Anna Faller | Author
Building a Pollinator Garden Up North: MSU Experts Advise
May 10, 2025
A pollinator garden is a habitat designed to benefit pollinators, the animals and insects that help plants reproduce, whose numbers have recently been on the decline around the world due to factors like habitat degradation, climate change, and human interference. In fact, Michigan’s b…
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The Bake Shoppe's Sourdough
May 10, 2025
Healthy eats meet oven magic at The Bake Shoppe of Traverse City. Tucked into the Garfield Centre complex, this hidden gem has been cranking out cookies, pastries, and other all-natural treats since 2007. While you might head in for something sweet, it’s the racks of freshly baked bre…
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Modern Bird's Chamomile Pisco
May 3, 2025
We don’t know about you, but we’re going a little nuts waiting on warm beach days and bathing suit weather, so we’re giving the sun gods an extra nudge by sipping on the Chamomile Pisco Sour at Modern Bird. Crafted in homage to the bright-meets-bundled balance of early spr…
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The Big Three: Parking, Branding, and Housing
May 3, 2025
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore draws a staggering 1.5+ million visitors every year. Managing that level of tourist traffic poses a challenge for the area’s small gateway communities, those within the 30-mile swath between Frankfort and Leland that serve as park access points.<…
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Millie & Pepper's Cuban Crepe
April 26, 2025
We’re all about lunch we can take on the go, and the cult-favorite Cuban crepe from Millie & Pepper in Traverse City is our new go-to! Inspired by the eponymous sandwich, this street-style crepe stacks house-roasted mojo pork—seasoned with cumin, oregano, lime, and orange ju…
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Brengman Family Wines' Riesling Trocken
April 19, 2025
With the spring sun finally in the sky, we’re craving a sip that’s just as bright, and the 2022 Riesling Trocken from Brengman Family Wines drinks like bottled fresh air. Named for its minimal sugar content—“trocken” translates to “dry” in German&md…
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A Guide for the Pot Newbie
April 12, 2025
Michigan is now home to over 1,000 cannabis dispensaries and tenfold more cannabis products. As a newbie, navigating the evolving world of weed can feel, well, hazy. Where do you start? What effects can you expect? Can cannabis really help with sleep and pain, or is it just for fun?
Sugar 2 Salt's Scones
April 12, 2025
If we are what we eat, then everyone should probably be feeling more joy from freshly-baked scones—in particular, the scratch-made selection at Sugar 2 Salt in Traverse City! The crumbly-golden specialty of co-owner and seasoned baker Stephanie Wiitala, these pastry nuggets are crafte…
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Three Trees Vineyard’s Folk Singer
April 5, 2025
Three Trees Vineyard in Suttons Bay is all about cultivating harmony—in their low-intervention wine varietals, in the land, and in the local community—and they’ve hit a true high note in the 2021 vintage of their signature Folk Singer Cabernet Franc. Featuring all estate-g…
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Laughing Out Loud: TC Comedy Fest Returns in April
March 22, 2025
The Traverse City Comedy Fest is preparing for its rambunctious return April 10-12, 2025. Now entering its third year, TCCF was launched in 2023 in part to tick the local arts box (especially with other high-traffic events like the Traverse City Film Festival now defunct), but also to stimu…
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Silver Spruce + Francisco's Black Truffle Cheese Pizza
March 22, 2025
Does it get better than a frosty craft beer paired with a killer slice of pizza? We’re all in on the Black Truffle Cheese Pizza at Silver Spruce Brewing Co., the star of a new menu in collaboration with Francisco’s Market & Deli in Traverse City. The magic of this unparallel…
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Gypsy Spirits' Bee's Knees
March 15, 2025
With temperatures finally above freezing and glimpses of sun in the sky, it only feels right to boost the vibes with the Bee’s Knees cocktail at the newly-opened Gypsy Spirits Tasting Room in downtown Traverse City. Based on a 20th century classic, this refined sip blends local floral…
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Why No NA Beer?
March 8, 2025
Back in Dry January, we set out to find a local non-alcoholic beer and found…almost nothing. While alternative sips like seltzers and hop waters are common Up North, NA beers akin to Athletic Brewing or O’Doul’s are tough to find on taproom menus.
Within the …
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Charles and Reid’s Lorenzo
March 8, 2025
Prepare your stomachs, pizza fanatics! There are some tasty surprises in the works at Charles and Reid in Traverse City, from take-and-bake goodies and new appetizers to freshly-crafted pizza combos. With spring break just around the corner, find us stuffing our faces with the Italian-inspi…
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Roaster Jack's Kenya Peaberry
March 1, 2025
Ever heard of a coffee peaberry? It’s a special bit of nature’s magic that occurs when the stem of a coffee plant produces one seed instead of the usual two and packs it with the unique flavors of where it was grown. It’s also the buzz-worthy star of Traverse City’s …
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Could a North-South Passenger Train Be Running by 2030?
Feb. 22, 2025
It’s no secret that Michigan transportation is largely a no-car, no-go situation.
A modern passenger rail system, though—in particular, a line between statewide hubs—could streamline local travel. That’s the hope of the North-South Passenger Rail Project, a d…
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9 Bean Rows' Rum Raisin Brioche Feuillette
Feb. 22, 2025
There’s nothing like a fresh-from-the-oven treat to warm your toes (and taste buds), and even sub-zero temps are no match for 9 Bean Rows’ Rum Raisin Brioche Feuillette. Inspired by French patisserie fare, this decadent little confection takes the classic croissant up a notch by…
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Muskrat Distilling's Winter Spritz
Feb. 15, 2025
Old-school mixology meets Michigan flair at Muskrat Distilling in Boyne City. Opened in 2022, this small distillery is slinging a menu of pre-Prohibition-inspired cocktails, all featuring their line of craft spirits like the masterful Aperitivo, made with 10 botanicals, including grapefruit…
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The Other Side of Love
Feb. 8, 2025
According to recent census data, the divorce rate in the United States accounts for nearly half that of first marriages.
It’s a sobering statistic. But while these numbers might seem negative, divorce can also mark a fresh start. When combined with the right resources and know…
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Maple + Batter's Breakfast Charcuterie Board
Feb. 8, 2025
We don’t know about you, but we love a big breakfast, especially one that lets us have our cake—pancakes, that is—and eat it, too! Enter: the Breakfast Charcuterie Board ($18) at Maple + Batter in Bay Harbor. Modeled after the trendy appetizer, this AM smorgasbord is perfe… Read More >>