Artisan Design Network Gallery Bold gallery harbors 54 Michigan fine artisans — and one fearless guy who signed the lease. By Patty LaNoue Stearns and Tom Tracey, Photo by Brian Confer In the depths of the recession last October, Rick Paid was rollerblading down Traverse City’s Front Street and saw a prime retail spot with …
Eco Lawn Crusader In a neighborhood of too-perfect chemical lawns, one eco-queen’s quest for true green. By Patty LaNoue Stearns Worried about her pets’ health and the toxic chemicals being freely applied to the lawns around her downtown Traverse City neighborhood, eco-conscious artist Julie Pearson pulled together some convincing materials, found some great alternatives for …
Home Is Where the Heart Is A love for Detroit brings a writer back to her roots WALKING DOWN EAST Canfield, heading toward Cass Avenue, the chill in the air reminded me it had been years since I happily jaunted down these streets with my sister Linda (right), a freshman at Wayne State University. I’d skip …
The World’s Most Tedious Interview An odd encounter with the ultraconservative blabber. BY PATTY LaNOUE STEARNS DETROIT–Crammed into the backseat of a limo with the 300-plus-pound syndicated radio personality Rush Limbaugh, we surmise he is peeved. In Detroit to kick off his “Rush to Excellence” concert tour, the arch-conservative talk-show host (weekdays noon-3 p.m. on …
Fresh Faces FAMILY HERBS Shelby, Mich. — If you’ve stopped by Cherry Point Farm and Market on the way to the Silver Lake sand dunes, you know about the Bull family’s asparagus, cherry pies and other seasonal produce. But venture out past the parking lot toward the arbor and discover the organic herb garden and lavender labyrinth. …
By Patty LaNoue Stearns As a young girl growing up in Southern California, she was called Jukie. She was a tomboy and a prankster, a hyperactive extrovert who was tall and strong and always tripping over things. She got stuck while playing in a chimney, which had to be taken apart to free her. She …
Richard Simmons’ Kitchen Party Sweatin’ Over a Salad with the Deal-A-Meal Meister By Patty LaNoue Stearns DETROIT–Richard Simmons rolled up to the Free Press last week in a black stretch limo with big yellow lights, emerging in a sequined, hot pink tank top and his signature short-shorts. Never mind that the temperature outside was only 40. The wild …
Tapawingo Turns 20 Harlan “Pete” Peterson and his small but mighty crew have put the hamlet of Ellsworth, Michigan, on the nation’s foodie map. Can the state’s most celebrated restaurant keep the party going? Dan Flynn and Edward “Fritz” Girrbach stand a foot apart, heads bent over a wood-topped stainless-steel counter in the main kitchen …
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 …
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 …