this week’s
top ten Big Wins for NoMi’s Outdoors
Did the state’s DNR know this issue would be dedicated to outdoor fun? Sure seems like it; they just announced where they intended to spend $7.7 million from this year’s federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, and two big payouts are coming to pump up parks Up North. First, the bustling HQ of the holiday season in downtown Petoskey, Pennsylvania Park, will receive $150,000, money that’ll be used to expand the sidewalk and area along Park Avenue, as well as for improvements to Petoskey’s Winter Sports Park, home to the city’s ice rink and sledding and ski hills. Down in Mason County, Pere Marquette Township received an even bigger chunk of the pie, albeit for improvements residents and visitors will enjoy most in the non-snowy months: $500,000 for a fishing and boat launch, a key component of the township’s larger plan to transform a still-undeveloped 254-acre parcel along Lake Michigan into the Pere Marquette Conservation Park. The township’s vision for the land, formerly used by Dow Inc., is to become a public destination for yearround outdoor recreation.
Holiday Run-Walk Fun in TC and Glen Arbor Calling all elves! It’s a weekend of run, walk, and shop until you drop in Lower Michigan’s pinkie. On Saturday, Dec. 18, you can don your ugliest Christmas sweater for Cherry Republic’s Miracle Mile fun run (register at Cherry Republic Public House in Glen Arbor at 10:30am; the run takes off at 11am), then stick around the village that afternoon to shop small and eat local. On Sunday, Dec. 19, in Traverse City, you can do it again — a 5K this time; not timed — for the Jingle Bell Run, which starts at Workshop Brewing Co. and rolls through downtown TC. Free cookies and hot chocolate afterward; shopping and more eating, if you like, after that. runsignup.com/jinglebellrun
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You think you know the story, and after over a half-century of Beatles lore seeping into our cultural consciousness, how could you not? But you’ve never seen anything like director Peter Jackson’s (The Lord of the Rings) new docuseries composed of more than 60 hours of meticulously restored unseen footage from the filming of the still-nearly-impossible-to-see Beatles documentary, Let it Be. Taking you, fly-on-the-wall style, inside the band’s January 1969 recording sessions, Get Back isn’t about the career highlights, or about explaining the story of the Beatles to you. It’s about luxuriating in the band’s particular creative process and enveloping yourself in their camaraderie (and all the complicated dynamics that come with it), and, arriving at your own conclusions. And it all comes back, first and foremost, to their music, which is almost a miracle to behold. Streaming on Disney+
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tastemaker Polish Pierogies and Kielbasa
Missing Grandma this season? If you can’t visit her, you can take some serious comfort in the food coming out of Jozef Zebediah and Nick Easton’s Charlevoix restaurant, My Grandmother’s Table. Named in honor of Zebediah’s late grandmother, Martha DeMarino, the ever-changing poly-ethnic eatery is inspired by her approach to cuisine: “My grandmother lived in a very culturally diverse neighborhood, and she loved inviting neighbors over for dinner,” says Zebediah. “If they were from Japan or Africa or Poland — or even if they were from America, she’d ask them, ‘What is a food you miss from home?’ Then she’d gather the ingredients for these dishes and do her best to recreate them.” Jamaican Jerked Chicken, Russian Kotleti, Thai Orange Chicken, Ukrainian City Chicken, Japanese Tonkatsu, Israeli French Toast, and Cuban Black Bean Soup have all appeared on the menu (and many have become mainstays), but it’s the Polish Pierogi and Kielbasa ($16) that takes our editor right back to Busia’s carpeted Detroit dining room. The pierogies — soft dumplings of tender, butter-crisped dough stuffed with pillowy potato and cheese and just the right touch of seasoning — could stand well enough alone. But paired, as they should be, with the smoky, salty bang of well-done Polish sausage, crowned with the cool contrast of creamy dill-cucumber salad, the dish is as divine as it a portal back in time. Find My Grandmother’s Table at 115 Bridge St. in Charlevoix. (231) 437-3132, my-grandmothers-table.com
4 • December 13, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly
Hey, watch it Get Back
