Food
Feeling Good, Eating Well
The ethos behind BeeSmooth Cafe (and the coming-soon Buzz Cafe and Bakery!)
By Geri Dietze | March 22, 2025
A conscious effort to provide healthy, flavorful food is what drives BeeSmooth Café, Manistee’s light, bright, and eclectic eatery. Operating since 2023, the café serves fresh and tasty traditional café fare, including vegan, gluten-, sugar-, and allergen-free options. (One person’s restrictions are another person’s choices!) Food allergies are serious business; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, six percent of adults and an estimated eight percent of children have one … Read More >>
Silver Spruce + Francisco's Black Truffle Cheese Pizza
Tastemaker
By Anna Faller | March 22, 2025
Does it get better than a frosty craft beer paired with a killer slice of pizza? We’re all in on the Black Truffle Cheese Pizza at Silver Spruce Brewing Co., the star of a new menu in collaboration with Francisco’s Market & Deli in Traverse City. The magic of this unparalleled pie starts with the Neapolitan-style crust, which Francisco’s chefs form using a biga (a fermented dough starter) and bake to wood-fired … Read More >>
The Grove's Falcor Smoothie
Bottoms Up
March 22, 2025
It’s hard to decide whether health or whimsy is the main goal of The Grove Beverage Café in Petoskey, but we’ll take a shot of both. From the café’s menu names—think characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream—to their ethos of real fruits, veggies, and ingredients, it’s a win-win. Since it’s spring break week, go a little tropical and try The Falcor smoothie, which features passionfruit, dragonfruit, and bananas. The blend also includes … Read More >>
India Garden's Chicken Butter Makhani
Tastemaker
March 15, 2025
In early January, India Garden opened its doors in downtown Traverse City, and they’ve been slinging authentic Indian dishes for lunch and dinner ever since. The crowd favorite thus far is the Chicken Butter Makhani, also known as Butter Chicken ($16.95). Tender, flavorful chicken combines with a rich, buttery tomato sauce simmered with your favorite Indian spices for a dish that feels utterly decadent, even on your lunch break. The chicken comes … Read More >>
Gypsy Spirits' Bee's Knees
Bottoms Up
By Anna Faller | March 15, 2025
With temperatures finally above freezing and glimpses of sun in the sky, it only feels right to boost the vibes with the Bee’s Knees cocktail at the newly-opened Gypsy Spirits Tasting Room in downtown Traverse City. Based on a 20th century classic, this refined sip blends local florals with a touch of sweetness (and none of that pine-y sting, honeys!). It starts with Gypsy Petoskey Stone Gin, whose delicate New American Style … Read More >>
Why No NA Beer?
Breweries talk cost, demand, and safety when it comes to making non-alcoholic beers
By Anna Faller | March 8, 2025
Back in Dry January, we set out to find a local non-alcoholic beer and found…almost nothing. While alternative sips like seltzers and hop waters are common Up North, NA beers akin to Athletic Brewing or O’Doul’s are tough to find on taproom menus. Within the last decade, the U.S. has witnessed a significant shift in drinking culture, as the younger adult generation—in particular, Gen Z and Millennials—have drifted away from alcohol consumption. … Read More >>
Sour Power
Behind the scenes with brewers making bold, sour beers
By Brighid Driscoll | March 8, 2025
Once a niche curiosity, sour beers have found their way into the mainstream, bringing tart, funky, and complex flavors to breweries. Unlike hop heavy IPAs, sours embrace acidity over bitterness, appealing to both adventurous drinkers and wine lovers. But how did we get here? Sour beers are made using some of the world’s oldest brewing traditions. From Belgium’s lambics to Germany’s gose and Berliner Weisse, sours rely on wild fermentation and naturally … Read More >>
Food to Thai For
Traverse City’s Thai Cafe celebrates 15 years
By Greg Tasker | March 8, 2025
Tucked in a small shopping center near the shores of Grand Traverse Bay, Thai Cafe has served as a staple of Asian cuisine in Traverse City for 15 years. Through the years, Thai Cafe has managed to endure, serving favorites like Pad Thai and spring rolls despite ownership changes, a pandemic, and the months-long construction project along Grandview Parkway last summer. “There’s not a lot of variety of Asian food in this … Read More >>
Recipes: Baking with Beer
Inside the Ingredients
By Nora Rae Pearl | March 8, 2025
Depth of flavor is something we all hope to impart in our recipes, but is easier said than done. If this is one of your cooking conundrums, you don’t need to look any further than your fridge. Using beer in your recipes can add layers of complexity you didn’t know were missing. Let the recipes below be your introduction to how just one ingredient can take your baking from ordinary to extraordinary. … Read More >>
Charles and Reid’s Lorenzo
Tastemaker
By Anna Faller | March 8, 2025
Prepare your stomachs, pizza fanatics! There are some tasty surprises in the works at Charles and Reid in Traverse City, from take-and-bake goodies and new appetizers to freshly-crafted pizza combos. With spring break just around the corner, find us stuffing our faces with the Italian-inspired Lorenzo. Named for Lorenzo Bianchino, the brains behind burrata cheese, this drool-worthy pie features the eatery’s Detroit-style crust (a light and chewy affair) stacked with all the … Read More >>
Loading More Stories...