Tastemakers: Wellington Street Market - Kurry Guru/ Traverse City Wine & Art Festival

Aug. 2, 2009

Wellington Street Market
Kurry Guru
Rick Coates 8/3/09

Eric Patterson and Jennifer Blakeslee opened The Cooks House in Traverse
City 15 months ago and through hard work and word of mouth they have
created quite the buzz among foodies in the region. So last fall as the
economy was crumbling, they launched a second venture, the Wellington
Street Market (the former House of Doggs location next to Jack’s) right
around the corner from their Front Street location. The restaurant
business is tough during good economic times (50 percent of new
restaurants go under in the first year), so one had to wonder what the two
were thinking, opening up a second location during the most challenging
economic times since The Great Depression.
For Patterson, he sees the current economy as a reckoning of sorts with
the reality that bigger isn’t always better and sometimes big things come
in small packages. “Our goal is not to add more seats but to fill the
seats we have more often.”
This staying small concept has allowed them to focus on quality, along
with locally or Michigan-grown products. I have tasted their passion in
each and every bite at every meal I have had at The Cook’s House. So it
should come as no surprise that Wellington Street Market should be any
different. Patterson and Blakeslee have partnered with longtime foodie
Kristin Karam, who spent several years working in the local wine industry
and has been active teaching cooking classes at the Great Lakes Culinary
Institute. The menu at the Wellington Street Market consists of less than
20 items and has an Indian cuisine theme to it.
The Kurry Guru line up consists of an assortment of curry dishes. I chose
the Matar Paneer (Indian Cheese) along with a chicken kabob. All the
curries are served with basmati rice and pita bread. As Kristin prepared
the dish, she carried on conversations with those dining for lunch and
everyone was raving about their meals. After I finished mine, enjoying and
savoring every bite, I wondered if I would have to go to India to find a
better tasting curry dish. I left energized and thankful that in Northern
Michigan we are blessed to have so many passionate people in the
restaurant business, and certainly, The Wellington Street Market and The
Cook’s House are both right in the heart of it all.  Located at 115
Wellington Street in Traverse City, visit
wellingtonstreetmarket.blogspot.com to see the menu and call 231. 946.8702
for hours. ---Rick Coates

Traverse City Wine & Art Festival

On Saturday, August 22, the inaugural Traverse City Wine & Art Festival
will take place. Quite frankly this is long overdue.  Traverse City, and
for that matter, Northern Michigan, is one of the greatest places to live
in the United States and “cool places” need great events that celebrate
the culture of the community. With two world-class wine regions (Leelanau
Peninsula and Old Mission) in the area, it only makes sense to have a
major wine festival in Traverse City.
Festival organizers are working with area arts organizations and artists
to add a “cultural” component to the evening. Smart move as Northern
Michigan is a haven for artists, from visual to performing artists. Toss
in several local restaurants and this event -- while not quite the
Epicurean Classic (the popular fall foodie event has moved to southern
Michigan) -- the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival will serve as a tasty
alternative.
“The Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association is excited to be building a
major wine festival that will showcase the amazing wines of our region
against the beautiful backdrop of the Grand Traverse Commons. We feel that
the blend of art, food and wine is a natural combination that highlights
three things we do very well in Northwest Michigan,” said festival
chairperson Jaclyn Eikey.
In all, more than 20 plus wineries will participate, along with numerous
artists and an eclectic line-up of music headlined by Thom Jayne and the
Nomads, along with original dance performances from the Michigan Dance
Collective. The Traverse City Wine & Art Festival takes place August 22 in
front of Building 50 at the Grand Traverse Commons from 5 -10 p.m.
Additional information and advance tickets available at www.lpva.com
---Rick Coates