Welcome to the Father’s Day edition of the CulinaryWoman Newsletter. This is also the weekend when many communities mark the Juneteeth holiday. Sending festive wishes to everyone celebrating. Hugs to those for whom this is a less-happy day.
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Eating Local When You Travel
I’m writing this issue from the Leelanau Peninsula in northern Michigan, hands down one of the prettiest places on earth. It rivals Cape Cod as a favorite family vacation spot, but it is my first visit to the area in seven years.
In between my tour of libraries, I’ve been stopping to see old friends, like McLean and Eakin book sellers in Petoskey, Mich., and Horizon Books in Traverse City. I’ve also been checking out places that are new to me. They have something in common: they are local businesses.
My discovery began in Gaylord. Before my talk, I took a spin through downtown. The architecture is reminiscent of a German ski town, with lots of wood beams and sloping roofs. The decor is meant to link the Alps to Michigan ski country (we don’t have anything as tall as an Alp, but hey, marketing).
Jackie Skinner, the director of the Otsego County Library, surprised me at my talk with a generous gift basket from the Alpine Chocolate Haus. The next day, I drove through Boyne City and spotted a branch of the chocolate shop, so I stopped in to find out their story.
Alpine Chocolate Haus has four locations, in Gaylord, home to its production site, Boyne City, Sault Ste. Marie, and Plymouth, in the Detroit suburbs. Both the dark chocolate, my preferred variety, and the milk chocolate are equally good. Alpine’s specialty product is chocolate covered potato chips — it is apparently the biggest buyer of Ruffles in Michigan.
The array in the Boyne City store was mind-boggling, with long cases of individual chocolates, bags and tubs of the potato chips, hard candy, ice cream and Dole Whip (the first time I had seen it in Michigan). Visitors could eat outside on a patio overlooking scenic Lake Charlevoix.
Connections Through Collaborations
My chocolate discovery came shortly after I visited two nearby small businesses in Petoskey. Julienne Tomatoes recently celebrated its 20th anniversary after overcoming the obstacles of both the pandemic and a major basement flood in 2022 that closed the restaurant for two months.
It’s a breakfast and lunch spot, owned by Julie Adams (the Julie of the Julienne). There is locally roasted coffee, house baked desserts, and generous sandwiches whose bread is available as breakfast toast, seen here with my oatmeal.
The bread came from Crooked Tree Breadworks, which is a stone’s throw from the Petoskey State Park, home to one of my favorite Lake Michigan beaches. I walked in to get something for a picnic lunch, and found it to be a bread and sweet lover’s paradise, all of it made by staff working right behind the front counter.
Top-Notch Pastry In Traverse City
On Thursday, I passed through Traverse City on my way to my appearance in Empire. Traverse City is a major tourism hub for northern Michigan. It has every chain store you can imagine, from Macy’s to T.J. Maxx and Target. It also abounds with chain restaurants and coffee places.
But I was aiming to dine elsewhere. I told you earlier this year that disgraced chef Mario Batali, who has an estate up north, had quietly become an investor and partner in Common Good Bakery. I was curious to see what attracted him to it, so I checked out the store’s shop on Eighth Street. The next day, the I also visited its shop on Fourteenth Street.
I can see why he wanted to link up with them. Common Good is very good. Their butter croissant passed my personal croissant test with flying colors. The pear Danish was perfectly made. Quiche Lorraine was light and fluffy and I took home a cup of fisherman’s stew. Everything was on par with my favorite New Orleans places such as Ayu Bakehouse and Gracious Bakery (Common Good doesn’t make bagels, so Flour Moon can rest easy).
At both places, I spotted co-owner Jason Gollan darting in and out of the kitchen and baking areas, and asked to meet him. Jason told me that Traverse City increasingly is attracting sophisticated food lovers, but he thinks it still can use some more national recognition.
As I sat in both Common Good locations, the customer base seemed more local than visitors, who were very much in evidence on Front Street, the downtown shopping venue. The counter staff greeted many by name and everyone got a friendly hello. But it would not be that hard for anyone with a car to find them, and there was easy parking.
More chocolate with a Zingerman’s link
My discovery tour had several more stops but the most delightful was in Empire. Years ago, Ari Weinzweig at Zingerman’s pointed me to a dark chocolate bar with dried fruit and said, “You have to try this.” It was from Grocer’s Daughter, a then-fledgling chocolate company here.
Fast forward, and Grocer’s Daughter is still sold at Zingerman’s, but is also a thriving enterprise with two side by side retail shops. It makes multiple varieties of chocolates, sold in one store, plus gelato in the other. Both stores carry house baked cookies and espresso, and there is an outdoor garden.
To top things off, literally, there is a two-suite AirBNB above the gelato shop, a perfect base for Leelanau exploration. (The suites are aptly called Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate.)
Now, I know travel can be a chore and it is tempting to search for a familiar name and just order ahead on the app. But I definitely encourage you to make an effort to dine and drink local when you are on vacation. Local places need your support to keep going and your order might help them make rent.
Information about good local places abounds on the Web, and you can also ask the staff where they like to go. Jason recommended a Szechuan place called Crocodile Palace, run by two young chefs who had worked in San Francisco. It’s now on my list.
Of course, just about the most local you can eat is at a farmers market. Traverse City has a big one on Saturday, but there are also smaller markets scattered around the Leelanau. The one in Suttons Bay had the biggest rhubarb stalks I have ever seen. I got to chat with growers, pie makers and a wildflower farmer. That beats a drive thru line any day.
Our Next Giveaway: The Turbo Trusser
Do you ever watch Shark Tank, or its Canadian counterpart, Dragon’s Den? You might have seen the subject of our next giveaway.
The Turbo Trusser is built with a durable stainless steel back plate and two stainless steel hooks, allowing you to easily truss your chicken or turkey for even cooking. The two hooks go into the bird’s behind and firmly hold it in place, ensuring that it cooks evenly and all sides are exposed to heat. No more looping kitchen string around the legs and wings.
Shark Kevin O’Leary enthusiastically invested in the Turbo Trusser, and now you can own it. I have one Turbo Trusser to give away to a paid subscriber. Our current ones are automatically entered, and you can upgrade your subscription to become eligible.
Just click here. The Turbo Trusser will come directly to the winner from the manufacturer. Start planning those chicken dinners!
Netflix Is Holding Pop Ups With Big-Name Chefs
Netflix is getting into the pop up business. It is staging a pop up called Netflix Bites inside the Short Stories Hotel in Los Angeles. According to Eater L.A., participants will include Curtis Stone, Dominique Crenn, Ming Tsai, and Andrew Zimmern, who were all on the show’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend which aired in 2022.
Other Netflix chefs to take part are Rodney Scott (Chef’s Table: BBQ), Ann Kim (Chef’s Table: Pizza), Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain (Nadiya Bakes), and Jacques Torres (Nailed It!). They will be the source of dishes for a tasting menu.
It’s sort of like a food festival, without the need to purchase a spendy ticket.
Let me know if you go. Read more in Eater L.A.’s story here. https://la.eater.com/2023/6/14/23760828/netflix-restaurant-business-los-angeles-short-stories-am-intel
What Am I Supposed To Do With That?
As soon as I got back to Ann Arbor, I signed up to share a CSA box with my brother. Along with familiar things like apples, rhubarb and new potatoes, I noticed unusual veggies, like daikon, ramps and kohlrabi.
It turns out that these types of produce are becoming more common as CSAs try to mix things up. But they can leave cooks a little perplexed, wondering, “What am I supposed to do with that?”
You can read more in my story for The Takeout. https://thetakeout.com/how-to-use-radish-ramps-kohlrabi-farmers-market-veggies-1850529590
Happy 90th Birthday To Aunt Dottie!
I had the most charming across-the-street neighbor in New Orleans that you can imagine: Dottie Brennan, the sister of Ella Brennan, the late proprietor of Commander’s Palace.
We were introduced by her niece, Ti Martin, Ella’s daughter, and soon began waving to each other and occasionally chatting when the occasion arose. She was always charming and looked like a million dollars. I only saw her once in her housecoat and it was smashing looking at-home attire (my mother, who had an extensive collection of robes, would have been envious).
Aunt Dottie just celebrated her 90th birthday with a festive party at Commander’s, which she helped her sister build into a national powerhouse. As you can see, she looked amazing and the event was fabulously festive. Many Happy Returns!
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
Thank you so much to my hosts for my Michigan Notable Authors tour last week. The Otsego County Library, Bellaire Public Library and Glen Lake Community Library all made me feel appreciated.
A special thanks to the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor, Mich., and to the Library of Michigan.
I am home now for the next month, and I am starting to get invitations for fall, as well as queries about my new CulinaryWomanCoaching feature. I’d love to hear from you if you’re interested in having me speak or getting my help.
Email: culinarywoman (@) gmail dot com.
Instagram: (@)michelinemaynard
Stay well and safe. I’ll see our paid subscribers tomorrow with Red Beans and Advice and everyone else next week.
If you appreciate good food and good writing CulinaryWoman is for you. Splurge and get the paid subscription. Micheline Maynard is knowledgeable, engaging and more than worth the modest investment.