotel to Peninsula Drive. There are a lot of positive possibilities in play and connections to make.

In the poem, “Turning to One Another,” Margaret Wheatley writes, “know that creative solutions come from new connections.” That’s applicable anytime we come together as a community, roll up our sleeves, try to get things done. Now is the time to build new connections that we can continue adding to for years to come, both on the ground and in the planning room.

Gary Howe served as City Commissioner for Traverse City, 2013–2017. He’s the Advocacy and Communications Director for Norte.

My Kingdom for an Editor Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee is celebrated this year, and the souvenir producers are hard at work creating tchotchkes to commemorate it -- but apparently not hard enough at work to proofread their copy. People magazine reported that because of a translating error, Karl Baxter, CEO of Wholesale Clearance U.K., is trying to sell more than 10,000 pieces that trumpet the queen’s “platinum jubbly” -- mugs, tea sets and plates featuring an illustration of Elizabeth and her coat of arms.

Baxter hopes to salvage $44,000 from the lot and says the buyer could make a “potential profit” of $400,000. The website suggests using the items for a plate-smashing contest or a “dangerous game of Frisbee.”

Least Competent Criminals First rule of being a criminal? Keep up with car maintenance. On Jan. 27, police in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, pulled over a Chevy Trax because its license plate light was burned out, TribLive reported. The driver, Ise Lamont Woods, 31, had an outstanding warrant from Jan. 5 for criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, among other charges.

One of the passengers, Raphael Angel Geiger, 30, was wanted for a parole violation. And Don Lamont Carter, 26, allegedly tossed a bag with 29 grams of crack cocaine in it to a female passenger, asking her to “tuck it”; he was already wanted on a previous warrant.

When police searched the vehicle, the bag of cocaine fell out of the woman’s sweatshirt; she also had a crack pipe hidden in her bra. Geiger and Woods were taken into custody; Carter was released on his own recognizance.

Reefer Madness A 23-year-old Thai man’s harrowing ordeal was documented in late January in the Journal of Medical Case Reports, Gizmodo reported. Doctors at Chiang Mai University wrote that the young man, who had been a regular user of cannabis but had stopped for three months, had resumed his habit, with devastating effects. Two hours after hitting the bong, the man suffered a bout of psychosis and an “unwanted” erection, which prompted him to use scissors to “trim the penile skin several times.” However, he went too far, eventually ending up with just an inch-long stump. At the hospital, doctors stopped his bleeding and created a new opening for his urethra, but his penis was too damaged to be reattached. He was diagnosed with substanceinduced psychotic disorder; after two weeks of hospitalization and anti-psychotic drugs, he reported no more symptoms.

The Passing Parade Maybe it was just the prospect of one more day of notoriety followed by 364 of boredom, but for Milltown Mel, it was curtains on Jan. 30, the New York Daily News reported. Mel, no relation to the better-known Punxsutawney Phil, was New Jersey’s prognosticator of spring, and his untimely passing just three days before Groundhog Day left the Milltown Wranglers without a replacement for their event, which was strangely scheduled for Feb. 1 rather than Feb. 2. The Wranglers did not report a cause of death for Mel. Suspicious On Jan. 31, a Rhode Island Red hen was found wandering around a security checkpoint

at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, the Associated Press reported. The Animal Welfare League of Arlington was summoned, and one of their employees took the bird into custody. Chelsea Jones, a spokesperson for the group, said the hen was “sweet” and “nervous.”

She has been adopted by a staff person who has a small farm in western Virginia.

Armed and Courteous When a couple returned to their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Jan. 30 after a few days away, they were shocked to find a messy kitchen and a young man with an assault weapon inside, The Washington Post reported.

But even more stunning was the intruder’s behavior: He explained that his family in east Texas had been killed and he was on the run from someone. He told the husband that his car had broken down about 100 miles away. “He was extremely embarrassed and apologetic about the situation,” the husband told sheriff ’s officers. As he left, he dropped $200 on a table to help pay for the window he had broken to get in. None of the couple’s items had been stolen, including jewelry that was left on a counter, but he had cooked some of their food, slept in a bed and bathed in the master bathroom. Investigators figured he owed the couple $15 for beers and shrimp he consumed.

People With Issues Georgetown University’s William Treanor, dean of the law school, met with a Black student group on Feb. 1 to hear their complaints about an incoming lecturer, Ilya Shapiro, after he made comments about President Joe Biden’s plans to replace Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. National Review reported that the students wanted to discuss a “reparations” package with Treanor, which included a designated place on campus to cry.

“Is there an office they can go to?” one student asked. “I don’t know what it would look like, but if they want to cry, if they need to break down, where can they go? Because we’re at the point where students are coming out of class to go to the bathroom to cry.”

“All I wanted was some steak,” one customer was heard to say in a video of a brawl that broke out at a Golden Corral in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 28, CBS Philly reported.

Reports were unclear about what started the brawl, but employee Gaven Lauletta gave his account of the incident: “There was a shortage of steak and two parties were involved and one family cut in front of another family, they were taking their time and they ran out of steak and it got into a heated exchange at the tables,” he said. Police said more than 40 people may have been involved in the melee, although no serious injuries were reported.

Unclear on the Concept As she waited to check out at Walmart in Crockett, Texas, on Jan. 13, an unnamed woman was approached by Rebecca Lanette Taylor, 49, who “began commenting on her son’s blond hair and blue eyes. She asked how much she could purchase him for,” police reported. The mom thought Taylor was making a weird joke, but Taylor said she had $250,000 cash in her car, according to Messenger News. When the mom said no amount of money would be enough, Taylor increased her voice volume and her bid to $500,000 and told her she’d been wanting to buy a baby for a long time. Taylor was arrested

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 9

If You CAN Do, Teach A Q&A with Joel Papcun A Q&A with Joel Papcun of the Great Lakes of the Great Lakes Culinary Institute Culinary Institute

By Jillian Manning

By Jillian Manning

For almost 20 years, Joel Papcun has been preparing the next For almostof20 years, Joel Papcun has been preparing nextLakes generation chefs at Northwestern Michigan College’sthe Great generation of chefs atHe Northwestern College’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute. has not only Michigan trained and graduated hundreds Culinary Institute.

He has not only trained and graduated hundreds of students into the culinary industry but also opened the institute’s ofteaching studentsrestaurant, into the culinary industry but also opened the institute’s Lobdell’s. teaching restaurant, Lobdell’s.

10 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

For those that haven’t yet been, perhaps the best indication of the student-run restaurant’s success and popularity is that it opened last week, Feb. 9, for the first of its spring semester lunches; as of Feb. 8, reservations for any date this spring were already full. (Optimistic would-be diners, you can still sign on to the waiting list at 231995-3120.)

Before Papcun became an instructor of gastronomical arts, he was perfecting the art himself. He began with a summer job at a Detroit pizza parlor and would eventually go on to serve as chef at Detroit’s renowned Trattoria Andiamo, as well as at Shanty Creek in Bellaire, and TraVino (now McGee’s 72) in Traverse City.

We caught up with Papcun in advance of Lobdell’s much-anticipated spring opening to talk about his journey north, and how he’s helped put NMC’s culinary program — and northern Michigan’s reputation as a foodie town — on the map.

Northern Express: How did you get your start in the culinary arts? Did you always love to cook growing up, or was it a career you fell into along the way?

Joel Papcun: I have enjoyed cooking since I was very young. My earliest memories take me back to when I was eight or nine years old, helping my mother in the kitchen. I have eight siblings, so it was a nonstop job keeping food on the table.

At 13, I began working in a small pizzeria on the east side of Detroit. I was planning on being a commercial pilot at the time. My boss mentioned that he was going to teach me how to cook and that I would never go hungry. Shortly after that is when I knew what I wanted to do as a career. I have never looked back.

NE: Why did you make the leap from a commercial kitchen to teaching?

JP: I called a fellow chef in the Detroit area, who happened to be a culinary arts instructor at Macomb County Community College. I was looking for interns and quality culinary students to work for me at Trattoria Andiamo in early 1995. After a brief telephone conversation, he suggested that I may enjoy teaching culinary and laid

out a basic plan of action to move towards that end. I quickly set a ten-year goal to be teaching at a collegiate level.

I began teaching at Golightly CTC in Detroit as a ‘special instructor’ in the butcher shop, where high school students learned the journeyman butcher trade. I worked with a butcher in the class and quickly learned that teaching was very different than being a ‘trainer’ in a restaurant. The early experience … provided direction and assurance of my new career path. I really loved teaching and learning each day.

NE: What led you to NMC? JP: Through my personal travels, and having a brother living in northwest Michigan for years, I was familiar with NMC and the culinary arts program. It became a goal of mine to move my wife and family Up North and to end up at NMC as a full-time culinary instructor.

In 2000, Chef Fred Laughlin, director of the NMC culinary program approached me about teaching at NMC as an adjunct instructor. I jumped at the chance. I began teaching part-time at NMC in the fall of 2000. I continued teaching as an adjunct instructor until 2002, when my culinary industry job became an executive chef opportunity for the Schelde corporation.

It was at that time that the culinary arts program was being considered for a space at the new Great Lakes Campus. I [opened] the new TraVino restaurant and applied for a newly created full-time faculty position at NMC. I was hired and began teaching in fall of 2003.

NE: GLCI was named the best culinary school in the Midwest for 2022 by Intelligent. com. What do you think makes it stand out?

JP: We have a number of opportunities that set us apart: small class sizes, quality learning labs, and industry-trained faculty that promote a great learning atmosphere.

Culinary faculty and staff are the primary advisors for our students, this, in turn, helps us to guide the student through the beginning stages of their culinary career.

NE: What are your classes like?

JP: I teach the CUL 295, the capstone course of the Great Lakes Culinary Institute

Located at Northwest Michigan College’ Great Lakes Campus, Lobdell’s serves as a working laboratory for culinary students and is open to the public for lunches in the fall and spring semesters. Lobdell’s is open 11:30am–1pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Reservations are highly recommended. Call (231) 995-3120.

Without quality learning experiences, I feel many young culinarians will become disillusioned and perhaps fall away from the career path that drove their passion to begin with. culinary track. Our class meets four days a week, six hours a day. The students plan, develop, open, and operate Lobdell’s.

NE: What are some of the major differences between life in the kitchen and life in the classroom?

JP: Commercial kitchens require skilled, efficient staff. In a culinary training situation, the emphasis is on skill-building and knowledge base development. Speed will increase with experience and practice.

NE: What is a favorite piece of advice you pass along to your class?

JP: Always make quality, upward career moves. Focus on either substantially more responsibilities and management opportunities, or compensation.

NE: What challenges lie ahead in the future careers for your students?

JP: Many restaurants have had to streamline processes and limit services during the last two years. [Some] of the quality restaurant job opportunities have been diminished to little more than a “fastfood” situation. Without quality learning experiences, I feel many young culinarians will become disillusioned and perhaps fall away from the career path that drove their passion to begin with.

NE: What about opportunities? What can students look forward to when they graduate?

JP: The culinary industry is in a growth phase that is nearly limitless in scope. Food and medicine — or food as medicine — offers many new opportunities that were unheard of 20 years ago. The food industry had to adjust to the changes caused by the ongoing pandemic, in turn offering many new and creative opportunities.

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 11

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Great Meals, Hot Deals Winter Dining for Locals

By Jillian Manning One of the biggest perks of enduring the colder months in northern Michigan is that we locals can finally get into our favorite restaurants without a wait. Even better, our foodie friends are eager to welcome us back with specials, discounts, and events geared toward year-round residents. (Take, for example, the popular Wednesday date night at Poppycocks in downtown Traverse City, where you can get two entrees and a bottle of wine for $55.)

Appreciating the value of a fabulous meal for an even better price, Northern Express went in search of local-focused eating experiences across the region. Our verdict: Winter dining rocks.

Cadillac: Lakeside Charlies

We wish we could be singing (and eating) “Eight Days a Week” at Lakeside Charlies, but we suppose six days of specials will do the trick. Here’s what the casual Cadillac eatery has to offer this winter: 1. Monday: Ribs Night 2. Tuesday: New York Strip & Tini Night 3. Wednesday: Burgers & Brews 4. Thursday: Shrimp Night 5. Friday: Fish Fry 6. Saturday: Surf & Turf This is all in addition to their full menu, which includes everything from bar favorites like New York Style Buffalo Wings to Michigan inspired entrées like the Chicken Morel. Pair that with a view of Lake Mitchell, and you have a *chef ’s kiss* of an evening ahead.

Harbor Springs: The New York Restaurant

The New York Restaurant in Harbor Springs makes sure you’re eating well all week with their winter midweek locals’ specials. On Wednesdays, buy one entrée and get the second one free. On Thursdays, enjoy sushi night out. And on Fridays, pop in for burger night and choose from The New York classic cheese burger, a veggie burger, and a special gourmet burger.

Fans of The New York won’t want to miss their first Sommeliers Wine Dinner on February 17 with Travis Taviche from Woodberry Wines. The five-course evening includes wine pairings alongside everything from caviar to veal to a pear and almond frangipane tart. Seating is limited and reservations are required.

Suttons Bay: Martha’s Leelanau Table

The menu is always delicious and always rotating at Martha’s, and the best way to stay in the loop on the latest menu updates is to check their Facebook page around noon the day you’re planning to dine. But you can count on the New Year’s Special on Mondays (22% off each entrée to celebrate 2022); free delivery night on Thursday (within a 5-mile radius); date night on Friday (two entrées and a bottle of wine for $50); and prix fixe Saturdays with salad, a main course, and dessert. If you haven’t had Martha’s tiramisu, we recommend you get over there ASAP. And if you’ve been missing a friendly game of trivia at your local haunt, be sure to clear your calendar—and make a reservation—on Sunday evenings. Team Trivia Night runs from 6-9 p.m. and just happens to coincide with Burger and a Beer Night, where you can get both of your favorite Bs and tater tots for just $15.

Burdickville: Trattoria Funistrada

Whether you want to dine in or you still feel more comfortable eating at home, Trattoria Funistrada has you covered.

Tuesdays are for lovers and pasta with their Pasta Night special: two pasta dinners and bottle of wine for $52. (Pick the Penne Puttanesca for an extra spicy evening.)

Wednesdays you can get BOGO half off for all entrées, so you won’t have to choose between the Chicken Saltimbocca and the Salmon Piccata. Just get them both!

Thursday and Friday nights the restaurant offers take-out only dinners from the full menu, plus they often have the option of a take-and-bake lasagna. Best of all, when you order a bottle of wine to go, you get 30% off. If our math is right, that means your fourth bottle of wine is basically free…and your weekend just got a whole lot better.

Traverse City: Artisan Restaurant

If you haven’t been to Artisan Restaurant — the new eatery located inside the Delamar Traverse City — now is the time to stop by. Thanks to extensive renovations and a mouthwatering menu, even locals would never guess they were dining at the former site of Shimmers nightclub.

The best time to go? Lunch. Their $22-dollar prix fixe menu offers a choice of winter veggie starters like the Fall Squash Cappuccino with cinnamon cream, roasted pear, and pepitas. The main meal comes in the form of a Wagyu beef burger or one of three takes on a “pinsa,” aka pizza with a light and airy crust. Top your pinsa with beets and goat cheese, kale and brie, or blue cheese and prosciutto. If you’re celebrating happy hour early with a house wine or beer, your whole bill comes to just $28 (plus tax and tip).

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 13

Brent Temple

Kangaroo sirloin with Arabic rice, braised cabbage, and fried kibbeh.

OSTRICH, AND CAMEL, AND KANGAROO, OH MY! Brent Temple takes his second big risk in NoMi’s culinary scene

By Craig Manning Brent Temple still remembers the last few nights before he opened the doors to Habibi Middle Eastern Coney last May — mostly because he was barely sleeping. As Temple tells the story, the road to Habibi’s grand opening had been dotted with good luck and generous favors from people who believed in him.

Those factors helped the chef outfit his new eatery — a small 450-square-foot space next door to the Super 7 (the former 7-Eleven) near Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City — with enough kitchen equipment to get cooking. But Temple admits he had no savings or safety net to fall back on if the restaurant didn’t work, and no way of knowing how Traverse City would react to a menu full of ethnic flavors.

He needn’t have worried.

On the morning Habibi opened, Temple says there was a line out the door and spread out throughout the Super 7 parking lot. By the end of the first month, the restaurant had some $64,000 worth of receipts to show for its efforts. Nearly a year later, the restaurant has sold nearly $1 million worth of butter chicken, falafel, and other authentic Middle Eastern cuisine. Not bad for a business venture that, not long ago, looked like a gamble.

A Slow Simmer Go back a few years and ethnic food options in northern Michigan were hard to come by, at least outside of the typical staples like Chinese and Thai food. When Aerie Restaurant & Lounge at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa hosted an Indian dinner in the fall of 2018, a core marketing angle of the event was that northern Michigan didn’t have an Indian restaurant.

When Traverse City did finally get a dedicated Indian restaurant — The Taste of India, which opened inside the Grand Traverse Mall food court in early 2020 — Temple was there to help make it happen.

As executive chef, Temple worked alongside the restaurant’s owner, Golam Rabbani, to develop recipes and create a reliable, crowdpleasing menu. But eventually, Temple got the urge to cook something other than East Indian cuisine. Specifically, he wanted to try bringing a Middle Eastern eatery to a town whose foodie scene still tilts heavily

toward familiar fare like American, French, or Italian.

As it turned out, northern Michigan patrons were ready for the shift. Habibi — which means “my love” in Arabic — has been so popular in its first year that Temple is already looking at multiple potential paths for expanding the restaurant’s footprint.

Right now, Habibi is exclusively takeout; in the future, Temple wants to have enough space to offer sit-down dining options, too.

He’s also hard at work expanding the menu, with hopes of getting northern Michiganders to fall in love with some of the more, shall we say, “exotic” aspects of Middle Eastern cuisine.

So far, Habibi menu staples haven’t been so foreign to the American palate. The restaurant’s menu is packed with the familiar: dishes based around chicken and beef; hummus; naan bread; gyros; wraps. The most popular dish, butter chicken, is a global staple that just about anyone could love.

For Temple, though, starting the menu off in a more familiar vein was a strategic choice.

Not only did that decision give him time to cut his teeth cooking Middle Eastern cuisine every day, but it also made Habibi easy to embrace even for people who had never tried shawarma or lamb curry before. Now, Temple wants to push the envelope a little more, and he’s starting by adding dishes based around types of meat that most American eaters have never tried — in any capacity.

Pushing the Culinary Envelope — Again “We’ve just brought in camel meat, which has seven times the protein value of beef, and 30 percent less fat,” Temple says. “We also have kangaroo meat; I’ve got kangaroo burgers and kangaroo sirloins. And we have ostrich, too. Kangaroo and ostrich have the same protein profile as the camel meat and are much more beneficial [than beef]. I know of a couple other cities that are trying these meats, but if I can bring the awareness to Traverse City, I think we can see different cuisines on our plates here soon.”

Temple knows he’s likely to encounter some skepticism from customers as he rolls out these new menu items. Though these types of alternative protein sources are common overseas — Temple says authentic on-the-ground Middle Eastern cuisine is actually more likely to focus on camel shawarma than chicken shawarma — they’re

14 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

Tabouli, Arabic salad, hummus, chickpea salad, naan bread.

also uncharted territory in much of the United States, especially outside of big cities.

So, to start, Temple is once again easing his clientele into the unfamiliar, this time by preparing exotic meats in not-so-exotic ways.You may never have had camel meat before, but try it as part of a double cheeseburger — or, as Temple calls it, a “double hump burger” — and it won’t taste that foreign. The same goes for ostrich steaks topped with wine mushroom sauce, or kangaroo meat presented as lean strips of sirloin.

Temple is confident that, if he can get customers to at least give the new items a try, people will be won over by the lean, flavorful meat and the favorable comparisons to beef in terms of health benefits. He even challenges customers to research those benefits online, to learn more about how camel, kangaroo, and ostrich compare to beef and chicken.

“I think once people see the benefits to the protein and the comparison with beef, they’ll say, ‘Wow, why weren’t we getting camel meat here all along?’” Temple says.

“But it’s going to weird people out for a while. Some people are like, ‘Wow, I’m not that daring yet.’ But other people are diving right in. I know the younger crowd is certainly diving in; they’re not holding

Ostrich with Arabic rice, Arabic salad, and falafel.

Kangaroo sirloin with Arabic rice, braised cabbage, and fried kibbeh.

back at all. I sold a bunch of camel burgers yesterday to the Central High School lunch crowd. It’s that older age group that’s going to be more hesitant.”

Find Habibi Middle Eastern Coney & Curry at 124 Cochlin St. in Traverse City. (231) 4211873, www.habibimideastconey.com.

YOUR LOCAL FAVORITE

BARBECUE SPOT

423 S UNION ST, TRAVERSE CITY

BLUETRACTOR.NET | @BLUETRACTORTC | 231.922.9515 Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 15

Sweet’s Bar & Grill Honor

Meet Bill Sweet, an outgoing guy who — along with his wife and partner in entrepreneurial optimism, Toni — opened Sweet’s Bar & Grill in Honor last summer. The spot? Inside the former Sleepy Bear Lounge, formerly Lumberjack Tavern, on Main Street.

“We opened July 12,” he says. “That was after months of refurbishing and changes to make the place lighter, fresher, and more welcoming. We did it ourselves, and it was a lot of hard work — a lot of 8am to midnight. Our goal was to make this place as welcoming as we can,” he says.

Consider the Sweets’ mission and vision accomplished.

“Folks who visited here before were surprised,” he says. “They said ‘Oh, it’s so bright, and it smells so good.’”

On the Menu: Expect what Sweet calls “upscale bar fare”: sandwiches, wraps, burgers, pizzas, nachos, burritos, and quesadillas.

But drill down a little, and you’ll find one of the tastiest Reuben Sandwiches ($10) in the region. It features a hefty pile of tender corned beef on swirled rye. Next comes a crown of mild but flavorful sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and an ample topping of Thousand Island dressing. One of the most popular handhelds is the French Dip ($12): stacked beef topped with grilled mushrooms, onions, and Swiss cheese on a hoagie bun, with a flavorful side of au jus for dipping.

The best seller on the menu, according to manager Jen Plamondon, is the new and improved Wet Burrito ($12). It’s built with seasoned ground beef or chicken, refried beans, red enchilada sauce, romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, and black olives. It comes with a side of rice and nacho chips. Other Mexican fare includes Nachos Supreme, a Quesadilla, and a Veggie Quesadilla, each priced at $12.

In the familial fashion that has come to define the Sweets’ way of doing business

with customers and employees alike, each of Sweet’s eight different burgers is named after one of the grill’s friendly staffers, such as “Jen’s Olive Delight” or “John’s Hot As We Can Make It.” Despite their differences in toppings, every burger starts with a 1/3 pound of hand-patted beef that’s cooked medium-well unless (otherwise requested) and delivered with lettuce tomato, onion, and a pickle on a brioche bun.

Lighter appetites might be tempted by one of five salads, including a Michigan Summer Delight, featuring spring mix lettuce, cucumber, carrot, red onion, sliced apples, dried strawberries, dried cherries, pecans, and feta cheese ($15).

Find Sweet’s Bar & Grill at 10919 Main St. in Honor. (231) 227-1148.

Bahia

Traverse City

Offering up delicious tapas and enchanting cocktails, this Spanish fusion eatery makes it easy to pretend you’ve been transported to a bar on Las Ramblas, in the heart of Barcelona.

(And Grand Traverse Bay, just a short walk north, provides a solid stand-in for the azure blue coastline of the Mediterranean — and clearly, a little inspiration for the restaurant’s name; Bahia means bay in Spanish.)

Walking into the space — with its exposed brick, soft lighting, and a chill indoor-outdoor flow — sets you instantly at ease. It is time to slow down, relax, and take in the laid-back vibes. Owner Tim Kiel and Managing Partner and Chef Bryan Welburn have created a space focused on bringing people together through the enjoyment of food, and there is a lot to enjoy.

On the Menu: Heating things up in the kitchen is Head Chef Allante GarrettJackson, a well-known veteran of long-time Traverse City hotspot Apache Trout Grille.

He has teamed up with fellow Chef Welburn, who designed the menu, to bring the tapas creations to life. Garrett-Jackson’s advice for any first-time guest: “Order everything.” The

16 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

portion sizes are perfect to share, and heaps of small plates will satisfy big appetites.

Right now, Bahia is offering a host of tapas plates. A standout: the blue corn tostada — a crispy tostada with refried pinto beans, crunchy habanero coleslaw, and succulent leg of lamb paired with two house-made sauces, the mojo Roja, the spiciest sauce on the menu, and a mellow lime crème. The pair work together to bring this dish just the right heat.

Then there is the Potato Bravas, diced potatoes perfectly pan-fried to be crunchy on the outside yet still smooth and fluffy on the inside. Topped with a smoky and spicy bright red sauce and silky truffle aioli, this dish is essential to any traditional Spanish tapas menu, and Garrett-Jackson pays a great homage to it with what he serves up.

You will never want to go back to regular pub fries again.

Dessert at Bahia is not to be overlooked.

Once you try the Benelos, or “Spanish doughnuts,” you will not know how you have gone through life thus far without them.

They have a taste reminiscent of oversized elephant ears from the fairgrounds but made and presented with a lot more finesse.

Fluffy, fried deliciousness topped with salted caramel sauce, they are a decadent and lipsmacking way to end your meal or start it.

Find Bahia at 127 South Union St. www. bahiatc.com Randy’s Diner Traverse City

Randy and Norma Vyverberg, hospitality pros who met while working at the Grand Traverse Resort in the ‘80s, have experience working every role in the house. However, with each passing job, Norma and Randy grew closer to achieving their shared dream of owning their own restaurant and working for themselves. Initially, their plan was to start something from scratch. But when an opportunity to purchase a restaurant named The Diner appeared in spring of 1997, they

saw it as destiny and bought it.

In years past, the little blue and yellow building on Carver Street had not only been home to The Diner, but before that, it had also been Marty’s Diner, Magee’s Fish Shed, King’s Burger, Mr. Doolies, and The Pigs Tie. In May 1997, however, it became Randy’s Diner, and for almost 25 years now, it’s been a locally loved favorite.

On the Menu: You’ll find two pages of breakfast classics — French toast, short and tall stacks of pancakes, Biscuits with gravy and eggs — alongside nearly a dozen three-egg omelets (the Jalapeno Popper with Bacon Omelette, featuring Jalapeno bacon cream cheese, “more bacon,” and pepperjack cheese is a must-try), pork chops and eggs with potatoes, and a Stuffed Hash Brown dish that might just keep you full for a week.

But be warned: You must leave room for their grilled cinnamon roll. It’s a wallflower on their menu, hiding out on the sides list, but it deserves a category of its own — to be exalted, set apart, canonized even. Sliced in half, grilled, and served drenched in warm, melty icing, it’s a lovely add-on to a salty breakfast if you can manage it, and enough to eat alone with black coffee. The cinnamon caramelizes on the near-blackened top while salty butter bits create a lacy crunch around the bun’s edges.

Randy’s favorite item on the menu is the cod dinner. He’s proud of the quality of fish the diner uses. Both he and Norma have always prioritized the customer experience when crafting their dishes. Norma, who eats a gluten-free diet herself, makes sure Randy’s offers several gluten-free menu items for customers.

Find Randy’s Diner at 1120 Carver St. www.randysdiner.com. (231) 946-0789 Forrest – A Food Studio Traverse City

Everyone knows what an artist’s studio is, but what about a food studio?

For Forrest and Nicole Moline, it’s

a creative hub for the culinary arts. Swap out paintbrushes, canvas, and a gallery showroom for chef ’s knives, a stove, and a dining room, and you have the same concept — only with different mediums and materials.

Offering a wide variety of carryout, ready-to-heat meals, a wine shop, and catering services, Forrest – A Food Studio, isn’t your typical restaurant. “From the start, we knew we wanted the Food Studio to feel like home, both for us and our guests,” says Nicole. “A place that would allow Forrest to have a safe and healthy environment to dream, practice, and create masterpieces, and a place for our guests to feel welcome and comfortable.”

The kitchen — like any commercial kitchen only insofar as it meets all health code and safety requirements — boasts a large storage island with a marbled quartz prep countertop, white subway tile walls, colorful Spanish-tiled floors, and a showstopping Blue Star gas range with bright red oven doors.

The same homelike aesthetic extends to the dining room, with its warm woodgrained floors, white beadboard and shiplap accents, mismatched upholstered dining chairs, and custom live-edge tables made by Steel Appeal in Empire (who also made the unique sinks in the guest bathrooms).

On the Menu: Forrest describes his style of cooking as seasonal with an innovative Californian influence and says he especially enjoys creating sauces, cooking fresh fish, and making pasta from scratch.

A sampling of Thursday small plates offers a glimpse into the kind of food that one can expect to come out of Forrest’s kitchen.

Each month’s menu always includes a meat dish, a fish or seafood dish, a pasta dish, and a vegetable dish. November featured beef short rib with ricotta gnocchi, truffle jus and chives; crab and avocado toast with garlic focaccia, artichoke, spinach, lemon, and basil; buttercup squash agnolotti with burnt cream, lemon and pine nut crumble; and a medley of Second Spring Farm cauliflower, roasted, pickled and pureed, with zhug sauce, seeded crackers, and microgreens.

For December, the menu featured dishes like grass-fed beef cutlet from Up North Heritage Farm, with green peppercorn sauce and pickled chili; black cod with parsnip, roasted mushroom, and Blis Sherry; ricotta agnolotti with veggie Bolognese sauce; and rutabaga with poached pear, gingered yogurt, and fresh herbs.

Interested in upcoming menus, weekend dinner reservations, booking a private inhome dinner or other off-site events, or ordering wine or pasta for pickup? See forrestafoodstudio.com.

Find Forrest – A Food Studio at 408 S. Union St. in Traverse City.

Smoke & Porter Traverse City

When Smoke & Porter first opened in July 2015, the last thing chef-owner Henry Bisson wanted was for people to assume it was a barbecue place.

But that’s just what happened, due to the word “smoke” in its name. “It wasn’t smoke as in barbecue, though, it was smoke as in cooking with wood,” Bisson explains. “Actually, I was cooking chicken legs over a makeshift woodfired grill in my backyard one night when the inspiration for this place came to me. It was the smoke that triggered the concept, and it came down to the simplicity of the thing. That simple chicken was delicious.

It’s that campfire flavor. And I’m thinking,

‘Well, this is it. I want to bring that flavor to an elevated dining out experience.’ Doing barbecue wasn’t our intent. In the beginning, we didn’t have a ‘From the Pit’ section on the menu. We didn’t do brisket and pulled pork every day. But the people spoke, so we had to adapt and shift part of our concept. And I actually kind of grew to appreciate it more over time.”

With the “smoke” component of the name in place, Bisson says the “porter” component was a natural. “As it happens, darker beers, like stouts and porters, pair very well with smoked meats, or any smoked foods.”

On the Menu: Although the menu does now include some barbecue, the wide array of food choices it offers couldn’t be more diverse.

“My food isn’t quite fusion cooking,” says Bisson, “but I have no shame in pulling in any flavors from other types of cuisines.

If they work together, fit together, and can make a good dish, by all means, why not American barbecue with Indian curry, for example? Or Korean flavors, as in our pork lettuce wraps [hoisin BBQ pulled pork, gem lettuce, and apple kimchi]. I mean, people are cooking with fire all over the world. So why should I limit myself? Our smoked chicken has a chermoula rub on it that is common in Moroccan and Tunisian cooking. That’s not your typical barbecue rub. And our fish and chips — a nod to our ‘public house’ identity, with a twist — is Cajun seasoned, beerbattered whitefish (with waffle fries, malt vinegar and watercress slaw, and remoulade).”

More menu variety comes in the form of roasted beets (with shaved Brussels sprouts, red quinoa, dried apricots, goat cheese, Marcona almonds, and black garlic lemon vinaigrette) or a recent special feature of Swiss raclette (served with Texas smoked sausage, confit fingerling potatoes, cornichons, baguette, and whole grain mustard).

Smoke & Porter’s house-made desserts are always fun and creative, and like the main menus, they change regularly and seasonally.

A recent list included chocolate cake (with coconut-pecan icing and raspberry coulis), eggnog crème brûlée (with molasses gingersnap cookie), and the always-available “float flight” for kids (Northwoods Soda root beer, ginger ale, and orange cream soda with vanilla ice cream).

Find Smoke & Porter is located at 1752 U.S. 31 North in Traverse City. (231) 642– 5020, smokeandporter.com.

Honey Baked Ham Traverse City

With a flaming propane torch in his left hand and a scoop full of white sugar in his right, Mike Muzljakovich spends hours every week adding the delicious sweet glaze for which Honey Baked Ham is known to the hundreds of hams he sells weekly at his shop.

After the sugar is caramelized, the ham is glazed once again in the company’s secret blend of enticing spices.

It’s hot work, but it’s vital to the hams whose cult-like popularity never seems to wane.

“We’ll probably sell 2,000 to 2,400 hams between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” says Muzljakovich, who owns the Garfield Avenue franchise with his wife, Missy. “It’s our busiest time of the year, along with Easter. Christmas is bigger because there’s a lot of corporate gifting, folks giving our hams to their clients. At Easter, it’s very predictable. On the Saturday before Easter Sunday, it’s nuts till about 2 in the afternoon.

Then it’s like you turned the spigot off.”

On the Menu: In addition to the take-out hams and turkeys, the shop offers counter service with a lunch menu that is relatively slim in number but features hefty slices of ham and turkey. The Garfield location’s top lunchtime seller is the Classic, featuring a solid inch or so of ham, topped with Swiss cheese, lettuce tomato, Duke’s mayo, and honey mustard atop a flaky croissant.

A close second in popularity is the Tavern Club, which begins with multigrain bread. Then both ham and turkey are piled high and topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, Duke’s mayo, and honey mustard.

Not in the mood for a sammie? There are options. Ham and bean soup, along with a roasted turkey noodle soup are ready every day to ward off a winter chill. If a salad seems more sensible, there’s a Cobb salad loaded with ham, bacon, cheddar cheese, roasted tomatoes, pickled red onions, hard-boiled eggs, and cornbread croutons on a bed of greens. If you still have room for dessert, you might want to try the fresh macadamia or oatmeal raisin cookies.

Find Honey Baked Ham at 815 S. Garfield in Traverse City. (231) 935-4267.

That French Place Charlevoix

When Northern Express first reached out to Brian and Emily Freund, owners of That French Place in Charlevoix, the couple was in Paris. They were there hosting a small culinary travel group and taking baking classes at La Cuisine Paris, an English-speaking French cooking school overlooking the Seine River and Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Switch out the Seine for a northern Michigan harbor town, and That French Place, a premier creperie and café, has provenance as authentic as anything one might find in the City of Light. Inside, the atmosphere is easygoing and familiar.

Owners and staff alike are generous in both spirit and knowledge. The yeasty, sugary warmth mixes with the aroma of fresh coffee beans and tassels of drying herbs.

The café itself exudes casual French café ambiance with Yankee grab-it-and-go practicality. (Rotating carry-out meal options will resume in a matter of weeks.) Griddles are sizzling, ready to create crepes on demand.

Tidy trays of pastries and sweets — from the traditional croissants and colorful macarons to snickerdoodles — fill the glass-fronted cases.

On the Menu: Croissants, crepes and quiche. The croissants — especially almond — sell out fast, so go early and often. The pastries feature thin golden swirls that are two parts dough to one part butter (in this case an American version of the French cultured product, with around 82 percent milk fat.) If a pastry can be sublime, this is it. Choose from plain, almond, or chocolate.

Buckwheat crepes are a specialty, based on the traditional 500-year-old recipe from France’s Brittany region.

“White flour wasn’t around until early in the 20th century,” Brian says. “The sweet crepes that many people associate with France came a long time after the buckwheat.”

Both versions are tender/crisp, with a large selection of sweet or savory toppings.

A paper sleeve makes them user-friendly. In the summer, lines stretch down the street, so schedule accordingly.

Quiche is served in a generous wedge, big enough to share if one is so inclined.

Under the uniformly golden top, a custard of fresh eggs and heavy cream encase a variety of ingredients, all anchored by an authentic

buttery French crust that is thin but substantial.

A specialty is Quiche Charlevoix, Emily’s creation of ham, Swiss cheese, and herbs de Provence, good enough to rival the popular quiche Lorraine in the hearts of Francophiles everywhere. (Brian calls it her “master plan for world domination, one quiche at a time.”) A side of homemade applesauce complements every quiche order.

And, like its French counterparts, the coffee is a rich brew — in this case, a medium dark proprietary blend called Funky Frenchman. It was created by Traverse City’s Higher Grounds.

Find That French Place at 212 Bridge St. in Charlevoix. (231) 437-6037, thatfrenchplace.com

Short’s Brewing Co. Pub Bellaire

Short’s Brewing is iconic in the area.

Whether it’s Soft Parade, Bellaire Brown or Huma Lupa Licious, or slightly more exotic varieties such as Melt My Brain or Double Psychedelic Cat Grass, the company’s beers have received awards, accolades, and affirmation across the state and beyond. They’ve helped put Bellaire on the map.

While you can pick them up at stores across the region, there’s nothing like stopping in at the brewpub in downtown Bellaire. But is there more there than beer?

Yes, absolutely. Sandwiches, pizza, a homey setting, and occasional live music bring life to downtown Bellaire, whatever the season.

On the Menu: Of course, none of that would matter if the food wasn’t up to snuff.

No worries there. It’s simple but from scratch — from the pizza dough and pizza sauce to the mayo on the sandwiches.

Pizzas rule this place, and three of the most popular are specialties, like Big Jim, with braised beef, roasted peppers and onions, white cheddar, and white sauce.

Fall Out, with pulled pork and bacon, with jalapeno, pineapple, BBQ sauce and a maple sriracha drizzle. Or Johnny on The Spot, with bacon, blue cheese, a white sauce, and Granny Smith apple slices.

Guests can also consider a raft of sandwiches, plus almost-sandwiches like quesadilla and pork tacos. Several salads with ingredients like farro, chickpeas, black bean corn salsa, and salami. Shareable small plates, with tempting treats like soft pretzels, spinach-pesto-artichoke dip, and that day’s flavor of mac and cheese.

Kuethe touts the White Pepper Sandwich as the top-selling item. This signature sandwich melds turkey, avocado, roasted red pepper, red onion, and provolone, all of it complemented by that house-made garlic chipotle mayo.

There are also other specials, such as potato & bacon tacos, a breakfast blend of bacon, scrambled eggs, seasoned potatoes, scallions, nacho cheese blend & sriracha sour cream. Or a sweet treat like caramel apple pizza, featuring house-made ciderinfused apple-pie filling, crumb topping, and a salted caramel drizzle.

And yes, there’s beer. Some 20-plus are available on tap, plus options for cider, seltzer, or canned wine. Come summer, the fun expands into the great outdoors, with picnic tables and a pavilion available.

Find Short’s Brewing Company’s Bellaire Pub at 121 N Bridge St. (231) 498-2300, shortsbrewing.com.

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 17

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I highly recommend using Northern Express as a marketing tool. You won’t be disappointed.”

Mike Annelin Century 21 Northland

We help grow northern Michigan businesses. info@northernexpress.com

18 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

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Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 19

By Ross Boissoneau For some, February is when the winter doldrums start to set in (though that happened three months ago for others). Regardless, what better way to reckon with those feelings than to bundle up and get outside to schuss, slide, or straddle a big sled. Take part in one of these frosty-fun outdoor events happening Up North this February:

East Jordan Sno-Blast, Feb. 19-20

Suttons Bay Yeti Fest, Feb. 19

Quick, where can you find the Belle of the Blizzard and the Winter Knight, be part of the Blessing of the Sleds, take in the Antique Snowmobile Show, even enjoy a taco dinner? If you said the East Jordan Sno-Blast, you’ve obviously been to the Charlevoix County town’s favorite February event.

This year marks the 41st, though the first Belle of the Blizzard was crowned way back in 1936, predating the Sno-Blast. Most of the festivities take place at the East Jordan SnoMobilers Clubhouse on Mt. Bliss Road, including the crowning of the aforementioned belle and knight, the chili cook-off, live music, and a raffle drawing.

What’s fun? For those who love classic car shows, you can check out the winter version.

The Classic & Antique Snowmobile Show opens at 9am Feb. 19 at the East Jordan Sno-Mobile Clubhouse. And hey, there’s no entry fee. This is your chance to see old model Ski-Doo or Arctic Cat, as well as classic brands that are no longer with us, like Scorpion, Chaparral, and Sno Jet. East Jordan Area Chamber of Commerce Events Coordinator Shannon Fender says the most popular event is Saturday’s Bikini Radar Run, a breast cancer fundraiser. “It’s not all women. There are several men that do it,” she says.

Other events include Story Time at Books N Things and a Winter Luminary Stroll & Sip at Martha Wagbo Farm and Education Center. For more information, go to East Jordan SnoBlast on Facebook or ejchamber.org.

Billed “The Best Yeti Fest this side of the Himalayas,” the annual celebration of wintertime in Suttons Bay returns Saturday, Feb. 19, with activities for all ages. But wait, you might wonder, is there really such a thing as a yeti? Just how big is a yeti? What does a yeti smell like? And how can we determine if that big furry thing over there is a yeti, or a sasquatch, or … maybe a bear standing on two legs? The Suttons Bay Library’s 10:30 am Yeti Discovery Program will help answer these questions, plus offer stories, crafts, and snacks for the curious.

That’s just the start of the fun. At the Yeti Scavenger Hunt, the more missions you successfully complete, the better your chances to win a gift basket. The Bay Theatre will host Small Foot for free at 12:30pm. And the village skating rink will host demonstrations by the Traverse City Figure Skating Club.

You won’t want to miss the Yeti Chili Cook-Off, with numerous restaurants vying for the title of best Yetifest Chili. Yetifest chair Stacy Sheren says this will be one of the key events toward the fundraising aspect of the celebration, as the judge will accept/encourage bribes, with all funds going toward village beautification projects (trees, flowers, and even public restrooms).

The awards ceremony will take place at 5pm at Yeti Central, a.k.a. the 5/3 Bank parking lot (120 N. St. Joseph St.) where the winners of the scavenger hunt and cook-off will be announced, as will the king and queen of the evening’s Snowball at Suttons Bay High School. Then head to Hop Lot for the silent disco. For all the info, go to www.suttonsbayarea.com/yetifest.

Antique and Blessed Sleds, Chili, Tacos, Bikini Run, Luminary Sip n’ Stroll

Yeti Lessons, Scavenger Hunt, Ice Skating, Small Foot & Silent Disco

Michigan Snowmobile Festival, Gaylord, Feb. 25-26

Braaaap! Guided Ride, One County, Nine Restaurants & Big Money

20 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

Hot on the heels of Gaylord’s 10th annual Alpenfrost, comes the Michigan Snowmobile Festival, which takes place throughout Otsego County the following weekend. Christy Walcott, the director of marketing and communications for the Gaylord Area Convention and Tourism Bureau, says the purpose is simple: “Get the people out riding the trails and seeing the beauty” of the area.

This is the fifth year for the twoday festival but only the third time it has taken place. Walcott said it was canceled last year due to COVID, and once due to rain. No such worries this time around — Walcott says the forecast calls for continued cold

temperatures and there’s plenty of snow on the trails.

Dubbed “Michigan’s Richest Snowmobile Fun Run,” the Michigan Snowmobile Festival gives riders have two days to visit nine restaurants in and around Gaylord, Johannesburg, Vanderbilt, and Waters, and drop off their registration slips. The event concludes on Saturday at the Eagles Hall (515 South Wisconsin Ave.), with live music, beverages, complimentary food, prizes, and the $1,000 cash drawing. (You must be present and at least 18 years old to win any prize.)

Though a guided ride will start at 10:30 a.m. from the Tourism Bureau office on Saturday, snowmobilers do not have to start at the same time, follow the same route, or make it to every stop. Walcott says the event typically draws around 200 participants ranging from locals to those from downstate as well as Indiana and Ohio. Go to tinyurl.com/5n8768v2 for registration or more information.

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Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 21

Traverse City OAK AGED WILD BEER | PIZZAS | SALADS SANDWIC HES | TRUFFLE FRIES & MORE!

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22 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

Earle Steele and Kristen Hains in 1995.

Cookbook Queens

Take a Taste We asked Kristen Hains to share one of her favorite recipes from Dr. Eberly’s books, and she gave us three options: Double Frosted Bourbon Brownies (from “Brownie Recipes”), which boasts the frosting and double the chocolate and can be made with or without bourbon; the Prince of Wales Cake (from “Our Michigan: Ethnic Tales & Recipes”), which called for ingredients like molasses, buttermilk, lemon, and walnuts — we’re convinced that it’s fit for a king; or Mock Apple Pie (from “Potato Chip Cookies & Tomato Soup Cake,” coming March 2022).

For obvious reasons, we wanted every one, but we decided to share the one that sounds wild, tastes amazing, is as easy as pie — and hasn’t been republished yet. Enjoy this sneak peek!

Local Author Kristen Hains brings a Michigan cookbook legacy to the table

By Jillian Manning What do Double Frosted Bourbon Brownies, Mock Apple Pie, and Prince of Wales Cake have in common? (Besides sugar and appearing together in the sidebar, you clever reader.) They’re all recipes from Michigan author Carole Eberly’s cookbooks, which date back to 1977 and have all the nostalgia, history, and delicious treats you can imagine.

A graduate of the MSU School of Journalism, Dr. Eberly was an award-winning journalist-turned-author. She made Michigan agriculture and trivia the cornerstones of her cookbooks, including essays and little-known facts about the state alongside her recipes featuring local favorites like cherries, apples, and wild mushrooms.

Dr. Eberly published more than 15 books before she passed away in 2017, and for the last four years, her books have been waiting in limbo.

A (Not So) Half-Baked Idea In May of 2021, local author Kristen Hains took over Dr. Eberly’s catalog, drawn to the history that made the beloved cookbooks so unique.

“I consider myself a storyteller,” Hains says. “Now I’m able to continue to help tell Carole’s stories, get those stories out to future generations, and share these recipes.”

Hains is best known for her collaboration with her grandfather Earle Steele on the 2001 book “Beauty Is Therapy: Memories of the Traverse City State Hospital.” The book spent over 60 weeks on northern Michigan bestseller lists and is currently in its sixth printing. Hains has since published seven coloring books and has two books slated for publication in 2022.

But becoming a cookbook connoisseur wasn’t always on her to-do list. In fact, when Carole Eberly’s son-in-law, Patrick Sullivan [Northern Express’ head reporter from 2011 to 2021], connected with Hains about the cookbooks, it was for advice on what to do with the stock 9,000+ books he and his wife had inherited.

“[Patrick] originally reached out to me thinking, ‘maybe Kris knows someone,’” Hains says. “And the more he talked to me about it and talked to me about Carole — she was a single mom, like I am — it just really resonated with me. I was like, ‘Pat, I think I’m that person.

I think I could do this.’”

Now You’re Cooking!

On one of the hottest days of 2021, Patrick delivered more than 3,000 pounds of books to Hains’ driveway, and she immediately began planning how to get Dr. Eberly’s beloved cookbooks back in print and on shelves throughout the state of Michigan.

“I can appreciate the work and the time and the blood, sweat, and tears that she put into creating these,” Hains says of Dr. Eberly’s books. “It would just be a shame to see them just die on a shelf somewhere.”

Thanks to the wholesale connections Hains had already developed with her own books, she was able to get stock into stores before the 2021 holidays. The books are now in 10+ stores throughout the state, from Mackinac Island to Detroit, as well as on her website denaliandco.com.

Hains still has plenty of work ahead of her to get all of Dr. Eberly’s books back in print — without the original digital files, everything has to be laid out from scratch — and rebuild the brand’s recognition. But in the meantime, Hains gets to read, cook, and repeat.

What’s On the Menu Hains’ first recommendation for northern Michigan home chefs is 101 Cherry Recipes, partly because she jokes she would be “kicked out” of her hometown of Traverse City if she didn’t highlight the region’s top crop.

“It’s the fruit of our land,” she says. “There are so many great recipes in there, and not just the traditional ones people think of like cherry pie. [Carole] has beverages and breads, salads, biscuits … it really does celebrate all things cherries.”

Honorable mention goes to the famous “Brownie Recipes” cookbook, which was

Mock Apple Pie Some people swear there are apples in this. Others say it tastes like lemon pie. Still others will be baffled as to what it tastes like. However, it’s guaranteed no one will say it tastes like Ritz crackers.

Carole Eberly

compiled from a Detroit Free Press brownie recipe contest.

“That is the brilliance of [Carole],” Hains says. “There was only going to be one winner of that contest, but she was smart enough to think, ‘Yes, but there are 178 other recipes.’ It’s pretty much a win for the rest of us,” Hains adds with a laugh.

Gather ’Round the Table When asked what makes the line of cookbooks special — especially in an era where we can all look up recipes online — Hains’ answer was simple.

“Food brings people together,” she says. “I think we’ve really learned to treasure what we maybe took for granted, like, ‘Ugh, another barbecue at Mom’s house.’ And now we’re like, ‘Wait, that was really a special thing that we used to do.’”

She goes on to say that “food gives us the centerpiece for those gatherings. And hopefully, we’ll soon be doing those things again, and some of these recipes make fun conversation pieces.”

• 36 Ritz crackers • 2 cups water • 2 cups sugar • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar • 2 tablespoons lemon juice • 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind • 1 to 2 tablespoons butter • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Break crackers into large chunks in the bottom of a 9-inch unbaked pie crust. In a saucepan, heat water, sugar, and cream of tartar and boil gently for 15 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and rind. Cool. Pour over crackers. Dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Adjust top crust and cut slits for steam. Bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 23

24 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

Keith Lynch (left) and Joe Guthrie

“Steaking” its Claim Harbor Springs’ Vernales Restaurant: Serving Up Michigan’s Best Chops

By Jillian Manning The No. 1 steakhouse in Michigan — according to MLive (and a vocal cadre of Northern Express readers who named its Dry Aged Tomahawk Ribeye to our first Iconic Eats list in 2018 — is nestled in Harbor Springs, serving up award-winning Wagyu beef just past the intersection of M-119 and Powell Road. Vernales opened its doors in May 2014, and according to Joe Guthrie, co-owner and director of operations, business has been going gangbusters ever since.

“The best thing that we did was realized that we had this great, fresh, shiny apple,” Guthrie says of the restaurant’s sustained success. “Instead of taking our eye off that shiny apple, we just kept polishing it. Having that mentality, of really keeping an eye on what you have, especially as you open a small business … that really was the key.”

THE PHILOSOPHY Owners Joe Guthrie and Keith Lynch have been friends since 2001 when they met while working in the hospitality industry in Harbor Springs. After 12 years, they decided to take a leap together and purchase the building that had formerly housed the Flying Dutchman restaurant and Tapparooney’s.

Although the 7,500-square-foot building had sat unused for nearly a decade, Guthrie says they were drawn to the great location — right along M-119 —and, at the time, saw an opportunity to fill a hole in the market by opening a steakhouse and bar. Extensive

renovations ensued, including the creation of four separate spaces: the Sports Bar, the Chop House, the Wine Cellar, and an outdoor patio.

“The most important thing to us was that we were a restaurant for everybody,” Guthrie says. “We have burgers and wings, and then we also have the best steaks you can buy. [Guests] will come one night, and they’ll sit in the Wine Cellar. Another night, they might just belly up to the Sports Bar. And then when their family comes to town, and they make a reservation and go sit in the Chop House.”

The concept stemmed from Guthrie’s time working in country clubs, where different outlets of the club had different menus, and inevitably guests wanted to eat poolside fare in the dining room and vice versa.

“We wanted people to eat whatever they wanted,” Guthrie says. He adds that the restaurant is built around the philosophy that “once somebody comes once, they’re going to come back.”

THE MEAT OF THE STORY While the variety keeps regulars returning, it’s Vernales’ reputation for steak that so many first-time guests come to experience. In 2015, MLive visited 25 steakhouses across the state and named Vernales as their top pick, just one year after the new restaurant had opened.

“That really put us on the map.” Guthrie says. “Being put in 14 papers in all the major downstate cities helped launch us. We had people driving up just to eat here.”

The two steaks that catapulted Vernales to fame were the 16 oz Kansas City bone-in strip and the 30 oz Tomahawk bone-in ribeye, both American Wagyu dry-aged chops. The steak menu is balanced with an Angus New York Strip ($39.95) and a Japanese A5 strip loin ($92.95), which Guthrie says is “literally the best beef you can buy.”

For those who don’t eat red meat, the seafood dishes offer just as much star power.

Guthrie says the sautéed Lake Perch is their top seller, followed by Alaskan King Crab “as big as your wrist,” and the Angry Arrabiata, which pairs a seafood medley with a spicy tomato spaghetti.

Guthrie adds that more than half of the menu is gluten-free, and that Lynch and the rest of the culinary team are always coming up with new recipes for carnivores and vegetarians alike.

UPS AND DOWNS Today, Guthrie manages the front of the house while Lynch handles the kitchen. They’re proud not only that their friendship has stood the test of time —not always a given when running a business — but also that they’ve been able to create a welcoming atmosphere for their staff along the way.

“Most of our staff has been with us for multiple years,” Guthrie says, noting that both the general manager and executive chef have worked with Guthrie and Lynch since the early 2000s. “That’s a testament to everybody buying into the culture and the family atmosphere … which is I think

we’re one of the few places that didn’t have staffing issues last year.”

He’s referring, of course, to the industrywide staffing issues that have afflicted restaurants across northern Michigan and around the country. But despite the challenges of COVID, Guthrie actually sees some bright spots for their business, saying that diners have re-embraced the fun of dining out, ordering appetizers or choosing a meal they really want instead of counting calories and being overly cautious with their pocketbook.

“I think [COVID] made people stop taking going out to eat for granted,” Guthrie says. “They’re like, ‘Should I get a burger or should I get a steak? You know what, we’re here — I’m going to get a steak.’”

THE TIME IS NOW There’s no better time to dine than during Harbor Springs Area Restaurant Week, which runs Friday, Feb. 25 though Sunday, March 6.

Vernales will be offering a three-course menu for $35, including dishes like Drunken Mussels, Seafood Alfredo, Prime Rib, and more.

The off-season is also a great time to enjoy what Guthrie describes as a “calm atmosphere” in the restaurant, with nightly specials and cozy fireplaces to ward off the February chill. Takeout is always an option too, with everything on the menu up for grabs from 11:30 to close.

Find Vernales at 3018 M-119 in Harbor Springs, by phone at (231) 242-4777, or online at vernales.com.

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 25

00 E. RUDOLPH RD. - 70 ACRES MLS# 1896477 $525,000 - NEW LISTING!

CLASSIC FINE CLOTHING WOMENS

If your’e looking for an exceptional large acreage parcel for recreation, hunting, or the utmost in privacy to build, you’ll want to check out this 70 +/- acre parcel on quiet Rudolph Road. Incredibly diverse, open meadows with antique apple trees, rolling hillsides with mature and emerging hardwoods, a stand of towering red pines and spruce trees, a meandering valley that winds its way through this special property. Zoning is Agricultural-Conservation, which allows a single family dwelling and a multitude of wildlife and ag uses. It’s located on seasonally maintained portion of Rudolf Road, which the Leelanau County Road Commission stops plowing about 300’ from the NW corner, so you’ll have to make your way east to the property and driveway if building is in your future, but it will be worth it! To walk, ski, or snowshoe (this time of year at least), you’ll want to approach it from the west off of Cedar Road, aka Co. Rd. 651, onto either Roman Road which connects to Rudolph Road, about a half mile to the north. Buyers should verify access to all utilities, measurements, and total acreage.

231-334-2758

www.serbinrealestate.com

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26 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

hours

MON–SAT 10AM-530PM SUNDAY—CLOSED

Downtown Suttons Bay LOCATED IN BEAUTIFUL

bahles.net

EST.

18 76

feb 12

saturday

HARBOR SPRINGS ICE FEST: 9am-7pm. Live ice carvings & an extravaganza of ice sculptures throughout downtown Harbor Springs.

There will also be a Know Way Out Downtown Clue Hunt. Free.

---------------------NORTH AMERICAN VASA: 9am, Timber Ridge, TC. Includes a variety of XC, fat tire & snowshoe races. Today includes the Okerstrom Freestyle 15K, George Kuhn Half Marathon Freestyle 27K, Short’s Grand Fat 35K, Short’s-N-Fat 17K, JR Vasa & Adaptive Skiers. vasa.org/race-info-new

---------------------GRASS RIVER SHIVER: Grass River Natural Area Center, Bellaire. 5K/10K Shiver Snowshoe Race Fundraiser. In-person today at 10am or any time virtually on Sat. or Sun., Feb. 12-13. $25 pre-registration; $30 race day. grassriver.org

---------------------RETURNED PEACE CORPS OF NORTHERN MICHIGAN - SNOWSHOE MEET UP: 10am-noon, Sand Lakes Quiet Area, Williamsburg. Enjoy lots of loops for all fitness levels, paces, & time available. Communicate whether you need to borrow a pair of snowshoes or have a pair to loan someone else. Layer, bring water & a snack lunch to tailgate in the parking lot afterwards. Meet at the 2nd parking lot on Sands Lakes Rd. For more info contact Kama: rpcv.nm@gmail. com. Free. rpcv-nm.peacecorpsconnect.org

---------------------SUPER SATURDAY: DRIVE THRU EVENT: 10am-noon, Michigan Works!, 1209 S. Garfield Ave., TC. Presented by Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency. Free tax drop off, lunch, diapers, COVID home tests & masks, & a chance to win prizes.

---------------------VALENTINE’S DAY TEA & CRAFTS: 10am2pm, Harbor Springs History Museum. Baked goods, hot tea, & Valentine’s Day crafts for all ages. Free. harborspringshistory.org/events/?a ction=evrplusegister&event_id=48

---------------------WINTERFEST: Downtown Beulah. Featuring a Cookie Sale, No Fee Snowmobile Poker Run, Frozen Turkey Bowling, Chili Cookoff, horse drawn wagon rides, Snowball Target Competition, Frozen Fish Toss, Rubber Duck Race, Winterfest Parade, Outhouse Sprint, fireworks on Crystal Lake & more. 231-383-1120. clcba.org/event/ winterfest/#prettyPhoto/0

---------------------LITTLE WAVES YOUNG CHILDREN’S LIBRARY SERIES: 10:30am at Petoskey District Library, & 1pm at Charlevoix Public Library. The program provides a variety of opportunities for children to discover their

gifts & interests through interactive activities with GLCO musicians. This year’s theme is “My Favorite Musical Instrument.” This month features voice & keyboard. Free.

february

---------------------SOUP & SKI: 11am-5pm, Shady Lane Cellars, Suttons Bay. The Cross Country Trail is open & groomed regularly. Enjoy a stroll through the vineyard, or link up with the Leelanau Trail for an extended journey. Afterwards, head to the Tasting Room to enjoy locally made soups for $5 a bowl & Shady Lane Cellars wine. facebook.com/ShadyLaneCellars

----------------------

12-20

send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

WINTERLOCHEN: 11am, Interlochen Center for the Arts Campus. Live-Only Experience.

Celebrate all things winter with a day of family-friendly activities. Conduct an orchestra, perform in an acting workshop, paint a mural, & so much more. End the day with a free performance of Romeo & Juliet, performed by the Arts Academy Dance Division. Free. interlochen.org/events/winterlochen-2022-02-12 SLEDDING & S’MORES: 12-2pm, Kiwanis Park, Harbor Springs. Sledding, fire pits, s’mores, hot chocolate, music, food, rides back up the hill on the Harbor Springs Fire Department’s rescue sled, & more.

---------------------SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: 12-5pm, Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay. Explore easy to moderate trails, & then warm up with a beverage on the Terrace Patio. Snowshoe rentals will be available. blackstarfarms. com/snowshoes-vines-wines

---------------------WINTER WINE WALK: 12-3pm, Otsego Resort, Gaylord. Walk from the River Cabin to the bonfire at the Beaver Dam. Along the trail, visit three wine tasting stations that are paired with light food. $38. otsegoclub.com/ event/winter-wine-walk-11

---------------------WINTERFEST AT GRASS RIVER NATURAL AREA, BELLAIRE: 12-3pm. Featuring snowshoeing & x-country skiing demonstrations & activities (weather permitting). Try your hand at crafts or listen to a nature story inside or stay outside for nature-themed games & kids’ activities like snow art. Warm up by the fire & make s’mores & enjoy hot chocolate. Free. grassriver.org

---------------------CHILI LOVE: A FUNDRAISER FOR KIDS ON THE GO: 1pm, Timberlee Hills, TC. Enjoy a chili cook-off featuring local restaurants & chefs, raffle prizes, live music, snow tubing, fire pits & more. Event proceeds go to the Kids On The Go camp program in TC, which provides free physical therapy, occupational therapy & speech therapy to children with special needs. Tickets online. secure.givelively.org/event/kids-on-the-go/chili-love

---------------------VALENTINE’S CARD WORKSHOP: 1pm, Glen Lake Library, Empire. Create a turtle or

Enjoy a free concert featuring the Cummings String Quartet on Sun., Feb. 20 at 4pm at First Presbyterian Church of Petoskey. This resident ensemble of the Great Lakes Center for the Arts’ Dorothy Gerber Strings Program features professional northern Michigan musicians who perform with both the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and GLCO. Included in the concert are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “String Quartet No. 17 in B-flat major, K. 458,” nicknamed “The Hunt,” and Antonin Dvořák’s “String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 ‘American’.” glcorchestra.org

elephant themed card, or create your own design. All materials provided. All ages welcome. glenlakelibrary.net

---------------------“ROMEO AND JULIET” BY SERGEI PROKOFIEV: 2pm & 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Witness William Shakespeare’s tragic tale of star-crossed lovers as the Arts Academy Dance Division presents the ballet adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Featuring Sergei Prokofiev’s famous score, original choreography by Director of Dance Joseph Morrissey, & stunning scenic design. Free. interlochen.org/events/romeoand-juliet-sergei-prokofiev-2022-02-12

---------------------2022 SPORTSMAN’S FELLOWSHIP BANQUET: East Bay Calvary Church, TC, Feb. 11-12. Seminar begins at 5pm on Fri. & 4pm on Sat. Speakers include Jim VanSteenhouse & Bruce Borkovich. For more info & tickets, visit web site. traverseoutdoors.com

---------------------APRES SKI PARTY WITH LEFT FOOT CHARLEY AT MT. HOLIDAY: 4-9pm, Mt. Holiday, TC. Enjoy snow, BBQ chicken sandwiches & street tacos from Chef Kiel Moser, warm cider, chilled wines & cider from Left Foot Charley, fire pits, & music from DJ Aaron of Avatar Media Productions. Kids’ tickets

We Deliver to Traverse City, Petoskey, Gaylord & Grayling!

231-676-8252

Open Mon-Sat 10-7pm & Sun 12:30-7

Torchcannabisco.com Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 27

february

12-20 CUSTOM TILE FOR YOUR HOME

will include hot cocoa & kid-friendly cuisine prepared by Mt. Holiday. Proceeds support Mt. Holiday. $15-$45. mynorthtickets.com/ events/apres-ski-party-with-left-foot-charleyat-mt-holiday-2-12-2022

---------------------WHAT’S YOUR SIGN?: 6-9pm, The Little Fleet, TC. A Mingling Event Under the Stars.

Join Up North Pride for themed cocktails & witches offering unique & guided views into your astrological chart. Free. upnorthpride. com/events/2022/1/21/whats-your-sign

---------------------LEELANAU CURLING CLUB OPEN HOUSE & WATCH PARTY: 6:30pm, Broomstack Kitchen & Taphouse, Maple City. Watch Team USA take on the world’s best in Beijing. Throw a few stones on the curling ice & try to win prizes. 10% off food & drink at Broomstack. $10. eatdrinkcurl.com

----------------------

FEATURING TRADITIONAL LAGERS AND PILSNERS GIFTS • ART TILE JEWELRY • POTTERY Enjoy “Sip & Shop” 1st Saturdays of each month!

Open Year Round in Alden, Michigan Shop our online store! www.whistlingfrog.net

OPEN DAILY! (231) 252-3552 439 E Eighth St. Traverse City

“SKIN DEEP” BY JON LONOFF: 7pm, AuSable Artisan Village Art Center, Grayling. Presented by Community Theatre. In this comedy, the lonely, lovable but large Maureen Mulligan gives romance one last chance by agreeing to go on a blind-date with the awkward, but sweet John Spinelli.

989.745.6096. $20/person. ticketstripe.com/ AAVSkinDeep22

---------------------A TIME TO SHINE: 7pm, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor. Presented by the Great Lakes Youth Choirs of Voices Without Borders. Featuring An Evening of Harmony with The Great Lakes Men’s Chorus, MonTAJJ, & CHONK performing an array of Barbershop Quartet music in a variety of music styles including doo-wop, swing, gospel, patriotic, Disney & even country. $25 VIP; $10 GA. greatlakescfa. org/events/detail/a-time-to-shine

---------------------MOONLIGHT SKI/FAT BIKE NIGHT: 7-9pm, Big M Cross Country Ski Area, Wellston. Ski or bike in the moonlight & enjoy desserts & hot chocolate afterwards. Bring your own gear. There is a $5 vehicle day pass fee to the U.S. Forest Service. Free. skibigm.org/fun-events.html

---------------------REENA CALM: 7pm, TC Comedy Club, TC. This nationally touring headliner pulls her material from a lifetime of questionable choices. She has opened for Arsenio Hall, Laurie Kilmartin, Eddie Pepitone, & others. $20-$25. traversecitycomedyclub.com/reena-calm

---------------------THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG - IN ONE ACT: 7pm, Peterman Auditorium, Elk Rapids High School. Presented by Elk Rapids High School Drama. Welcome to The Murder at Haversham Manor where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous.

An unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, & actors who trip over everything (including their lines). $5 at door.

---------------------WESTERN BRASS QUINTET: 7:30pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Theater, Petoskey. A resident faculty ensemble in the School of Music at Western Michigan University, the Western Brass Quintet has been performing for over four decades, including in concert tours in Russia, Thailand, China, Sweden, Germany, as well as at concerts in prestigious American venues such as the Kennedy Center & Carnegie Hall. $25 members, $35 non-members, $10 students. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/western-brass-quintet

---------------------LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER - 6TH ANNUAL CITY OPERA HOUSE GALA: 8pm, City Opera House, TC. A love fest featuring Broadway talent, drinks, food, friends

28 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

& love songs. Visit web site for ticket info. cityoperahouse.org/node/424

---------------------TORONZO CANNON: 8pm, Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. This Chicago bluesman is a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter & former city bus driver.

He “fuses his muscular, rock-inspired blues guitar playing with his original, keenly detailed slice-of-life songs, blazing his own blues trail.” $25 member, $30 advanced, $33 door. simpletix.com/e/toronzo-cannontickets-79511

feb 13

sunday

SKI TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW: Held at The Highlands at Harbor Springs.For $15, skiers & snowboarders can gain allday access to the slopes, with all proceeds from sales benefiting the Little Traverse Conservancy & Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council. Additional discounts are offered on equipment rentals, dining, ziplining, Sno-Go bikes & horseback trail rides. highlandsharborsprings.com

---------------------NORTH AMERICAN VASA: 9am, Timber Ridge, TC. Includes a variety of XC, fat tire & snowshoe races. Today includes the High School 6K, Lombard Loppet Classic 15K, Race Awards & Crowning of King & Queen Vasa, Vasa Fun Tour 6K, & Vasasaurus Stomp 6K. vasa.org/race-info-new

---------------------THE OUTFITTER’S 35TH ANNUAL NORDIC SKI LOPPET: 9:30am-3pm, The Outfitter of Harbor Springs. A point-to-point crosscountry ski tour on 16 miles of groomed trail from Harbor Springs to Cross Village. Skiers set their own pace & choose their mileage from multiple trailheads. Trail’s end is at the Crow’s Nest restaurant with a celebration of food & drinks. Ski rentals available.

Pre-registration & pre-payment required: 231.526.2621. petoskeyarea.com/event/theoutfitters-nordic-ski-loppet

---------------------SOUP & SKI: (See Sat., Feb. 12 except today’s times are 12-5pm.)

---------------------AIRSOFT BIATHLON: Crystal Mountain, Tennis Court Trailhead, Thompsonville. Airsoft & cross-country skiing combined. The ski trail will be a one-mile long loop with three target stations. Must be 8 years or older. Medals will be awarded for best overall, best ski time, & most targets hit for both men & women. $25/person; includes cross-country ski equipment rental & airsoft equipment.

Start times will be staggered & available between 1-3pm in groups of up to four people. crystalmountain.com/event/biathlon

----------------------

“ROMEO AND JULIET” BY SERGEI PROKOFIEV: 2pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Witness William Shakespeare’s tragic tale of star-crossed lovers as the Arts Academy Dance Division presents the ballet adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Featuring Sergei Prokofiev’s famous score, original choreography by Director of Dance Joseph Morrissey, & stunning scenic design. $19 full price; $14 student. interlochen.org/events/romeo-and-juliet-sergeiprokofiev-2022-02-13

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ORGAN: BACH, MENDELSSOHN, & FRIENDS: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Dendrinos Chapel & Recital Hall. Enjoy a varied program of organ works performed by Interlochen Arts Academy organ students. Free. interlochen.

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feb 14

monday

SINGING VALENTINES LIVE: Live quartet sings two love songs to your sweetheart in four-part harmony.

Virtual valentines use video chat; in-person present a card & rose in addition to the singing. Contact valentines@cherrycapitalchorus.org or call 231.350.8025 to order. $25 virtual; $50 in person. cherrycapitalchorus.org

---------------------KID’S CRAFT LAB: HEART STRINGS BIRD FEEDER THINGS: 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Treat the birds with hearts & spirals you make with Cheerios & pipe cleaners. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

feb 15

tuesday

STORYTIME ADVENTURES: 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Featuring “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

---------------------PETOSKEY BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5-7pm, Beards Brewery, Petoskey. Enjoy food, networking, door prizes & more. $10 members; $15 not-yet-members. petoskeychamber.com

---------------------FRIENDS MOVIE NIGHT: 6:30pm, Bellaire Public Library. Featuring “Skid Row Marathon,” documentary. PG-13. Free event with popcorn. bellairelibrary.org

---------------------GTHC PROGRAM: “HIKING SOCAL DESERT”: 7pm, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. This program is presented by Peter & Natalie Mekcarek. Free. facebook.com/GTHikers

feb 16

wednesday

LINE 5 GREAT LAKES TUNNEL UPDATE: ICE BREAKER SPEAKER SERIES: 12-1pm, held via Zoom. Join Watershed Council Policy Director Jennifer McKay to learn about the latest updates on Line 5 & where the Great Lakes Tunnel proposal stands today. Register. watershedcouncil.org/attend-an-event.html

---------------------BLACK IN SPACE: 1pm & 2:30pm, Dennos Museum Center, Dutmers Theatre, TC. These free screenings are the untold story of the decades-long battle between the U.S. & the Soviet Union to be the first superpower to bring diversity to the skies, told by the black astronauts & their families, who were part of this little-known chapter of the Cold War. Register. shop.dennosmuseum.org/ product/black-in-space/4917

----------------------

(See 30pm)

“CINDERELLA” DRESS REHEARSAL PERFORMANCE: 7:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. With Arts for All of Northern Michigan. RSVP by midnight, Feb. 8. Free. artsforallnmi.org/events

N, & Cen& Reorgan Acadochen.

ORCHESTRA: COME HEAR TOMORROW’S SOLOISTS TODAY: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Winners of the Interlochen Concerto Competition play works of Rossini, David, & Schumann. The program concludes with

-----

----------------------

award-winning Chinese composer Wong Chun-wei, a doctoral student at the University of Hong Kong, & his work, “As The Heart Soars.” $12 full price; $9 student. interlochen.org/events/orchestra-come-heartomorrows-soloists-today-2022-02-16

BOWL SUPER WITH Y SUNDA OUND SURR TVS SOUND

TO-GO OR DERS AVAILABL E 231-2524157

Sun-Thurs Noon-9pm Fri/Sat Noon-10pm

feb 17

(kitchen open noon-9pm) closed Wednesdays

thursday

TCYP QUARTERLY MEETING: 8-9am, Traverse Connect, first floor conference room, TC. Bill Marsh Jr. will speak about presenting the best version of yourself & pursuing extraordinary growth in every area of your life.

Join the Traverse City Young Professionals for a morning of networking & presentations from local community leaders. Coffee & light breakfast will be provided.

---------------------COFFEE @ TEN, PETOSKEY: 10-11am, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Theater, Petoskey.

Join artist Kelly Ingleright-Telgenhoff for a talk about her work. Her classic representational approach to depicting common still-life objects merges with surrealist elements & symbols to create a sense of mystery, confusion & intrigue. Held in-person & online.

Free. crookedtree.org/events/petoskey

---------------------KID’S CRAFT LAB: HEART STRINGS BIRD FEEDER THINGS: (See Mon., Feb. 14, except today’s times are 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm.)

---------------------INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FORUM PRESENTS CHINA: IS DÉTENTE POSSIBLE?: 6pm. A virtual event on U.S.-China relations featuring Kenneth Jarrett, former Director of Asian Affairs at the White House National Security Council & former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. $10 livestream suggested donation; free to current students & educators. tciaf.com/event-2-17-2022

TUES NIGHT PASTA NIGHT 2 pasta dinners & a bottle of wine for $52

WEDS NIGHT DATE NIGHT Buy one entree, get one 1/2 off * not available for take-out *

THURS TAKE OUT NIGHT 4:30-7:00 ~ Schedule ahead or call in that evening

FRI NIGHT DUPLICITY NIGHT Take out from 4:30-6pm/regular dining beginning at 6pm

SAT NIGHT WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND!

Regular dining, open 5:30 *We will be open on Sun Feb 20th for regular dining Open Tues - Sat @ 5:30 4566 W. MacFarlane Rd 'Burdickville' trattoria-funistrada.com reservations* 231-334-3900

DRINK SPECIALS (3-6 Monday-Friday): $2 well drinks, $2 domestic drafts, $2.50 domestic bottles, $5 Hornitos margarita SUNDAY - $6 Ketel One Bloody Mary & $4 Mimosas DAILY FOOD SPECIALS (3-6pm):

Monday - $1 chips and salsa • Tuesday - $1 enchiladas Thursday - $5 fried veggies (cauliflower or mushrooms) Friday - $5 hot pretzels w/ beer cheese

221 E State St. - downtown TC

HAPPY HOUR DRINK SPECIALS

Mon March 16- $5 martinis, $5 domestic beer pitcher, $10 craft beer pitcher.

FROM Tues OPEN-6PM - 4-8pm: The Pocket

Hours MondayKung 2pm-9pm 9pm-1am: Fu Rodeo Tues-Thurs 2pm-2am • Fri-Sun noon-2am

in the can night - $1 domestic, Wed - Get itFebruary Monday 14th - Jukebox $3 craft- w/DJ JR

Tues FebThurs 15th--$2 OpenoffMicallComedy drinks from and 8-9:30 then 10pm-2am Electric Open $2 Labatt drafts w/DJ RickyMic T Wed Feb 16th DJ Ricky T Fri March 20 - Buckets of Beer starting at $8 (2-8pm) $2 domestic drafts & $3 craft drafts from 9pm-close.

Happy Hour: The Chris Michels Band Then: The Isaac Ryder Band

Friday &21Saturday February Covers) Sat March - The Isaac Ryder 18th Band&(No19th

OddSunday Shaped March Puzzle 22

KARAOKE ( 10pm-2am) Sun FEb 20th - karaoke

941-1930 downtown TC check us out at unionstreetstationtc.net

---------------------RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA: Old Town Playhouse, TC. Forced into a life of servitude, a young woman dreams of a better life. Then, with the help of her fairy godmother, she is transformed into an elegant young lady who meets her prince at the ball.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays from Feb. 17 through March 19, starting at 2pm on Sundays & 7:30pm on all other days. Adults: $28; youth under 18: $15 (plus fees). tickets.oldtownplayhouse.com/ TheatreManager/1/login&event=358

---------------------WIND SYMPHONY: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Dr. Matthew Schlomer leads the Wind Symphony in both chamber music & large ensemble works. $12 full price; $9 student. interlochen.org/events/wind-symphony-close-and-personal-2022-02-17

feb 18

friday

WINTER WONDERLAND WEEK: Downtown Petoskey, Feb. 18-26. See the ice sculpture collection in Pennsylvania Park & throughout downtown. Then go on the Winter Wonderland Window Walk & enjoy seeing the cleverly decorated retail windows. petoskeyarea.com/event/winter-wonderland-week

---------------------ADULT & TEEN MAKE & TAKE CRAFT: Interlochen Public Library. Make a Gift for a Special Someone. Drop in between 10amnoon. Craft materials provided while supplies last. interlochenpubliclibrary.org

----------------------

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 29

INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: Downtown Charlevoix, Feb. 18-21. Find discounts on gift items, home decor, clothing, books, art, jewelry, accessories, & more at participating stores.

---------------------PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND SALE EVENT: Downtown TC, Feb. 18-20. Take advantage of the many deals in the downtown shops & restaurants. downtowntc.com/ presidents-day-weekend-sale-event

---------------------STORYTIME ADVENTURES: 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Featuring “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown. Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

---------------------LUNCHEON LECTURE: “BRAVE HEARTS”: Presented by NCMC. Held via Zoom at noon. Online presentation by Paula & Mike Brown. Paula is caretaker, assisted by her husband & military veteran Mike, at Brave Hearts Estate, a place for veterans & their families to relax & enjoy time away in a country setting at no cost. Register. Free. ncmclifelonglearning.com/event-4628545

---------------------INDIAN RIVER WINTERFEST: Feb. 1820. Today includes the Pond Hockey Tournament, free ice skating, sledding hill, & refreshment tent with live music by Yankee Station. Free. irchamber.com/event-schedule/indian-river-winterfest

---------------------PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE: SÉJOURNÉ, VENET, AND HIGDON: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium.

Featuring “Sosso-Bala” by French composer & percussionist Emmanuel Séjourné, “Omnes Trio” by Andrea Venet, & “Percussion Quintet” by Jennifer Higdon. $12 full price; $9 student. interlochen.org/events/ percussion-ensemble-sejourne-venet-andhigdon-2022-02-18

---------------------RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA: (See Thurs., Feb. 17)

feb 19

saturday

GAYLORD ALPENFROST: Today includes an Idadorad, Frosty 5K 2022, Alpine Brick Lego Tournament, Alpenfrost Post 5K Stretch, Character Meet & Greet, Alpenfrost Sound Journey, White Birch Outfitters Snowshoe Hike, & more. facebook.com/gaylordalpenfrost/events/?ref=page_internal

---------------------GLEN ARBOR PERCH FISHING CONTEST: Sign up to fish between 6-7:30am

at the Sportsman’s Shop. Fishing will take place on the Glen Lakes. Bring your catches for the weigh-in at 1pm. After fishing, warm up with a bowl of chili at the Glen Arbor Chili Cook-Off, being held at The Boonedocks in Glen Arbor between 12-3pm. 231-883-5638. $20 to enter; free to watch.

---------------------41ST ANNUAL SNO-BLAST WINTER FESTIVAL: 9am, East Jordan Sno-Mobilers Clubhouse. Includes the Classic & Antique Snowmobile Show, ORV Obstacle Course, Crowning of Winter Knight & Belle of the Blizzard, Blessing of the Sleds & ORV’s, 1st Ever Frozen Pancake Olympics, Chili Cook-Off, live music

by Country Thunder, SnowStuds Bikini Radar Run - Breast Cancer Fundraiser, & more. ejchamber.org/events/winter/sno-blast

---------------------FROSTY 5K 2022: 9am, 162 S. Court Ave., Gaylord. $30. runsignup.com/Race/MI/Gaylord/Frosty5k2022?aflt_token=vkmwDmwe Q4iCYn8otSOOnKQ3vCO8buOw

---------------------WINTER WONDERLAND WEEK: (See Fri., Feb. 18)

---------------------GUIDED SNOWSHOE HIKE: 10am, Michigan Legacy Art Park, Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville. Executive Director Angie Quinn will lead you on a tour on wooded, snowy trails to view the sculptures in the Art Park. Meet at the Art Park trailhead. If there is no snow, it will be a hike. $5/adults, children free. michlegacyartpark.org/toursworkshops/winter-art-park-tours

---------------------GUIDED WINTER HIKE: 10am-noon, Brown Bridge Quiet Area, East Overlook Trailhead, TC. Join GT Conservation District staff on an interpretive winter hike & learn about environmental topics & various projects happening on the managed parklands. Depending upon snow conditions, snowshoes or yaktrax & trekking/ski poles are recommended.

Limited snowshoes are available for adults & children upon request. Register: 941-0960.

Free. natureiscalling.org/events

---------------------INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: (See Sat., Feb. 18)

---------------------PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND SALE EVENT: (See Sat., Feb. 18)

---------------------SOUP & SKI: (See Sat., Feb. 12) ----------------------

BOOK SIGNING WITH DAVE HARDIN: Noon, Horizon Books, TC. Dave is the author of “Standpipe,” a memoir of the author’s work as a Red Cross volunteer delivering emergency water to residents of Flint. horizonbooks.com/event/book-signing-davehardin-standpipe

GLEN ARBOR CHILI COOK OFF: 12-3pm, Boonedocks, Glen Arbor. Taste unlimited samples of chili & vote for your fave. $10; $5 for those 6-12 & for those over 70; free for those under 6. 231-883-5638.

---------------------GRAND TRAVERSE BAY POLAR PLUNGE: Noon, Visions at CenterPointe, TC. Participants brave the cold & plunge into Grand Traverse Bay! You can plunge yourself, or form a team. Proceeds benefit the Special Olympics. Awards & After Splash Bash follow at the Visions Banquet Center. Free to watch; minimum $100 fundraising contribution to plunge. classy.org/event/grand-traverse-baypolar-plunge-2022/e377670 ICE FISHING AT CAMP PETOSEGA: 124pm, Camp Petosega, Alanson. Fishing gear & bait will be supplied. Warm up with hot chocolate, hot dogs, & other refreshments in the Rec Hall. 231-347-6536. Free.

---------------------OTSEGO RESORT’S CRAFT BEER TRAIL: 12-3pm, Otsego Resort, Gaylord. Enjoy a scenic winter walk from The Historic River Cabin to Beaver Dam where a bonfire will be waiting for you. Featuring four tasting stations each paired with light apps. Take shuttle from main parking lot. $38. otsegoclub.com/event/ otsego-resorts-craft-beer-trail

---------------------SNOWSTUDS BIKINI RADAR RUN: Noon, East Jordan Sno-Mobilers Clubhouse. Participants will be competing for gift baskets in three different categories: Fastest Speed, Most Money Raised & Best Decorated Sled in the Breast Cancer Theme. Held during the 41st Annual Sno-Blast Festival. facebook. com/groups/248497332461358

---------------------SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: (See Sat., Feb. 12)

---------------------WALLOON LAKE WINTERFEST: 12-4pm, Walloon Lake Village, Walloon Lake. See live ice carvings, & an antique snowmobile show on the lake. Enjoy free ice skating, hot chocolate, & bean soup with donations benefiting the Petoskey Snowmobile Club. Enjoy all day happy hour specials from Barrel Back Restaurant & giveaway prizes every hour.

---------------------WINTER SNOWSHOE EVENT: 12-5pm, Crooked Vine Vineyard & Winery, Alanson.

Bonfire, s’mores, hot chocolate & a glass of wine is included. Trail is a half mile long. Bring your snowshoes or boots - equipment is not provided. 231-203-4790. $15/person.

INDIAN RIVER WINTERFEST: Feb. 18-20.

Today includes the Pond Hockey Tournament, free ice skating, sledding hill, Poker Run hands turned in by 6pm, & refreshment tent with DJ music. irchamber.com/eventschedule/indian-river-winterfest

BLISSFEST PRESENTS LEYLA MCCALLA: 7:30pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. Leyla is a New York-born HaitianAmerican living in New Orleans, who sings in French, Haitian Creole & English, & plays cello, tenor banjo & guitar. Also livestreamed: leylamccalla.com. $10 livestream ; $25 member; $30 GA. blissfest.org

---------------------RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA: (See Thurs., Feb. 17)

feb 20

sunday

41ST ANNUAL SNOBLAST WINTER FESTIVAL: East Jordan SnoMobilers Clubhouse. Today includes the Sno-Lovers Breakfast, South Arm OV Club Raffle Drawing, & more. ejchamber.org/events/winter/ sno-blast

---------------------WINTER WONDERLAND WEEK: (See Fri., Feb. 18)

---------------------INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: (See Fri., Feb. 18)

---------------------PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND SALE EVENT: (See Fri., Feb. 18)

---------------------TRAVERSE CITY RESTAURANT WEEK: Feb. 20-26. Each participating restaurant will have a $25 or $35 three course menu during this week. Call to book your reservation with the restaurant(s) of your choice. downtowntc.com/traverse-city-restaurant-week

---------------------GAYLORD ALPENFROST: Today includes Sunday Kids Craft, Winter Rafting, & Aspen Park Cross Country Night Ski. facebook.com/ gaylordalpenfrost/events/?ref=page_internal

---------------------SNOWSHOES, VINES & WINES: (See Sat., Feb. 12)

---------------------SOUP & SKI: (See Sun., Feb. 13) ---------------------INDIAN RIVER WINTERFEST: Feb. 18-20.

Today includes Pond Hockey Finals, free ice skating, sledding hill, & refreshment tent with DJ music. irchamber.com/event-schedule/ indian-river-winterfest

---------------------RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA: (See Thurs., Feb. 17)

---------------------JAZZ (LATE) BRUNCH W/ BILL SEARS QUARTET & BOB JAMES: 3pm, GT Circuit, TC. Chateau Chantal wine & food from the Good Bowl. Proof of vaccination & masks required. For reservations email: gtcircuitjazz@gmail.com. $20 donation.

 BRUSH YOUR TEETH 3 TIMES A DAY.  FLOSS YOUR TEETH AT LEAST ONCE A DAY.  VISIT THE DENTIST TWICE A YEAR FOR REGULAR CLEANING AND CHECKUPS.  CHANGE YOUR TOOTHBRUSH EVERY 3 MONTHS.

DR. DENNIS SPILLANE & DR. SHAWN SPILLANE O V E R

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30 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

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CUMMINGS STRING QUARTET CONCERT: 4pm, First Presbyterian Church, Petoskey. The Cummings String Quartet from the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra (GLCO) will perform a free concert. The ensemble will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s String Quartet No. 17 in B-flat major, K. 458, nicknamed “The Hunt,” & Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 “American.” glcorchestra.org/concerts

office hours, M-F, 10am-5pm, or before an event. Works include oil & acrylic paintings that incorporate splashes of warm color & cool hues, & a series of graphite portraits on paper. cityoperahouse.org

ongoing

WOOD + METAL: Charlevoix Circle of Arts.

Runs through Feb. 26. Contemporary fine art meets functionality with Michigan artists: Laura Earle, Dawson Moore, Paul Rytlewski & Richard Small. charlevoixcircle.org/exhibits-2022

GTCD ANNUAL NATIVE SEEDLING SALE: Presented by the Grand Traverse Conservation District. Offering more than 25 high-quality, bare-root tree & shrub species.

This year’s selection includes four Michigan Assisted Tree Range Expansion Project (ATREP) species to support Climate Change resilience in our forests. The sale runs through March 31 with order pick-ups at the Boardman River Nature Center on April 2930. natureiscalling.org/native-seedling-sale

---------------------BELLAIRE WINTER FARMERS MARKET: Fridays, 9am-1pm, Downtown Bellaire. Held at two locations: Bee Well & Terrain. Produce, eggs, meats, honey, maple syrup, baked goods, local artists, crafts, & more.

---------------------INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays, 10am-2pm, The Village at GT Commons, The Mercato corridor in Building 50, TC. thevillagetc.com

art

FEBRUARY VISUAL ART EXHIBIT: AFFECTED BY COLOR: City Opera House, TC. Featuring the work of Mitch Truemner & Jacquie Auch. Can be viewed during box

---------------------“LOVE LANGUAGE”: Higher Art Gallery, TC. Twenty artist group show. Runs through March 14. higherartgallery.com

----------------------

---------------------CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, PETOSKEY: - PUNK DREAMSCAPE: GARCIA + MARTIN + NEMEC: Runs through Feb. 19 in Atrium Gallery. Through a combination of symbolic, illustrative & figurative imagery, midwest artists Esteban Garcia, Nick Martin & Aaron Nemec create abstract narratives that verge on the surreal. Mixed media paintings, drawings & sculptures will be on display. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/ punk-dreamscape-garcia-martin-nemec - OPEN DOORS: A JURIED EXHIBITION: Runs through March 5 in Gilbert Gallery. This juried exhibition invites artists across the nation to consider themes related to openness & accessibility. crookedtree.org/event/ctacpetoskey/open-doors-juried-exhibition - THIS IS HOME: A REGIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION: Runs through March 5 in Bonfield Gallery. This juried exhibition invites artists working throughout the Great Lakes region to consider themes related to the concept of home. crookedtree.org/event/ctacpetoskey/home-juried-exhibition

----------------------

CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, TC: - 2022 GUILD MEMBER SALON SHOW: Runs through Feb. 26, held in Gallery. A diverse assortment of work in a variety of media will be on display. crookedtree.org/event/ctactraverse-city/2022-guild-member-salon-show - TRAVERSE AREA CAMERA CLUB COMPETITION SHOW: Runs through Feb. 26 in Carnegie Rotunda. This recurring exhibition highlights award-winning photographs produced by members of the Traverse Area Camera Club (TACC). crookedtree.org/ event/ctac-traverse-city/traverse-area-camera-club-competition-show

----------------------

DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC: COLOR & SHAPE: BLACK ARTISTS FROM THE DENNOS COLLECTION: This exhibit of works by Black American artists highlights the growing legacy of this collection. Comprising 70 years of artistic prowess, the collection ranges from abstract painting to figurative drawing & digital photography. Artists include Charles McGee, Carole Harris, Felrath Hines & Dex Jones.

On view through April 3, Tues. - Sun. from 11am-4pm. dennosmuseum.org/art/now-onview/temporary-exhibits/color-shape.html NWMI JURIED EXHIBITION: The 2022 NWMI Regional Juried Exhibition submissions comprised 388 artworks from 217 artists throughout the 37-county region.

The final juried show features 94 artworks from 83 artists, with media ranging from charcoal, watercolor, & acrylics to aluminum, wood, fiber, & more. Held regularly at the Museum for 30 years, the exhibition features art made by regional artists over the last year & juried by an arts professional outside of the region. On view through May 29, every Tues. - Sun., 11am-4pm. dennosmuseum.org/art/now-on-view/tem-

porary-exhibits/nwmi-juried-exhibition.html NATHALIE MIEBACH EXHIBITION: Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Miebach’s exhibition, “Stay Healthy and Strong,” features new installations & sculptures that she completed during a 2021 residency at the Ucross Foundation in Sheridan, Wyoming.

It explores climate data & Covid trends through art. Runs through May 29. Open Tues. through Sun. from 11am-4pm. dennosmuseum.org/?utm_source=cision&utm_ medium=email&utm_campaign=DMC-Nathalie-Miebach THE ART OF: DEL MICHEL: Michel has participated in competitive & invitational exhibitions throughout the U.S. & has won many prizes. He has been selected for seven international exhibitions & is represented in numerous private, corporate, & university & museum collections throughout the U.S., Europe & Mexico. On view through April 3, Tues. - Sun, from 11am-4pm. dennosmuseum.org/art/nowon-view/temporary-exhibits/del-michel.html

---------------------GLEN ARBOR ARTS CENTER: - “PAPERWORK”: Runs through March 24.

This exhibition focuses on works on paper, & works made of paper. It features the work of 21 artists from throughout Michigan, Massachusetts, Missouri, & the nation of Chile.

Check web site for hours. glenarborart.org/ events/paperwork-exhibition - “WOODLAND STUDIES”: A small exhibition of black & white photographs by Grand Rapids photographer Rodney Martin. It runs through April 13 in the Lobby Gallery. Martin focuses his lens on the landscape. For the images in “Woodland Studies,” he zeros in on rivers, woods & orchards in Benzie, Grand Traverse & Leelanau counties. See web site for hours. glenarborart.org/events/exhibit-woodlandstudies

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 31

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MOONFALL

Traverse City Restaurant Week(s)

TRAVERSE CITY RESTAURANT WEEK FebruaryFEBRUARY 20 - February 21 - MARCH26, 6 2022

Enjoy our areas finest Enjoy two weeks of great foodfoods in thisduring EXTENDED Traverse City Restaurant Week for 2021.

Traverse City Restaurant Week Three course meals are all $25 or $35 each!

I have a pretty high tolerance when it comes to disaster movies, especially disaster movies

by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012), and especially at the movie theater during the doldrum months of January and February. But Moonfall tested my love for the tried and tested formula of explosions, toppling cities, conspiracy theorists, and fractured families. It just left me depressed — depressed by how leaden, dull, and joyless it was, by just how much of a grim state of affairs it is at movie theaters right now, and that films like this pretty much epitomize what is newly available at the multiplex.

Moonfall does not leave much to the imagination. The moon is, you guessed it, falling. And it’s a compellingly simple premise that for the first 45 minutes or so of the film, you get a decent, if not terribly scripted, movie. But then it goes and tries to explain exactly why the moon is falling and completely loses the audience.

Before the moon is falling we are introduced to astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) and his “work wife” Jacinda Fowler (Halle Berry). And believe it or not, the high watermark of the script is these two bantering about the lyrics to “Africa” by Toto. While on a mission together, a freak accident befalls the crew and leaves Harper disgraced.

Ten years later, he’s broke. He’s lost his career, she’s now an important higher up at NASA, and they are not only estranged from each other but also divorced from their respective spouses.

Then a nerdy fast-food worker who spends his free time making astrological calculations, calls himself a “mega-structuralist” (not even gonna acknowledge what that is), and may or may not have a Ph.D., enters the picture. He believes that the moon has fallen out of orbit.

What really gets me is that instead of the film’s crackpot outsider-turned-beloved audience surrogate being the one to figure out what’s happening and bring it to light, NASA also figures out what is happening at the exact same time. It’s the kind of failure of dramatic structuring that tells you all you need to know about the quality of work at play here.

Regardless, the moon is headed to earth to destroy the planet, and so these three

are loosely thrown together under wild circumstances to try and save the day — an endeavor that involves visiting a creepy Donald Sutherland in the NASA archives before his character commits suicide after divulging some major moon landing secrets.

But the best part of their moon-bound efforts is how the film takes aim at NASA’s abandonment of the space shuttle program: Here, our former astronauts have to get a space shuttle out of a museum to hitch a ride to the moon.

The worst part, though, is all the pro-Elon Musk jokes. Ughhhh.

Once earth-saving efforts are underway, peripheral characters that were introduced almost in passing in the first hour are now who we are supposed to care about: Brian and Jacinda’s children, and what I think is an au pair, try to make it to Colorado.

At the same time, we watch as New York and Los Angeles are destroyed. (In a “classy” display of restraint, One World Trade Center seems to escape unscathed.)

Then some AI operating system explains civilization-defining nonsense about the true nature of the moon. And it’s a lot to take, especially considering, by then, you won’t even care. It is truly an exposition dump of the most egregious order and should be studied in film school as what not to do.

Moonfall is truly Emmerich at half-speed (or rather, half-budget). It’s like the production spent all its money to get Halle Berry and then called it a day. And then Halle Berry cashed that check and ran away without putting in a real performance.

The film takes a page from Emmerich’s playbook as a filmmaker responsible for some of the best “bad” movies out there, but even in that, Moonfall totally misses the mark. It neither leans into its ridiculousness nor does it take itself seriously. It’s a middleof-the-road approach that pleases absolutely no one.

So just like what we discover about the moon in the film, this is a movie that is entirely hollow and brings no real gravity to the situation.

Some participating restaurants have also added a to-go option with their TCRW menus.

See reservationoptions, options, and Seemenus, menus, reservation and ourmore socialdetails media now by now visiting downtowntc.com competition by visiting downtowntc.com

PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS

Parcipating Restaurants

Aerie Restaurant and Lounge | $35 Menu amical | $35 Menu Apache Grill || $35 7 MonksTrout Taproom $25Menu menu Bahia | $35 Menu Aerie at GT Resort & Spa | $35 menu Blue Tractor | $25 Menu Amical | $25 menu Boathouse Restaurant Blue Tractor | $25| $35 menuMenu Bourbons 72 Steakhouse | $35 Menu Boathouse Restaurant | $35 menu Brasserie Amie | $35 Menu Brasserie Amie | $35 menu FireFly | $35 Menu Bubba's Burgers and Bar | $25 menu Forrest, A Food Studio | $35 Menu Firefly | $35 menu Harrington’s By The Bay | $35 Menu Forrest, A Food & Private Chef | $35 menu JollyStudio Pumpkin | $25 Menu The Good Bowl | $25 menu Mammoth Distilling | $35 Menu Harrington's

By The | $35 menu McGee’s No. 72 | Bay $35 Menu Hotel IndigoPepeNero / Warehouse Kitchen | $35 Menu | $35 menu Jolly Pumpkin | $25Menu menu Poppycocks | $35 Mammoth Distilling| $35 | $35Menu menu Rare Bird Brewpub McGee's 72 | |$35 Red Mesa Grill $25menu Menu Reflect Bistro, Inside Cambria North Peak | $25 Suites menu | $35 Menu Slate | $35 Menu Peninsula Grill | $35 menu Smoke andRistorantino Porter PublicItaliano House | |$35 PepeNero $35Menu menu Sorellina | $35 Menu Poppycocks | $35 menu Taproot Cider House || $25 $35 menu Menu Rare Bird Brewpub TheRed Cooks House | $35 Menu Ginger | $35 menu The Delamar Traverse $35 Menu Red Mesa Grill | City $25 |menu The Good Bowl | $35 Menu Reflect Bistro | $35 menu The Towne Plaza | $35 Menu SLATE | $35 menu Thirsty Fish Sports Grille | $25 Menu Smoke and Porter Public House | $25 menu Trattoria Stella| $35 Menu Sorellina | $35 menu West End Tavern | $35 Menu Taproot Cider+ House | $25Indigo menu | $35 Warehouse Kitchen Cork, Hotel Trattoria Stella | $35 menu Reflect Bistro, Cambria Suites | $35

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Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 33

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska FANTASY’S, TC DJ FRESH COAST BEER WORKS, TC 2/4 -- Dags Und Timmah!, 6-9 GT CIRCUIT, TC 2/6 -- Jazz (Late) Brunch w/ Jeff Haas Trio wsg Nancy Stagnitta, 3 LEFT FOOT CHARLEY, TC THE BARREL ROOM: 1/31 -- Barrels & Beats w/ Rob Coonrod, 6-9 LIL BO, TC Thurs. – Jazz w/ Larz Cabot, 6-9 Fri. – Live music Sun. -- Karaoke - Shooting Star Entertainment, 8

MAMMOTH DISTILLING, TC 1/29 -- Chris Smith, 6-9 2/2 -- Eric Clemons, 7:30-10:30

Record Co-op, 7 2/1 -- Open Mic, 7 2/2 -- Live Jazz Show, 6-8:30 2/4 -- Chillsonic, 7 2/5 -- Charlie Millard Band, 7

TC COMEDY CLUB, TC 1/29 -- Comedy with Derek Richards, 7

nitelife

FEB 12 - feb 20 edited by jamie kauffold

Send Nitelife to: events@traverseticker.com

THIRSTY FISH SPORTS GRILLE, TC Tues. -- Trivia, 7-9

THE PARLOR, TC 8-11: 1/29 -- Jim Hawley & Friends 2/1 -- Jesse Jefferson 2/2 -- Wink Solo 2/3 -- Jimmy Olson 2/4 -- Chris Sterr 2/5 -- Blair Miller THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO., TC 1/29 -- DJ Ras Marco D, noon2pm; Jesse Jefferson, 7 1/31 -- Vinyl Lovers w/ Eugene’s

UNION STREET STATION, TC 1/28-29 -- Scarkazm, 10 1/30 & 2/6 -- Karaoke, 10 1/31 -- Jukebox, 10 2/1 -- Open Mic Comedy, 8-9:30; Electric Open Mic, 10-2 2/4-5 -- Soul Patch & Bob Marley Birthday Bash, 10

Antrim & Charlevoix HELLO VINO, BELLAIRE 1/29 -- Doc Woodward, 7-9

SHORT’S BREW PUB, BELLAIRE 1/29 -- Blair Miller, 8-10:30 1/30 -- Reggae Sunday w/ DJs, 2-5

2/1 -- Open Mic Night, 7-10 2/4 -- Birds of Prey, 8-10:30 2/5 -- Randy Reszka, 8-10:30

Otsego, Crawford & Central BIG BUCK BREWERY, GAYLORD 6-9: 2/4 -- Nelson Olstrom 2/5 -- Pete Kehoe

SNOWBELT BREWING CO., GAYLORD 2/4 -- Radel Rosin, 6-9

Head on down to Union Street Station, TC on Fri. and Sat., Feb. 18 -19 at 10pm to rock out with Michigan band Odd Shaped Puzzle!

Leelanau & Benzie

Emmet & Cheboygan BEARDS BREWERY, PETOSKEY 1/29 -- Owen James, 6 1/30 -- Celtic/Tradition Irish Session, 5 2/5 -- Elizabeth Landry, 6 2/6 -- Drawbridge Uke Band, 5

BOYNE VALLEY VINEYARDS, PETOSKEY 2-6: 1/29 -- Chris Calleja 2/5 -- Lou Thumser

NOGGIN ROOM PUB, PETOSKEY 7-10: 1/29 -- Holly Keller 2/4 -- Mike Ridley 2/5 -- Dogwood Rhythm

MAMMOTH DISTILLING, BAY HARBOR 1/29 -- Eric Jaqua, 7-10

THE BEAU, CHEBOYGAN 2/5 -- Sam Schneider, 7-9

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, THOMPSONVILLE SLOPESIDE TENT, NEAR CRYSTAL CLIPPER CHAIRLIFT, 3-5: 1/29 -- Luke Woltanski 2/5 -- Brady Corcoran VISTA LOUNGE: 1/29 -- Dave Barth, 2-5; TC Knuckleheads, 8-11 2/4 -- Project 6, 8-11 2/5 -- Jim Hawley, 2-5; Scarkazm, 8-11

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DICK’S POUR HOUSE, LAKE LEELANAU Sat. -- Karaoke, 10-1 FRENCH VALLEY VINEYARD, CEDAR 2/3 -- Live Music, 4-6:30 LAKE ANN BREWING CO. 6:30-9:30: 1/29 -- 1000 Watt Prophets 2/4 -- The Jameson Brothers 2/5 -- Birds of Prey

ST. AMBROSE CELLARS, BEULAH 6-9: 1/29 -- Blake Elliott 2/4 -- Bill Frary 2/5 -- Luke Woltanski STORMCLOUD BREWING FRANKFORT 7-9: 1/29 -- Anna P.S. 2/5 -- i.am.james.

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So old school, we’re trendy again! the ADViCE GOddESS Dense Like Nobody’s Watching

Q

:I read your column about why women apologize more than men, and the science makes sense. What you didn’t address is why men don’t admit they’re wrong or apologize. So while women operate according to the survival instincts you described, men oafishly bumble through life without a clue they screwed up and owe someone an apology.

They don’t even know how to apologize in the first place! Explain that, science lady!

— Annoyed

A

: You’ve got loads of company in believing women default to “mea culpa” while men are all “mea do no wronga.”

And sure, as you note, I did show that women apologize more often than men — both when they realize they’ve wronged somebody and in situations where an apology is beyond ridiculous: “I’m sorry, but could you pass the salt?” Women likewise use more hinty, tentative language (“I hate to bother you”) and “whimperatives,” linguist Jerrold Sadock’s term for direct orders -- like “Stop yelling at me!” — meeked-up into questions: “Would you mind not yelling at me?” (Answer — at 90 decibels: “WELL, YEAH, I WOULD!”) Women don’t hide what they’re saying behind a bunch of verbal bramble because they’re weak.

Female indirectness seems to have evolved to help ancestral mamas (and mamas-to-be) avert conflict and avoid retaliation and physical harm. A beatdown could easily break their reproductive “machinery” or jeopardize their ability to feed and care for babies they’d had — making it “goodbye forever!” for their genes.

Because, right now in 2022, our minds are powered by antique, ancestral-era psychology, we women are still “programmed” to be mealymouths — despite how, these days, we can neatly take out any club-wielding brute with a well-aimed Hello Kitty-embossed Smith & Wesson.

However, the fact that men apologize less frequently doesn’t mean they are less willing to apologize when they’ve wronged somebody.

As social psychologist Karina Schumann put it in her research on sex differences in “apology behavior”: “Despite wide acceptance of the stereotype that women apologize more readily than men” (“more readily” being the important nuance), “there is little ... evidence to support this bias.”

Schumann had male and female undergrads keep a diary for 12 days and log each time they apologized to someone — as well as each time they or someone else did something

BY Amy Alkon they felt called for an apology. There were four categories of offenses: failed obligations (like showing up late), inconveniences (calling a wrong number), physical offenses (denting a borrowed car), and “relational” offenses (hurtful interpersonal behavior like lying, cheating, or putting the toilet paper roll on “backward”).

Schumann did find that the women apologized more than the men. But don’t gloat just yet!

Women also reported doing more things they felt called for an apology. So, you could say, “Awww...see, they care more about how their behavior affects others!” However, the women also found more of others’ behaviors objectionable and apology-worthy.

Men, on the other hand, showed more of a “whatever, dude” attitude about much of the stuff women found offensive. This attitude was reflected in research by psychologist Joyce Benenson on men’s and women’s issues with their college roommates. The women found their roommates much more obnoxious than the men found theirs: messier and louder, as well as smellier and more disgusting (“which is hard to believe,” writes Benenson, “as usually men care less than women about ... hygiene”).

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Schumann’s results suggest that “women offer more apologies than men do” (and are more likely to see an apology as necessary) “because women have a lower threshold for what constitutes offensive behavior.” This brings us to Schumann’s stereotype-debunking finding: “Men were no less willing than women were to apologize for their behavior once they categorized it as offensive.” And guess what: “Their apologies were similarly effusive.”

Male-female differences in perception can lead to ugly misunderstandings. “For example,” Schumann notes, “If women perceive offenses that their male romantic partners do not notice, women might interpret an absence of an apology as evidence that their partners are indifferent to their well-being” (rather than the natural result of leaving a man to guess what he’s done). “Similarly, men may regard their female partners as overly sensitive.”

However, the real issue seems to be that “men and women unwittingly disagree at an earlier stage in the process: identifying whether or not a transgression has even occurred.”

Understanding this — what men and women don’t understand about each other — the supposedly worst apology (bordering on criminal!) that a husband or boyfriend can give, “I’m sorry you feel hurt,” isn’t necessarily the atrocity it’s made out to be. Look to a man’s intentions. Is he generally a good-hearted guy who shows you he loves you and wants to make you happy? If so, maybe give him credit for doing his semi-clueless best. Ultimately, for a man, love means never knowing exactly why you’re sorry.

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 35

lOGY

FEB 14 - FEB 20

BY ROB BREZSNY

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Self-control might

be as passionate and as active as the surrender to passion,” wrote Aquarian author W. Somerset Maugham.

Yes! I agree! And that’s the perfect message for you to hear right now. If you choose to take advantage of the potentials that life is offering you, you will explore and experiment with the mysteries of self-discipline and self-command. You’ll be a trailblazer of discernment and poise. You will indulge in and enjoy the pleasures of self-regulation.

LIBRA

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Gayle Forman offers a set of truths that I suspect will be useful for you in the coming weeks. They may even be inspirational and motivational. Forman writes, “Sometimes fate or life or whatever you want to call it, leaves a door a little open, and you walk through it. But sometimes it locks the door and you have to find the key, or pick the lock, or knock the damn thing down. And sometimes, it doesn’t even show you the door, and you have to build it yourself.” Are you ready for the challenge, Libra? I think you are. Do whatever you must do to go through the doorways you want and need to go through.

SCORPIO

“Jonesin” Crosswords "Mixed Emotions" --feeling a little unusual. by Matt Jones

ACROSS 1. “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” genie 6. Wing measurement 10. Rack purchases, briefly 14. Burger topping 15. “Pam & Tommy” streamer 16. Singletons 17. One of the “Friends: The Reunion” attendees 20. Boo-boo 21. March time 22. Filing target 23. Yang’s complement 25. Dept. of Justice agency 26. Setting the new mark, as in the Olympics 35. Book, in France 36. Felt badly 37. “La ___” (Debussy opus) 38. Stuff in batteries 39. Chunk of grass 40. Upcoming Paramount+ series based on a video game 41. “Volare (___ Blu Dipinto Di Blu)” 42. Absolutely not 43. “___ the Mirror” (song in the Broadway musical “MJ”) 44. Call center activity 47. “Winnie-the-Pooh” character 48. “No Time to ___” (2021 Bond film) 49. Grad 51. Kiss, in British slang 54. Song from “Turandot” 58. Like Peru and Mexico 61. Sex Pistols’ genre 62. Vital spark 63. Gate part 64. Planet dwellers of film 65. Indicate boredom 66. Stated further DOWN 1. Reduplicative name in a “Bizarre Adventure” manga 2. Over again

3. Smaller version 4. Cemetery 5. “Here Comes the Hotstepper” singer Kamoze 6. Lawnmower’s building 7. Untarnished 8. “What a shame” 9. Sister or mother, maybe 10. Art made of tiles 11. Prefix for body or gravity 12. Earth sci.

13. Tax ID 18. Foreign film ender 19. Asleep, usually 24. Actor Barinholtz 25. Worry (about) 26. Mel who voiced Yosemite Sam 27. Houston campus, for short 28. Bad things 29. Gullible 30. Charitable person 31. “Zut ___!”

32. Sultanate inhabitant 33. Historical object 34. Aerial photography aid 39. Audition tape 40. Give birth, informally 42. “Prometheus” actress Rapace 43. 3-D screening 45. Certain swimwear 46. Do landscaping work 49. “___ Named Scooby-Doo” (cartoon spinoff of 1988) 50. Daily Planet reporter 51. “Transformers” actor LaBeouf 52. “Clicker beware” letters 53. Not hidden 55. Fruit peel 56. “Bus Stop” dramatist William 57. Like some steaks 58. Relaxation spot 59. Shifty 60. “A clue!”

36 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Singersongwriter Rosanne Cash described her process.

“I dream of songs,” she began. “I dream they fall down through the centuries, from my distant ancestors, and come to me. I dream of lullabies and sea shanties and keening cries and rhythms and stories and backbeats.” Scorpio, I would love for you to explore comparable approaches to getting the creative ideas you need to live your best life possible. I would love for you to draw freely from sources beyond your conscious ego—including your ancestors, the people you were in previous incarnations, gods and spirits, heroes and allies, the intelligence of animals, and the wisdom of nature. The coming months will be a favorable time to expand your access.

Start boosting the signals now!

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Author

Madeleine Thien has lived in Vancouver, Montreal, and Iowa City, and has taught at schools in Hong Kong and Brooklyn. Her father was born and raised in Malaysia and her mother in Hong Kong. She has a rich array of different roots. Not surprisingly, then, she has said, “I like to think of home as a verb, something we keep recreating.” That’s an excellent meditation for you right now, Sagittarius. And it will continue to be worthy of your ruminations for another four months. What’s the next step you could take to feel comfortable and secure and at peace?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The fastest

animal on earth is the peregrine falcon, which can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour when it dives from a great height. The seventh-fastest creature is the humble pigeon. Having been clocked at 92.5 miles per hour, the bird outpaces the cheetah, which is the fastest land animal. I propose we make the pigeon your spirit creature for the coming weeks.

On the one hand, you may seem mild and modest to casual observers. On the other hand, you will in fact be sleek, quick, and agile. Like the pigeon, you will also be highly adaptable, able to thrive in a variety of situations.

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): In 1961, Piscean

cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to orbit the Earth in a spacecraft. As his feat neared its end, Gagarin left the capsule at 20,000 feet above the ground and parachuted the rest of the way. He arrived in a turnip field where a girl and her grandmother were working. They provided him with a horse and cart so he could travel to the nearest telephone and make a call to get picked up and brought back to headquarters. I foresee a metaphorically comparable series of events transpiring in your life, Pisces. Be flexible and adaptable as you adjust to changing conditions with changing strategies. Your exceptional and illustrious activities may require the assistance of humble influences.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’re slipping

into a phase when stuff that has been invisible will become visible, at least to you. You will have extra power to peer beneath the surfaces and

discern the hidden agendas and study the deeper workings.

Your interest in trivia and distractions will dissipate, and you’ll feel intensified yearnings to home in on core truths. Here’s your guiding principle during this time: Favor the interests of the soul over those of the ego. And for inspiration, have fun with this quote by religious scholar Huston Smith: “The Transcendent was my morning meal, we had the Eternal at lunch, and I ate a slice of the Infinite at dinner.”

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “You cannot have

fun with anything that you don’t love or admire or respect,” declared comedian Mel Brooks. I agree!

The joyous release that comes through playful amusement is most likely to unfold when you’re in the presence of influences you are fond of. The good news, Taurus, is that in the coming weeks, you will have a special inclination and knack for hanging around people and influences like that. Therefore, you will have an enhanced capacity for mirth and delight and pleasure. Take full advantage, please! As much as possible, gravitate toward what you love and admire and respect.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “The thing

about inspiration is that it takes your mind off everything else,” says Gemini author Vikram Seth. I bring this truth to your attention because I believe you will soon be the beneficiary of steady, strong waves of inspiration. I also predict that these waves will transport you away from minor irritations that are best left alone for now. Be alert and ever-ready to spring into action, my dear, so that as the inspirational surges flow, you will harvest the maximum rewards from their gifts.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The advice that

Reb Nachman of Breslov offered two centuries ago is just right for you now: “Never ask directions from someone who knows the way, or you will never be able to get lost.” In the coming weeks, you will attract tricky but palpable blessings from meandering around without knowing exactly where you are. It’s time for you to find out what you don’t even realize you need to know; to stumble upon quiet little wonders and marvels that will ultimately prove to be guideposts for your holy quests in the future. Yes, I understand that being in unknown territory without a reliable map isn’t usually a pleasure, but I believe it will be for you. PS: Our fellow Cancerian, author Rebecca Solnit, wrote a book entitled A Field Guide to Getting Lost. It might be helpful during your wanderings. Read a summary of it here: tinyurl.com/GuideToGettingLost

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “You face your greatest

opposition when you’re closest to your biggest miracle,” wrote author and filmmaker T. D. Jakes. According to my analysis of upcoming astrological omens, that’s good advice for you. I suspect that the problems you encounter will be among your best and most useful ever. With the right attitude, you will harness the challenges to generate magnificent breakthroughs.

And what’s the right attitude? Proceed with the hypothesis that life is now conspiring to bring your soul exactly what your soul needs to express its ripest beauty.

VIRGO

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Always remember this,” said actor Hattie McDaniel (1893–1952). “There are only 18 inches between a pat on the back and a kick in the rump.” Metaphorically speaking, I believe her advice will be useful for you in the coming days. Lately, you’ve had to deal with too many experiences and influences akin to kicks in the rump. But now that will change. Soon there’ll be a surge of experiences and influences that resemble pats on the back. In my estimation, you have finished paying your dues and making course corrections. Now it’s time for you to receive meaningful appreciation and constructive approval.

FRO M FA R M TO FO R K C URRE N T LY O P E N F O R P R I VAT E B O O K ING S O NLY OP EN I N G L AT E S P R I NG / E AR LY S U MME R F O R R E GU L A R DI NI N G

135 1 2 PE N IN SUL A DR • O LD MI SSI ON M I SS I O N TA B L E . N E T • @ M I SS I O N TA B L E • 2 3 1 . 2 2 3 . 4 2 2 2

Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 37

NORTHERN EXPRESS

CLA SSI FIE DS ALL SEASONS HANDYMAN AND HAULING: Call Mike for your seasonal power wash, hauling away junk, anything.231-871-1028 _____________________________________ PICTURE WITH THE EASTER BUNNY!: Come have your picture taken with the Easter Bunny and receive a 4x6 photo with a collectible photo frame! Professional pictures done by A Touch of Joy Photography. For more info or tickets, click this link... www.facebook.com/ events/1122493635220665 or northernmievents. ticketleap.com/picture-with-the-easter-bunny/. _____________________________________ BOUTIQUE WINERY NOW HIRING: Crooked Vine Vineyard & Winery is hiring friendly and energetic people to work in our tasting room. Must be at least 18 years of age and available to work weekends. Position is parttime but may be adjusted as needed. Earn $15/ hour + tips! Send email to Stephanie Milo at crookedvinewinery@gmail.com to learn more! _____________________________________ PAID JOB TRAINING FOR 55+: Part-time positions waiting to be filled. Paid job training for qualifying seniors. Must be unemployed, seeking work and meet program guidelines.

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CLIENT ACCOUNT SPECIALIST Prout Financial Design is looking for a Client Account Specialist. The Client Account Specialist performs operations and tasks to ensure our customer accounts are accurately and flawlessly managed and maintained. This role will support our clients through the preparation and submission of authorized paperwork, verification of accuracy of transactions and provides customer service support for client phone inquiries. This candidate will prepare paperwork, verify transactions, answer client questions and prepare forms. Apply today! https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?from=appsha reios&jk=4aed0a5145d1403c _____________________________________ PICTURE WITH THE EASTER BUNNY! Come have your picture taken with the Easter Bunny and receive a 4x6 photo with a collectible photo frame! Professional pictures done by A Touch of Joy Photography. For more info or tickets, click this link... www.facebook.com/ events/1122493635220665 or northernmievents. ticketleap.com/picture-with-the-easter-bunny/.

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38 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

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Northern Express Weekly • february 14, 2022 • 39

40 • february 14, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly