Best of NM 2012 Hair Salon: Bayside Salon Window displays: Lima Bean Place to pamper your pet: SunDog Boarding Kennel Art gallery: Michigan Artist Gallery Stylish resale shop: Jaffes Store staff: Lima Bean Independent apparel: Lima Bean;Cotton Seed TIE Men’s store: Bahle’s.

Best of NM 2012 serve as the corridor to the north. Surrounded by water, woods and chocked full of history, it’s the last stop before folks say ‘Ya’ to da U.P. But this region is more than a pit stop for visitors, it’s home to eclectic shops, cool hangouts, good food and plenty of spirits.

Dining Rick Coates Finding authentic “fish and chips” is not always an easy task as there are lots of “posers” out there. The Little Traverse Inn Gastro Pub located on the Leelanau Peninsula between Glen Lake and Leland (at the former North location) offers a signature fish and chips dish prepared in the English tradition.

Dining Ross Boisonneau But in the years since, their patrons have helped the restaurant evolve. While it still boasts some surprises, the Cedar Rustic Inn now specializes in what some might think of traditional food, such as pot roast and fried chicken, but all expertly prepared.

Dining Kristie Kates “There has been a long-standing myth that The Rowe is an old cottage,” Webb says, “but it has always been a restaurant, and the name comes from the Rowes. Wes Westhoven bought the building in 1972, and brought the idea of ‘farm to table’ to Northern Michigan at that time.