Lynda Wheatley | Author

The Cooks’ House TV Dinners

May 16, 2020

Every week, 4pm–8pm Tuesday through Saturday, in addition to an insanely delicious assortment of singular takeout dishes, The Cooks’ House offers the most on-point pandemic meal options we’ve seen: a $20 TV dinner for one. Last week was a to-die-for chicken parmesan serv... Read More >>

Join The Pandemic Pedal in Benzie & Alone But Together Bike Ride in TC

May 16, 2020

The biggest annual fundraiser for the Benzie Sunrise Rotary — Bike Benzie’s Up North Bike Fest — just hucked the hole that is COVID-19.

Event chairperson Bill Kennis tells Northern Express “Our amazing sponsors still wanted to contribute to our... Read More >>

How to Honor Memorial Day 2020

May 16, 2020

This year would have marked the 50th anniversary of the longest-running free Memorial Day historical program in the United States: the North’s Fort Michilimackinac Historical Reenactment Pageant, in which 400+ “cast members” converge in Mackinac City to dramatize the 176... Read More >>

Bel Lago’s Leelanau Primavera (& More!)

May 16, 2020

It’s always seemed a bit short of a shrift that moms — those bearers of babes, slaves to tantrum-ing tots, and saints for a lifetime — get celebrated one measly day out of 365. Thanks then to three local merchants who, the day after Mother’s Day, announced they&rsq... Read More >>

Good News: Harbor Springs Auction Extended

May 16, 2020

Thanks to an overwhelming response, the Shop & Support Harbor Springs Small Business online auction — which raised $18K for local businesses in 10 days — has been extended another week. Now, you have until May 24 to bid (or sometimes buy outright) items like a sterling sil... Read More >>

Keeping the Taste Alive

May 9, 2020

They don’t call northern Michigan the foodie capital for nothin’. Restaurant seats might remain turned over atop their respective tables for a little longer, but much like our native wildflowers, some of the region’s restaurants are emerging from the freeze — some ... Read More >>

You might actually find a morel mushroom this year.

May 9, 2020

So the world is facing a cataclysmic health and economic emergency. But you know what else? The conditions for finding morel mushrooms have never been better. 1) Spring temperatures are rising. (We think. We’ve been wrong 19 times since March began.) 2) For the first time in decades... Read More >>

Put Up Your Cukes: $10 Self-Paced Food Preservation Course

May 9, 2020

Michigan’s garden centers have been allowed to reopen, and here in northwest lower Michigan — that’s Zone 5, for all you green gardeners out there — planting season starts … now. If you’re giving a food garden a go this year, consider going big (or jus... Read More >>

Feels like Stealing: Harrington's Buy One, Get One Meal Deal

May 9, 2020

We won’t lie to you — it feels a little like stealing when you take advantage of the buy-one-get-one deal at Harrington’s by the Bay in Traverse City. Especially when you get back home, roughly 30 minutes after placing your order, bearing a fabulous squash soup and four ... Read More >>

Tails to Trails is Going Virtual

May 9, 2020

Much like a dog who spies an unmanned steak at eye level, TART Trails’ annual Tails to Trails fundraiser cannot be stopped. Instead of gathering hundreds of humans and pups for a single morning’s romp in the woods, this year TART is inviting folks (and their four-legged sideki... Read More >>

Acoustic's Electric BzZz

May 2, 2020

The good folks at Acoustic Tap Room are sensitive to our needs right now. Until the end of May, they are discounting their howlers … deeply: 20 percent off premium cysers, 30 percent off meads, and a staggering 50 percent off ciders. As our current need is for the sweet fruit and f... Read More >>

Parkside DIY Sammies & MABS' Atomic Mustard

May 2, 2020

These days, we’ll take excitement wherever we can get it — and for those of us stuck at home, that’s primarily in the kitchen. Which is why we’re letting you know about one of our favorite refrigerator residents, MABS’ Atomic Mustard.

Petoskey&rsq... Read More >>

Virtue Cider Rosé

April 25, 2020

Two things drew us to seek out and select a six-pack of Virtue Cider Rosé. One, it’s advertised as “an all-day drinker.” Conveniently, in this sixth week of quarantine, so are we! (Though we don’t recommend advertising it.) Two, it boasts a curiously complem... Read More >>

The Bread Lady’s Loon Cookies

April 25, 2020

To bring awareness to her beloved water birds (and her burgeoning bakery business), Rachel Beckwith — aka The Bread Lady of Lake Ann —
chose the Common Loon to be the icon of The Bread Lady logo and what might be the coolest and (sweetest/softest/perfect amount of crunch... Read More >>

Parallel 45 Says the Shows Must Go On — Even if Not Their Own

April 19, 2020

Quick on the heels of Parallel 45’s recent cancellation of its upcoming summer season at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center, Artistic Director Kit McKay announced that the group is creating a Virtual Summer Season instead. (Click here to stay ... Read More >>

Nada’s Veggie and Beef Boureks

April 18, 2020

Usually, we’re all about Nada’s fresh-made hummus, chicken schawarma pita (so garlic-y good and with a wonderfully mean punch of pickle), and tabbouleh (parsley, bulgur wheat, green onion, and tomato dressed with bright lemon juice and olive oil).

But with things a... Read More >>

Short’s London Fog

April 18, 2020

Short’s Brewing Company’s Soft Parade Shandy has officially hit store shelves (an event the Short’s gang heralded by adding it to the beers available for direct delivery to residents in Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Kalkaska counties).

Normally, we’d be s... Read More >>

Be a Real-Life Bigs Mentor, Virtually

April 18, 2020

Over the past 17 years, Traverse City’s Tony Anderson has run — and finished! — 50 marathons, every single one to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan, which connects kids in need with supportive mentors. The pandemic derailed plans for his f... Read More >>

Rebel Bread

April 11, 2020

Now seems like a good time to carb load. And if you’re going to do it, we suggest you do it well (i.e. no preservatives, corn syrup, soy lecithin, hydrogenated soybean oil, or other unnecessary crud) and inexpensively by packing $100 or more on one of Common Good Bakery’s Rebe... Read More >>

Potter’s Wedding Cookies

April 4, 2020

Wedding cakes are wonderful, sure, but serving something different — even if it’s just dessert — helps your wedding stand apart from the standard celebration. If we had to do it all over again, we’d skip the cake and take-home gift for wedding guests, and instead s... Read More >>