Janice Binkert | Author
Eat Your Way from Mackinaw to Manistee: Summer's Restaurant Road
May 12, 2018
The 150-mile section of US-31 that stretches from Mackinaw to Manistee is one of the most scenic and historically interesting routes you’ll find anywhere. And our warm-weather months are a great time to experience its timeless allure. Winding through forests and fields, along the Lake…
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Mammoth Distilling’s Wooly Rye
May 12, 2018
First, let’s get the technical stuff out of the way: Mammoth Wooly Rye Reserve is 92 proof, 46 percent alcohol, and contains 88 percent pure Michigan rye — the rest is brewer’s malt. The elegant (yet if you look closely, whimsical) label on its flask-shaped bottle flaunts …
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Moomers' Ice Cream Flights
April 28, 2018
Moomers, situated on a knoll overlooking the Plummer family dairy farm just west of Traverse City, makes over 160 flavors of premium ice cream. Granted, the shop’s display case can only accommodate about 20 of those daily, but still…it’s so hard to choose! The happy solut…
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Oryana Lake Street Café Smoothies
April 28, 2018
“The Ultimate is at the top of our blackboard smoothie list for a reason,” said Oryana Natural Foods Market’s Lake Street Café barista (and all-arounder) Dave Fenlon. “There’s a lot going on in there, which is generally what people are looking for when t…
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Glen Lake's Trattoria Funistrada
April 28, 2018
Out in western Leelanau County, on the eastern edge of Big Glen Lake, lies Funistrada, a charming restaurant housed in a historic cottage-like clapboard building surrounded by, in summer anyway, by greenery and flowers. Looking at the menu, you immediately think of Italy. But the food t…
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April 21, 2018 For the past three years, husband and wife team Eric and Amy Kolden have been on a mission to make high-quality sushi and other Japanese specialties easily accessible to a wider audience in northern Michigan. April 21, 2018 PepeNero Italian restaurant and Ballaró wine lounge chef-owner Giorgio Lo Greco has a wicked sense of humor, but he takes his arancina seriously, emphasizing that this is the correct word for the famous Sicilian snack in the north, in his native Palermo, but noting with disdain that …
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April 7, 2018 One of 2017’s most notable food trends was “put an egg on it.” It was the year that eggs topped everything from arugula to ziti. Well, here’s a news flash: The Omelette Shoppe has been putting an egg on it — and around it, and under it, and beside it, and i…
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March 24, 2018 Officially, its name is Madagascar Vanilla Bean Bourbon Barrel Aged Cider. Quite a mouthful. That’s why, explains bartender Chris Lemanski of Taproot Cider House, “We just call it the Taproot.” However, fans of this high-octane (12 percent!) “liquid gold” still…
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March 24, 2018 Love jerky? Well, you’re not alone. Recent statistics show it’s more popular than ever. People today want an on-the-go snack that is portable (no refrigeration required), tasty, protein-rich, and nutritious, and jerky fits the bill. Maxbauer Specialty Meat Market, a fixture in T…
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March 10, 2018 Respect. Aretha Franklin wasn’t getting enough of it, and these days, neither are medium-bodied, elegant red wines like Blaufränkisch. Which is puzzling, because this traditional Austrian cool-climate red is infinitely approachable, delicious, and food friendly — complement…
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March 10, 2018 Is it larb, laab, laap or larp? That depends on where in the world you are. In the U.S., it’s often just called lettuce wraps. This particular version — from Samsara, the new Southeast Asian restaurant in Traverse City — has its origins in Laos, where it is the unofficial …
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March 3, 2018 If you haven’t yet discovered this somewhat-off-the-beaten-path-but-totally-worth-the-short-detour lunch spot in Traverse City, it’s time to get your Google and GPS in gear and put some excitement back on your midday plate. While it’s not easy to pin down the best …
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March 3, 2018 It’s not too early to start thinking about Easter menus, and when it comes to versatility in the kitchen, American Spoon Foods’ Whole Seed Mustard is the Swiss army knife of condiments. Dubbed “the caviar of mustards” by its creators, its yellow and black seeds are p…
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March 3, 2018 Pining for snow, but somehow weary of the winter cold? Red Ginger bartender Jeremy Trick has a remedy for both with his Snow Blossoms Martini. This delicious, rosy cheek-hued chiller is as refreshing as a brisk day on the slopes, but you’ll be sipping it in the warm atmosphere of the …
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Feb. 17, 2018 One true harbinger of spring for those of us lucky enough to call Northern Michigan home is the tapping of maple trees for sap. Grand Traverse Distillery believes that’s something to celebrate – with a maple syrup-infused craft cocktail at its downtown tasting room. Dubbed the K…
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Feb. 17, 2018 Valentine’s Day may be over, but S2S/Sugar2Salt in Traverse City is still stealing hearts, as it has been since opening in June 2017, with an inspired, locally sourced menu of sweet and savory indulgences that will have you falling in love with break…
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Dec. 30, 2017 MILKWEED How two eminent Traverse City chefs teamed up with the owners of an innovative bar to take street food inside — and out of — the box. Jennifer Blakeslee and Eric Patterson are well known to a wide audience in northern Michig…
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Dec. 16, 2017 The logo for Wren the Butcher, the artisan sausage and rustic comfort food restaurant that chef-owner Adam McMarlin opened inside the new State Street Marketplace in Traverse City last July, features a tiny bird perched on a huge meat cleaver. Some may find that an odd choice, but then, Wre…
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Dec. 16, 2017 The logo for Wren the Butcher, the artisan sausage and rustic comfort food restaurant that chef-owner Adam McMarlin opened inside the new State Street Marketplace in Traverse City last July, features a tiny bird perched on a huge meat cleaver. Some may find that an odd choice, but then, Wre…
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White on Rice
Deftly wielding the appropriate gleamingly sharp-edged Japa…
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Bella Arancina
Traverse City's Omelette Shoppe
Taproot’s Madagascar
Maxbauer’s Jerky
2016 LFC BLAUFRÄNKISCH
The Many Faces of Larb
Traverse City's Centre Street Cafe
American Spoon Foods' Whole Seed Mustard
Snow Blossoms Martini
The King Bourbon
Super Duck
Traverse City's Milkweed
Traverse City's Wren the Butcher
Restaurant: Traverse City's Wren the Butcher