Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening By Patty LaNoue Stearns HILLMAN, MI — We are bundled up beyond recognition in layers of thermal underwear, hooded Polartec sweatshirts, down-filled coats, mittens with liners, fleecy scarves, hats, earmuffs, double socks, waterproof boots and lap blankets, yet our toes are beginning to tingle from the bitter chill …
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 …
The Fizz of the Future Faygo celebrated its 100th birthday in 2007. This oldie but goodie was published in the Detroit Free Press on August 30, 1995. By Patty LaNoue Stearns DETROIT–The smell hits you the minute you enter the aging plant on Gratiot near Eastern Market: a cloying melange of cherry, strawberry, bubble gum, …
Simple Breads for the Season Try these recipes for savory and sweet breads. They’ll fill your home with heavenly scents and make your family and friends feel loved. By PATTY LaNOUE STEARNS Whole Wheat Flat Bread These savory Moroccan rounds need to rise several times, but your kitchen time will be worth it. Serve them …
Into the Woods This mid-island, Alpen-themed eatery also boasts a bowling alley. By Patty LaNoue Stearns MACKINAC ISLAND–How many restaurants can you think of that require a 20-minute horse-drawn carriage ride to get there? Or that can boast a vintage 19th-century duckpin bowling alley? Those are just two cool claims Mackinac Island’s Woods restaurant can make, the …
Fresh, Pure and Delicious Just-picked asparagus, peaches, and zucchini. Wild raspberries and morels, free-range beef and poultry, whitefish and perch pulled from the lake this morning. These are the extraordinary ingredients that make regional cuisine sing. Here, we spotlight 40 eateries that seek out the seasonal best from our orchards, fields, forests and streams. Read …
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 …
Romancing the Riesling The grape of the 45th parallel has catapulted Northern Michigan winemakers onto the international stage. By Patty LaNoue Stearns Standing on the highest point of Old mission Peninsula, an undulating vision lies before you — a landscape of aqua, ochre, chocolate, windswept gray and shades of red, orange and green. Be it …
Taste of the Tropics The Tin Fish seasons freshwater goodness with a dash of tiki-inspired flair. By Patty LaNoue Stearns Let’s say you’re floating on Lake St. Clair’s Anchor Bay and suddenly the urge to nosh on a Dungeness crab cake sweeps over you like a gigantic cumulus cloud. Then you start hankering for a …