Pining for Perfection Float or drive to iconic Hack-Ma-Tack Inn and take in the massive trees, rolling river and first-class cuisine. By Patty LaNoue Stearns CHEBOYGAN–As we drove the pine-scented, sun-dappled country roads from Indian River to Cheboygan, heading to the fabled Hack-Ma-Tack Inn, I was salivating. It’s a pilgrimage I try to make every year, …
Ode To Joy Irma Rombauer’s 20-million bestseller, Joy of Cooking, has deep roots in Northern Michigan By Patty LaNoue Stearns I got my first copy of Joy of Cooking as a wedding present 25 years ago, and the all-purpose, encyclopedic tome quickly became my culinary bible. The thick, illustrated, 4,500-recipe cookbook covered everything from the method known as …
Up North Classics They’re unvarnished, unpretentious Up North restaurants–just like you remember them. You know the places. You return to them year after year because summer isn’t summer unless you get a hit of their “world famous” burger, whitefish sandwich, pan-fried walleye or fresh raspberry pie. These beloved eateries are all over Northern Michigan–out in …
High on Fine Food At Aerie, the Grand Traverse Resort’s renamed and revamped gem, the cuisine is as good as the view. By Patty LaNoue Stearns ACME–The fanfare had reached its crescendo after more than 3,000 people submitted entries to rename Trillium restaurant, which had been closed since May. On the eve of the mid-June …
Worldly, spicy, hard to find Northwest Michigan’s culinary scene is increasingly global — but you have to know how to find it. By Patty LaNoue Stearns, Photo by Brian Confer Not too long ago, about the only type of authentic ethnic food available Up North outside of a Cornish or Finnish pasty might have been …
Fresh, Pure and Delicious Sure, organic ingredients are healthier — but they just plain taste better, too. The chef de cuisine at the Amway Grand Plaza hotel in Grand Rapids did his apprenticeship in Austria and cooked in several European ski resorts before he came to Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel in northern Michigan. He cheffed …
The Sweet LifeThis hidden gem in Palmer Park is what makes Detroit so hip. By Patty LaNoue StearnsPhotos by John Sobczak I spent my early adult life ensconced in the architectural splendor of Palmer Park, a neighborhood with curvy streets and ornate apartment buildings designed by Albert Kahn and other famed architects of the1920s through ’50s. …
Fans line up outside tiny Georgina’s Taqueria for a taste of Tony Craig’s spicy, earthy cuisine. By Patty LaNoue Stearns Photo by Tracy Grant It’s 3 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon and Georgina’s, the tiny eatery at the east end of Front Street, is slammed. This is supposed to be Tony Craig’s slow time of the …
My Mother’s Muse How I rescued Mom’s Doufeu pot. Hardly gourmet, but delicious every day BY PATTY LANOUE STEARNS My late mother, Irene LaNoue, was never by any stretch a gourmet cook. With a husband, seven kids and who knows how many extra friends at our dining table every evening, just getting enough food into …
Was a panelist at the 7th Annual Kerrytown Bookfest in Ann Arbor. SAVEUR magazine’s Kelly Alexander mentions Cherry Home Companion in a July 2004 story. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Food Editor Suzanne Martinson, wrote this wonderful piece, and yet another! Thanks, Suzanne! Dave Liske, the Luna Pier Cook, mentioned me in his food blog. He also did a piece on M.Live. Northern Express, Northern Michigan’s weekly, offered up …