Food
Sleeping Bear, Meet Slurping Bear
A new Asian eatery debuts in Frankfort
By Abby McKiernan | June 28, 2025
In the heart of downtown Frankfort, a new culinary experience is taking root. Slurping Bear Asian Bistro, the latest creation of Ed Carrella and his business partner Tim Potter, brings a fresh take on Asian-inspired comfort food while honoring the local culture and the legends that shape this unique area. Carrella’s path to opening Slurping Bear began long before he even considered moving to Frankfort. Raised in a family-owned pizzeria in the … Read More >>
Artisan's Chicken Saltimbocca
Tastemaker
June 28, 2025
You’ve never had Chicken Saltimbocca like this. (In fact, on the menu at Traverse City’s Artisan, “Saltimbocca” is even in quotes.) In place of the traditional prosciutto-wrapped cutlets, the chefs at Artisan have made flavor-packed chicken polpettes, aka tender and petite chicken meatballs. Ribbons of summer squash are mixed in with crispy slices of salty prosciutto, all sitting atop a base of creamy lemon risotto. The resulting dish ($38) feels summery and … Read More >>
Seismoto Coffee's Banana Bread Matcha
Bottoms Up
By Anna Faller | June 28, 2025
It’s officially hot out, and you know what that means: iced coffee! For our next summer beverage obsession, try the Banana Bread Matcha latte at Seismoto Coffee Bar in Traverse City. The latte isn’t technically coffee, but with its base of finely ground green tea leaves—Seismoto uses the ceremonial-grade stuff from Chamberlain Coffee, whisked to order—it packs just enough of a caffeine pop to kick-start even the sleepiest morning. To complement the … Read More >>
Chubby Unicorn's Breakfast Burrito
Tastemaker
By Anna Faller | June 21, 2025
While we already love Chubby Unicorn in Traverse City for their stacked sandwiches and scratch-made soups, we didn’t know that this day dining gem also makes one heckuva breakfast burrito. Originally a featured item made permanent—because it’s just that good!—this flavor-packed wrap is stuffed with fluffy scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, breakfast sausage, classic Pace picante salsa, and a schmear of homemade bacon jam. It’s all rolled up in a cheddar tortilla, sprinkled … Read More >>
Playa Bowls' Blue Mermaid Wave
Bottoms Up
June 21, 2025
Ready to take a trip under the sea just steps away from Grand Traverse Bay? Stop into downtown TC’s Playa Bowls and grab a bottle of the Blue Mermaid Wave juice ($7.50). The ingredients start off familiar—filtered water, organic lemon, simple syrup—and then get a little oceanic with the addition of blue spirulina, which gives the drink its signature hue. Blue spirulina is the dried form of blue-green algae that has been … Read More >>
Three Years at The Mill
Glen Arbor’s old grain mill-turned-restaurant looks forward to a new summer
By Ross Boissoneau | June 14, 2025
The Mill in Glen Arbor is an example of an ongoing evolution. Built over a century ago to serve local farmers and residents, milling their grain into flour, today it is fast becoming a must-stop for visitors and residents alike. It offers freshly baked goods, a concise breakfast/lunch menu, and a variety of higher-end dinner options—make that supper options. “Things are good. This is season three for the café and season two … Read More >>
The Pit Spitters’ Cherry on Top
Tastemaker
By Todd VanSickle | June 14, 2025
Traverse City Pit Spitter baseball fans now have the option of adding a cherry on top of anything. Per Traverse City Pit Spitter General Manager Jacqueline Holm, “For an extra 50 cents, we now have a button on our cash register that you can get a cherry on a hot dog, a beer, nachos, anything.” There were more than 600 submissions for this year’s concessions, and eight finalists made the cut after … Read More >>
Birdy’s Low-ABV Wine Spritzers
Bottoms Up
By Anna Faller | June 14, 2025
Birdy’s low-ABV wine spritzers were inspired by summers spent in northern Michigan. These crisp and quenching (and organic!) bevvies are the collaborative creation of Up North-enthusiast siblings Callie Guman Furste and Tad Gruman and the Oosterhouse brothers of TC’s Bonobo Winery. Each can is artfully crafted by Bonobo’s “mad scientist” winemaker, Cornel Olivier, using the winery’s estate-grown Chardonnay grapes and a touch of finishing effervescence, and are dealcoholized for a sessionable ABV … Read More >>
Simple, Scratch-made, and Seasonal at Leto’s Osteria
New Petoskey eatery opens to warm reception
By Ellen Miller | June 7, 2025
Folks in Petoskey craving authentic Italian need look no further than Leto’s Osteria, which opened in April in the heart of downtown. From general manager Todd Chinnock and chef Ray Kumm, Leto’s Osteria takes the place of POUR, which had a loyal following among locals and visitors alike. Happily, the transition to Italian has been well received. (POUR, an Asian-fusion concept, had an extremely popular burger; Chinnock and Kumm emphasize that you … Read More >>
Roasting and Toasting with Beets, Rhubarb, & Rose
Inside the Ingredients
By Nora Rae Pearl | June 7, 2025
Just like the arrival of the cherry blossoms, we know summer is here once color hits our kitchens again. This time, instead of going green, we are going red (hold the cherries). Beets, rhubarb, and rose are the not-so-subtle signs of summer we all have been waiting for. Rhubarb makes its grand entrance (blink and you’ll miss it), beets take the center stage (before taking a brief pause and returning in the … Read More >>
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