Lynda Wheatley | Author
To-Go Delights at The Dish Cafe
Aug. 24, 2019
Traverse City’s The Dish Cafe — long a go-to spot for quickly prepared eat-in and take-out breakfast, lunch, and snacks — unveiled a new look, expanded menu and hours, and a full bar a few years ago. Most recently, they made life even better for those folks who...
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King Orchards' Cherry Soda
Aug. 17, 2019
The tart cherries are poppin’ at Central Lake’s King Orchards — and so are the tops off the family-owned orchard’s latest product: its newly released farm-crafted cherry soda with a twist of lime. Bubbly and sweet with just a wee bit of refreshing pucker, the soda ...
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Beards Brewery’s Luna Persica
Aug. 10, 2019
Legend has it that, in 1873, a newspaper reporter described then-little-known Petoskey as the “Land of the Million Dollar Sunsets.” The city has capitalized — and delivered — on the phrase ever since, but perhaps no one quite so well as Beards Brewery. Two years ag...
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Black Star Farms' 2017 Sur Lie Chardonnay
July 20, 2019
Maybe you think you don’t like Chardonnay. Understandable. Although it’s a malleable grape that springs well from just about any growing region in the world, its ubiquitousness seems to have branded it a wine that is — and sometimes tastes — all too common. Thankfu...
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Bud’s Moscow Mule Ice Cream
June 22, 2019
Tastemaker: Bud’s Moscow Mule Ice Cream
A single bite of Bud’s Moscow Mule ice cream is all the buzz you need. Light and lime-y, with a tiny bit of an effervescent bite, it’s alcohol-free and as refreshing as a summer scoop should be. Best of all, sometimes you can ...
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Up North Pride's Jonny and Elon Cameron
June 17, 2019
The founders of Traverse City-based Up North Pride, Jonny and Elon Cameron, met when they were 25 and 28 years old. Over their past 17 years together, they’ve navigated a move from Chicago to northern Michigan, marriage, and — weeks after leaving a job, building a new home...
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May 25, 2019 Doesn’t matter if you’ve got your own boat, a kayak, or a plastic raft. If you’re going for a float, salty snacks are required. And we swear on summer you can do no better than Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels. Some magical blend of butter and tongue-tickling spices that a...
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May 25, 2019 Go for the whitefish paté — one of Toski Sands Market’s most famous housemade treats — but plan to linger a long, long time (and then some more) over the gourmet market and party store’s beer selection. More than 340 varieties are stacked on the shelves, and...
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May 11, 2019 The quietly but quickly growing Bay View Wine Trail is under the radar no more. Thanks to a fresh rebrand, the now 12-member group of wineries near the Tip of the Mitt — think Ellsworth, Alanson, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, and Walloon — is now the (exceptionally SEO- andwine-lo...
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May 4, 2019 The irony of a revered, century-old butcher shop installing a salad bar on its customer floor isn’t lost on us. But honestly, irony has never tasted so fresh and delicious. Or been so fairly priced. In a snub to conventional salad bars, Maxbauer Specialty Meat Market lays out a mode...
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May 4, 2019 Finding a fruity beer whose flavor is obviously fake or undeniably cloying isn’t easy. Finding one that doesn’t exhaust your palate after just one is even tougher. That’s why our editor was so excited about New Belgium’s Passion Fruit Kolsch. A light-bodied pilsner...
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March 16, 2019 Whether you’re kicking off your vacation or stuck here pretending to take one, the Flap Jack Shack will put you in full Bahama-momma mode. Every Saturday and Sunday, the retro-style diner rewards those who willing to wait in its ever-present (but fast-moving) weekend lineup with one...
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March 2, 2019 You might credit the low-carb wave for your whittling your middle, but we blame it for washing away the white-flour wonder of a pre-meal bread basket. That’s why we’re especially grateful for the City Park Grill, which hasn’t served a single meal in more than 20 years wi...
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Feb. 16, 2019 Look, we like huddling up under a comforter by a roaring fire as much as the next guy. But by the end of a February filled with more blizzards, black ice, and school closures than you can shake a snow shovel at, stir crazy does starts to seem like a valid entry for the sixth edition of th...
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Feb. 9, 2019 Forrest Gump says life is like a box of chocolates, but if you ask us, it should be a lot more like Cheboygan Brewing Co.’s Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout (ABV 6.8%.) Rich, hearty as hell, sweet and bittersweet in meaningful proportions, complex enough to be interesting, mildly bubb...
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Feb. 9, 2019 Doesn’t matter if your love is a pint-sized peanut, a vegan, or an ultra-picky chocoholic — Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire has the last-minute Valentine’s Day treats you need to show you’re sweet on her or him. Run in and pick up a couple petite heart-...
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Feb. 2, 2019 Mark Baker was a Michigan State University public health graduate with a dream: He imagined he’d be fighting Ebola outbreaks in Africa. Instead, he ended up watching out for salmonella in northern Michigan. No matter; he found his way to fulfil his need for heat — and helping ...
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Jan. 26, 2019 Had enough of that whole “eat healthy” resolution yet, Slim? Your timing couldn’t be better. We just got turned on to the Netherlands’ way of doing coffee, and it has completely reframed our impression of what constitutes a breakfast of champions. All you need to g...
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Jan. 19, 2019 Of all the winning cocktails and warm-ups on the Trophy Room menu, nothing says “snow bunny vacay” like its Snowflake Martini. Captain Morgan’s Loco Nut rum puts a little crazy in your day, while Rumhaven — a combo of premium Caribbean rum, pure cane sugar, and coc...
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Jan. 19, 2019 Several years and one broken food processor later, Kingsley-born and raised Anna Sullivan and her husband, Sean, have found nutrition-bar nirvana: They’ve created and launched their own line of plant-based nutrition bars, all of which are packed with superfoods like kale, quinoa, al...
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Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels
Toski Sands’ Six-Packs
Petoskey Farms’ 2018 La Crescent
Maxbauer's Salad Bar
New Belgium’s Passion Fruit Kolsch
Flap Jack Shack's Mimosa
City Park Grill's Biscuits
Get . Out.
Cheboygan Brewing Co.'s Chocolate Covered Cherry Stout
Grocer’s Daughter Chocolates
Grand Traverse Sauce Co.’s DD214
Daelmans Stroopwafles
Trophy Room’s Snowflake Martini
Real Food Bars