Northern Express - February 15, 2021

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FROM AROUND THE NORTH

NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • february 15 - february 21, 2021 • Vol. 31 No. 07 Northern Express Weekly • february 15, 2021 • 1

MAKING ORTHODONTICS PERSONAL

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2 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

letters Love what we’re doing here? Disagree with something on these pages? Share your views by emailing a quick letter to the editor: info@northernexpress.com A Few Rules: • Keep your letters civil and 300 words or fewer, one per month • All letters will be edited for clarity • Some letters or portions will be omitted due to space or issues with questionable facts/citations, privacy, publication in other media, etc.

• Include your full name, address, and phone or email • Note: Only your first name, first initial of last name, and city will be published.

We are temporarily suspending publication of letter authors’ full names.

No Time to Wait We seem to be learning that while Republicans decried deficit spending over the last four decades, Republican presidents have run up larger deficits than Democrats.

During difficult times, Republicans clung to tax cuts tilted heavily toward the affluent.

Our economy grew at virtually the same rate after the 2017 Trump tax cut as before it. In contrast, Democrats have been more willing to heed economic and historical lessons about what policies actually strengthen the economy.

What will the Democrats do? Their plan provides direct stimulus money to households to stimulate consumer spending, transfers money to states to help state governments cover the cost of vaccinating their residents, and extends unemployment insurance to the unemployed in order to maintain their spending. To help college students financially, the Democrats plan to put a hold on paying back student loans, as well as a hold on foreclosures, so households can use their income to purchase much-needed essentials.

In addition, they’re helping schools re-open, enabling parents to work while the schools take care of their children.

Keynesian economics has enabled Democrats to have a higher rate of economic growth, at 4.6 percent, compared to the Republicans 2.4 percent growth. The voters have given the Democrats the opportunity to make a difference.

Ronald M., Petoskey R-E-S-P-E-C-T Respect! Respect! Respect! Is it time to move forward with a new resolution? Let’s agree that being respectful is something for which we should all aspire. Let’s stop using rude nicknames for folks with whom we do not agree.

Rudeness has grown rampant and become too acceptable. Is it because of poor examples provided to us by some elected leaders, outlets claiming to be news, or our friends?

It seems unlikely that anyone knows all the answers to problems we face, although many claim they do. If someone disagrees with you, it doesn’t mean they are wrong, and you are right. It doesn’t mean they are ignorant and not well-intentioned. This goes from elected leaders to our friends and neighbors.

We can call out our governing officials and let them know rudeness and intolerance may cost them our vote. Let’s move this direction while demanding honesty. It will be wonderful for our lives and our country.

Please be careful in accepting statements as facts just because they are repeated frequently. Please seek out information from

multiple sources. Inquire who is funding and masquerading as the news. These are values that were modeled by my parents. Let’s model good behavior for our kids. As a career educator, I know the kids are watching and learning. America is at its greatest when we use our collective intelligence.

Greg B., Maple City Kudos, Smith & Tuttle A belated comment on the Opinion column by Isiah Smith in the Jan. 8 issue. Well said. A very informative piece. I was especially interested in the references to our Founding Fathers and their insistence upon a “new” (in effect) king to rule. One man, with that much power? What were they thinking? I totally agree with Mr. Smith. Time to take another look at things.

And, as always, Stephen Tuttle hits the nail on the head commentary.

If the office of president must continue, I would hope to see intelligence such as they exhibit expressed in that position.

Sharon P., Petoskey Who Will You Serve?

A man with nothing left to lose is a very dangerous man, and his energy/anger can be focused toward a common/righteous goal.

What I’m asking you to do, then, is sit back and be honest with yourself. Do you have kids/ wife? Would you back out at the last minute to care for the family? Are you interested in keeping your firearms for their current/future monetary value, or would you drag that ‘06 through rock, swamp, and cactus to get off the needed shot?

In short, I’m not looking for talkers, I’m looking for fighters. And if you are a Fed, think twice. Think twice about the Constitution you are supposedly enforcing. (Isn’t “enforcing freedom” an oxymoron?) And think twice about catching us with our guard down.

So, I ask State Representative O’Malley and Senator VanderWall: How comfortable are you with Hawaiian-shirted neo-Nazi thugs brandishing assault weapons in the Capitol building? In the balcony of the Senate chamber!

Dress rehearsal for the U.S. Capitol invasion?

For sure! Were you “cool” with that? What if they were armed Black Panthers glowering down instead? (Cat got your tongue?)

Jack Bergman, how comfortable were you about armed seditionists in the U.S. Capitol aiming to string up Mike Pence and put a bullet in Nancy Pelosi’s head? What if they were aiming to string you up or put a bullet in your head? (Oh, I forgot. They wouldn’t harm a co-conspirator like you.) Also compare Marjorie Taylor Green’s (hour-long, if you can stand it) screed at youtu.be/i7287j_ReQ8, featuring Timothy McVeigh’s rhetoric. Sound familiar? At least the Hawaiian shirts are an upgrade from the classic-Nazi brown.

Larry H., Leelanau County C’Mon, Feel the Noise Many decry the “whining and howling”

by Democrats over events surrounding the election and subsequent events in the Capitol.

While I do agree with him about the increased noise level, I have to disagree over the nature of it.

The rumblings and riots and calls to insurrection from our former president have been loud indeed, but I feel they have been overwhelmed by a collective sigh of worldwide relief. The U.S. has once again re-emerged as a world leader with an elected president who is educated, experienced, and

believes that scientists should be listened to over politicians. And the roar of relief and satisfaction will only get louder as the nation and world continue to recover from for years of incompetence and division.

George R., Petoskey MI Zero Tolerance There’s right and wrong. Ron Clous and Rob Hentschel are wrong. Our community should have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of aggressive intimidation. True colors revealed.

Nothing to be “proud” of. They need to go.

Erin D., Traverse City Welcome to the Oligarchy The United States of America is a Representative Democracy, right? I ask, because we are now functioning as an oligarchy. An oligarchy whereby only a select few make new laws and the same few undo existing laws. The most recent election is proof that oligarchy exists. State legislatures were bypassed to create new election laws, even though the Constitution clearly states “state electors” are the only ones to make such changes.

It now, ever more clearly, appears the election law bypass was built into a larger design to assure and manufacture a desired result. Election evidence and findings consist of over 100 under-oath election-fraud testimonies, untoward software adjudication, no signature proving, unlawful ballot-counting software internet connection, files going out of the country for adjudication, etc.

There is so much evidence, it takes over an hour and a half to describe. The hijinks sound similar to a weird high school homecoming king and queen vote. The reality is, other than the Antrim County vote, none of the above forensic evidence has actually seen the courtroom. Key state judges have refused to even take up the cases. Therefore, full forensic evidence presentation has yet to be made, before we go any further. Months before the election, when I heard a past president hopeful state the recent past president will fight election results and will be taken out of the Whitehouse by military police, I knew things were amiss.

Yet, I still was aghast when it all went down. We are close to no longer being “We the People,” but rather, “We the People Follow Whatever the Oligarch Rules.” If you support the Michigan election vote changes, get a formal vote out of the Michigan “state electors,” or change the U.S. Constitution to read oligarchy before the next election.

Jill R., Bellaire The American Way I believe our system of justice must operate at all levels, including within the government.

A person employed by the taxpayer does not become above the law because they are part of the government.

Guilt cannot be predetermined. A trial — with the evidence presented and a defense mounted — is the American way. an. 6 must not be repeated and must not be swept under the rug. A trial is necessary to determine the facts, cause, and effects.

Gwen H., Traverse City Correction The Feb. 7 Northern Express article “Battle Over Michigan’s Water” cited the incorrect dates in an approval process for a water withdrawal permit.

The permit became public in 2016 and was approved in 2018.—Ed.

CONTENTS features Eat ’n’ Drink News.......................................10 Hexenbelle...................................................14 A Showcase of Restuarants........................16 Lofty Ambitions.........................................19 On the Line..............................................20

columns & stuff Top Ten.......................................................5

Spectator/Stephen Tuttle...............................6 High Notes (sponsored content).....................7 Opinion..........................................................8 Weird............................................................9 Dates........................................................22 Advice.....................................................25 Crossword.................................................25 Astrology.....................................................26 Classifieds...............................................26

Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase PO Box 4020 Traverse City, Michigan 49685 Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Executive Editor: Lynda Twardowski Wheatley Finance & Distribution Manager: Brian Crouch Sales: Kathleen Johnson, Lisa Gillespie, Kaitlyn Nance, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris, Jill Hayes For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 838-6948 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Dave Anderson, Linda Szarkowski, Sarah Rodery, Randy Sills, Roger Racine Matt Ritter, Gary Twardowski Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Reporter: Patrick Sullivan Contributors: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny Ross Boissoneau, Jennifer Hodges, Michael Phillips, Steve Tuttle, Craig Manning, Anna Faller, Janice Binkert Copyright 2020, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly. Northern Express Weekly is free of charge, but no person may take more than one copy of each weekly issue without written permission of Northern Express Weekly. Reproduction of all content without permission of the publisher is prohibited.

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Northern Express Weekly • february 15, 2021 • 3

this week’s

top ten Pick the Brain of a National Terrorism Expert

In what seems to be exceptionally relevant timing, Traverse City’s International Affairs Forum is hosting Karen Greenberg, one of the country’s top national security experts and author of “Rogue Justice: The Making of the Security State.” The book, which Kirkus named one of the best of 2016, goes deep inside the Bush and Obama administrations to show “how America’s post-9/11 War on Terror sparked a decade-long assault on the rule of law … and our Constitution in the name of national security.” The opportunity to hear from and chat with Greenberg — also the director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University School of Law — about her outlook on national security, civil liberties, and terrorism at this moment in history is simply too good to pass up. Register for the 5pm Feb. 18 virtual event (suggested donation, $10) at www.tciaf.com.

Take a Breather: Big Air at The Dennos And you thought that inflatable couch you had in college was art? Take a look at some of the puff pieces floating into The Dennos Museum Center at Northwest Michigan College this month. Almost lighter than air and larger than life, the imaginative, colorful inflatable contemporary art is part of BLOW UP II, the second iteration of California’s Bedford Gallery’s immensely popular inflatable art exhibition — and this one features several pieces that have never been seen before. Put on your puffiest coat and make a date to wander around these wonders while they’re here, Feb. 21–May 16. Learn more about the six artists and the exhibit at dennosmuseum.org.

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tastemaker

Small Batch’s Mon Chou Chou

Bet you thought this hot stack of delicious was a dessert. Think again, you lucky breakfast champion. This is Small Batch at the Cupola’s homemade cinnamon roll French toast. It’s served with a creamy cheese glaze, fresh sweetened strawberries, a snowball’s dollop of whipped cream, and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. But at its foundation, it’s French toast, so … certifiably breakfast food. Pick it up to go — or inhale it inside Small Batch’s outdoor heated igloo or ice shanty; it’ll be the best part of your day. Find Small Batch at the Cupola at 340 State St. in Harbor Springs. Call ahead to place your order and/or reserve seats: (231) 242-4686, www.smallbatchharborsprings.com.

4 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

Milk Fed

Rachel, a 24-year-old talent management minion, is a compulsive calorie-counter. Since her innocently chubby childhood blossomed into a full-blown eating disorder, Rachel subsists on a steady diet of salads and self-doubt, topped off by aimless evenings on the elliptical. That is, until she meets Miriam. The proprietor of Rachel’s favorite frozen yogurt shop, Miriam is the embodiment of the confidence Rachel craves. Miriam also happens to be fat: shamelessly, unapologetically fat. Spurred by their new friendship — and a few sumptuous snacks — it’s Miriam who frees Rachel from her dysmorphic prison, one yogurt topping at a time. From acclaimed author Melissa Broder comes “Milk Fed.” As tasty as it is titillating, this is one story that lets readers have their cake and — literally — eat it, too.

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Traverse City’s Georgina’s restaurant to pay $200K to Settle Federal Suit

The verdict has come in the federal sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed in June 2018 against Traverse City restaurant Georgina’s LLC and its successor, Little G.’s: The EEOC announced last week that both restaurants agreed to entry of a consent judgment to settle the suit.

Pursuant to the terms, the restaurants were liable for the “intentional, malicious and unlawful employ¬ment practices” specified in the amended complaint and ordered to pay $200,000 in back pay and compensatory and punitive damages. A permanent injunction and order were also entered against the restaurants, requiring all employees, including Georgina’s owner, Gregory Anthony Craig, to receive two hours of interactive training on sexual harassment and retaliation.

The EEOC charged that Craig subjected female employees to verbal and physical abuse, including inappropriate touching, being kissed without consent, and being subjected to contin¬uous comments about how he wanted to have sex with them, then fired the female sous chef who complained — conduct that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits harassment and discrimination because of sex.

“The owner’s behavior was egregious and widespread,” said Kenneth Bird, regional attorney for the Indianapolis District Office, said in an announcement. “This consent judgment reflects the EEOC’s commitment to stand up to such behavior.”

Stuff we love

Paying less for a degree in a high-paying field Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) just added a new associate degree to its lineup: engineering. Students will not only be able to begin coursework for the degree this fall but also be able to qualify for federal financial aid for the 73 credits four-year universities require them to have to transfer with junior status — a tremendous cost savings and opportunity to enjoy the benefits of staying close to home and more one-onone interaction with instructors in their initial years of study, says engineering instructor Jay Smith. NMC’s average class size is 20 students.

Michigan has the third-highest level of engineering employment in the United States, paying a mean average wage of $86,000 annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Engineering is a STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and consistently pays higher-than-average entry-level wages. Learn more about the program at nmc.edu.

Behold: Smeltania We’re not sure whether The Boyne Area Chamber deserves a reward for reviving the weirdest name for a winter event in the history of northern Michigan or if we’ve officially reached the bottom of the COVID-safe event barrel. Either way, we want the T-shirt. The upcoming Smeltania Festival is a brilliant nod to a time when Lake Charlevoix was teeming with smelt and so many ice shanties converged on its surface that locals dubbed it Smeltania.

Just like the days of yore, everyone’s invited to bring their own (pop-up) shanties, but with a few modern-day changes: Rather than atop the ice, the party’s happening at the Pavilion at Veterans Park. Local restaurants will sell food, merchants will offer deals, music will play, and a city-wide scavenger hunt is scheduled. The opportunity to own a long-sleeve T-shirt that says Smeltania 2021, however, is available now. Get yours (and more info) at www.facebook. com/boynechamber.

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Legislators are busy at work trying to change the voting systems they created. About 500 bills have been introduced across the nation, and more than 100 of them, in 28 states, would restrict our ability to vote.

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First, there is a blizzard of bills designed to limit access to early voting by mail. Missouri would eliminate the pandemic as an excuse to obtain an early ballot. Pennsylvania and Arizona would eliminate their permanent early-voting list, and the former would eliminate no-excuse early voting, by mail or otherwise.

Four states would change which government

• There is zero evidence any voting machine miscounted any votes. (The one location in which that happened, in northern Michigan’s own Antrim County, was quickly corrected.)

We know all of this because the 2020 election was the most inspected, observed, audited, recounted, and investigated in history. Federal prosecutors, international observers, and our own Department of Homeland Security agreed this was a secure and fair election.

That would be a far better message than trying to strip away voting rights based on

“… the 2020 election was the most inspected, observed, audited, recounted, and investigated in history. Federal prosecutors, international observers, and our own Department of Homeland Security agreed this was a secure and fair election.”

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According to the Brennan Center for Justice — and full credit to them for the following information — the restrictive proposals fall into four broad categories.

candidates you chose. Governors, secretaries of state, and county clerks around the country — Republicans and Democrats alike — conducted an honest and accurate election.

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entity can mail out early-ballot applications without an affirmative request: South Carolina would require a copy of a photo ID to accompany early ballots, plus require the name, address, and a copy of the driver’s license of anyone witnessing the completion of an early ballot. Arizona would require all early ballots to be notarized — as if that somehow validates their content. Several states would eliminate early ballot dropboxes, and Virginia would require all early ballots to be dropped off at a single location in the state.

Second, several states would enact much stricter voter-ID requirements, including photo ID, without exemptions. Six states not currently requiring photo ID when voting would mandate it, and several would require a photocopy of a driver’s license or state issued ID to be included with an early ballot.

Third, several states have introduced legislation making it harder even to register to vote. New York and Mississippi would require proof of citizenship. Texas would take things a step further, requiring all registration applications be sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety for citizenship verification. Four states would eliminate election-day registration, and Alaska would end their automatic registration.

Finally, at least six states have introduced bills to allow a more aggressive purging of voter rolls.

All of this, we’ve been told, is to “restore integrity and confidence” in elections.

Politicians lied about the election for months, in some cases years, calling them fraudulent and rigged absent any evidence at all. If there is a lack of confidence, it is because of their rhetoric, and they could fix that by simply telling the following truths: • There was neither widespread fraud nor irregularities in the 2020 election.

6 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

• Your ballots, whether mailed early or cast at the polls, were accurately counted for the

lies those authoring the legislation created in the first place.

Additionally, much of the proposed legislation involves restrictions already rejected by various state and federal courts. A bill in Wisconsin tries to circumvent that by including a courtscan’t-change-this section that would seem to fly in the face of those pesky checks and balances our system provides.

Not to be outdone, 35 states have introduced more than 400 bills that seem to either increase voting rights or maintain what currently exists. Nearly all involve early voting. Eleven states would allow everyone to vote early by mail in every election. Most would make permanent the early voting that was allowed in 2020. Another eight states would allow or expand the use of early ballot dropboxes, and 13 states would allow the processing and counting of early ballots prior to election day.

Thirteen states would allow people to register to vote as late as election day, and several states would restore voting rights to some felons.

Most of this has partisanship at its heart; both parties think their bills will help their candidates. But enactment of much of it is unlikely. Republicans will have little success restricting voters in Democrat-controlled states, and the same holds true for Democrats trying to expand voting in GOP-controlled states. Both sides have also introduced legislation not likely to be court-approved, especially since most of the more restrictive measures have already been rejected by various courts.

More people voting is a good thing. Making sure those votes are legitimate is also a good thing. Telling the truth about the 2020 elections would be an even better thing and the best way to assure all of us our votes were counted accurately and will be again in the future.

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THAT GOOD THING THAT TRUMP DID opinion

By Isiah Smith, Jr. “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” — Bryan Stevenson, in his 2014 memoir, “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.”

Leo Tolstoy wrote, “There are no conditions to which a man may not become accustomed, particularly if he sees that they are accepted by those around him.”

Tolstoy’s prophetic words are especially insightful when considered in connection with America’s deplorable, and woefully discriminatory, criminal justice system.

It is a system which, in the words of Bryan Stevenson, “treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent.”

It also helps to know low people in high places.

In 1994, Bill Clinton, that paragon of liberal values and friend to minorities and the poor, pushed through a massive crime bill that hurt his presumed constituents. The 1994 federal crime bill gave federal approval for states to pass repressive crime laws. By the end of 1994, all states had passed at least one mandatory minimum law.

Twenty-eight states then adopted “threestrikes” laws. These laws led to mass incarcerations. Defendants who had committed the third of three relatively minor crimes found themselves facing life in prison. The three strike disproportionate penalties focused on street crimes rather than white-collar crimes. Thus, three-strike penalties fell more heavily on minorities and poor people.

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Such cruel and inhumane laws do not exist in other “civilized” nations. In Norway, for example, life imprisonment is restricted to military violations, e.g., for aiding the enemy during times of war. But since no Scandinavian country has fired a shot in anger for more than 200 years; life imprisonment in Norway is effectively nonexistent.

On July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik killed eight people by detonating a bomb inside a van in Oslo. He then embarked on a mass shooting on the island of Utoya, where he killed 69 people participating in a workers’ youth league summer camp. I’ll spare you the chilling details.

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In July 2012, Breivik was convicted of mass murder, causing a fatal explosion, and terrorism. Surely, you might think, this horrific crime deserved — at minimum — life imprisonment.

You would be wrong. At the conclusion of his trial, Breivik was sentenced to 21 years prevention detention. After serving a portion of that sentence, he would be eligible for parole. According to Professor Hans Petter Graver of Oslo University, “[t]he main principle behind the Norwegian system is not for people to spend their life in prison, but for them to be reintegrated into society.”

Which brings us to Chris Young. Young’s upbring warrants mentioning before we get into his entanglement in America’s malefic criminal justice system. Born in Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1988, he never had any relationship with his father. His mother battled serious substance abuse problems and was in and out of jail. He battled sickle cell anemia and lived under adverse circumstances that included no lights and water. In the winter, his mother heated the house with kerosene and fought the darkness with the light of candles.

When he was old enough to get a job, he worked at a funeral home. This felt like a dead-end, especially when compared to his neighbors who dealt drugs, pulling him inexorably in that direction.

In December 2010, Young was charged with drugs and gun violations. He was one of 32 people, some of them gang members, whom federal prosecutors alleged were involved in drug trafficking in Clarksville.

Because Young had two prior drug-dealing convictions, the new charge triggered a provision requiring a mandatory life term if he were found guilty. Other defendants entered a plea deal and received 15 years; Young had the temerity to go to trial. Found guilty, he received a life sentence.

Young was admittedly a minor player; however, because they took the plea deal, the other defendants received only 15 years.

The Chief U.S. District Judge in Middle Tennessee, Judge Kevin Sharp, although bound by law to impose the draconian sentence, was so troubled by it that he resigned his lifetime appointment after serving only 6 years.

“Each defendant is supposed to be treated as an individual,” said Sharp, “I don’t think that is happening here.” Judge Sharp joined Sanford Heisler, the respected civil rights and employment law firm in Nashville, with the sole objective of working to free Young, who had impressed him with his intelligence, remorse, and pledge to be a better citizen.

“African Americans, women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities don’t have the same opportunities,” Sharp says. “That for me is something that’s important, making sure the playing field gets leveled.”

Stung by the memory of the unfairness of the sentence he was forced to impose, Sharp was that rare breed of man who followed his conscience.

Finally, after almost 10 years, he got the attention of a famous rapper’s wife, who contacted the White House on his behalf.

On the very last day of the last presidential term, Young was granted a pardon. He is now a free man. Left behind were thousands of similarly situated prisoners.

I leave you with this question: “What shall we make of this?”

Isiah Smith, Jr. is a retired government attorney.

NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS

himself inside and allegedly set a booby trap The Way the World Works The Staten Island Zoo is weathering a and other items designed to harm the officers. was charged with two counts e storm of controversy over the prediction Broadstone a Saf to the credit card transaction, and made by its resident groundhog, Staten Island y Have r related Dacounts related to the confrontation with Chuck, on Feb. 2 -- an annual event at the zoo. ab o 16 L authorities, including five counts of attempted Chuck popped up on a Facebook “livestream” at the designated hour, on the designated day, murder and four counts of resisting police. but something seemed ... off. After hours of He was being held on a $1.125 million bond. accumulating snow in the New York area, the New York Post reported, Chuck was seen to Weird Science Researchers have solved the mystery of how emerge into bright sunlight with no snow on the ground, his handlers wearing sweatshirts. bare-nosed wombats, native to southeastern “So there ya have it, folks, we’re gonna have Australia, produce poop in cubes, reports an early spring,” announced zoo executive the International Business Times. Wildlife director Ken Mitchell. Viewers weren’t ecologist Scott Carver of the University of fooled, one commenting, “Welppp this isn’t Tasmania is lead author on a study, published live.” Previous Groundhog Day celebrations Jan. 28 in the journal Soft Matter, that details inner workings of the wombat’s at the zoo have also raised a ruckus. In 2014, thevparticular Ha e a atract ! that produce the square-shaped y a stand-in groundhog named Charlotte digestive D r Lab o “This ability ... is unique in the animal died after being dropped by Mayor Bill deSafedung.

Blasio, and in 2009 Chuck bit Mayor Mike kingdom,” Carver said. “Our research found that ... you really can fit a square peg through Bloomberg’s finger. a round hole.”

Least Competent Criminals Edner Flores, 34, entered a PNC Oh, That Old Thing?

Italian police arrested an unnamed Bank branch in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood on Jan. 27 and allegedly tried 36-year-old in Naples on Jan. 16 on suspicion to rob it by handing a teller a note stating that of receiving stolen goods and found a he wanted $10,000, with “no die (sic) packs,” 500-year-old copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s and that he was armed, according to a federal “Salvatore Mundi,” a painting they returned criminal complaint. The teller activated a to the museum it belonged to, surprising silent alarm and the man to fill out a blue museum officials, who had no idea it had been withdrawal slip, which he did, then asked missing. The painting is part of the Doma for his ATM card. The helpful Flores instead Museum collection at the San Domenico produced a temporary Illinois state ID card, Maggiore church in Naples, where the room authorities said. WMAQ-TV reported police it had hung in “has not been open for three arrived while Flores was still at the window, months,” Naples prosecutor Giovanni Melillo arrested him and found a knife in his jacket, told The Guardian. The copy was made by Giacomo Alibrandi in the early 1500s; da according to a police report.

Women changing in the locker room at Vinci’s original painting sold in 2017 for a Onelife Fitness in Stafford, Virginia, were record-breaking $450 million at auction and unhurt on Jan. 30 when Brian Anthony Joe, hasn’t been seen in public since.

41, fell through the ceiling, according to the Stafford County Sheriff ’s Office, landing on Misinformed Authorities in Essex County, England, one of them. Joe, who fell about 10 feet, the sheriff said, was also uninjured, and the New received a tip on Jan. 16 and arrived at the York Post reported the women held him there Freemasons’ Saxon Hall expecting to put in the locker room until authorities arrived to an end to the illegal “rave” reported to be arrest him on charges of burglary, vandalism happening there, but instead of loud music and wild teenagers, officers found old people and peeping. lining up to get their COVID-19 vaccines, Echo News reported. “Grumpy old men and Bright Idea Drag queen Spar-Kelly and her neighbors grumpy old women were in abundance,” in St. Johns, Florida, are tired of parents confirmed Dennis Baum, chairman of the parking along their street during school hall, with “wheelchairs, Zimmer frames pickup to avoid the traffic at the nearby and walking sticks.” Baum said things got Creekside High School. So she dressed in testy when the vaccine was late arriving: her finest and for three days held up a simple “It was absolute chaos ... The car park sign that read, “THIS IS NOT STUDENT became chock a block with 80-year-oldPICK-UP, HONEY.” “If what it takes is just plus drivers.” Police remained to offer their me standing here and telling people to move assistance with the traffic. along, I’ll be a diva and I’ll tell someone to move right along,” she told WJXT-TV. Government in Action Watertown, Massachusetts, recently On Jan. 27, her efforts paid off: A St. Johns County Sheriff ’s deputy showed up to patrol installed new parking meters with updated the street, and plans are being made to install technology to make payment easier, but the city is instead fielding complaints from new “no parking” signs. residents who say the meters are too tall to use. “I’m 5’7,” and I have to do a little tiptoe Mountain > Molehill Roger Broadstone, 67, was at home in reach,” Marianne Iagco told WBZ-TV, which Twining, Michigan, when state police officers reported Feb. 2 that the meters measure about arrived on Jan. 20 to investigate allegations 5 feet, 6 inches high. Assistant Town Manager of $1,500 worth of merchandise purchased Steve Magoon said public works employees with a stolen credit card, but he refused to will be lowering the meters to 48 inches in the let them in without a search warrant, WJRT- weeks to come. “It’s actually sort of refreshing TV reported. When the troopers returned to have a problem of slightly shorter stature with the warrant, they found the illegally than unemployment, COVID-19, no food purchased items inside the house, but they and no money,” commented optimistic also found that Broadstone had barricaded resident Ken Pershing.

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Formerly Austin-based Rolls Rice rolls into Benzie County this month and will roll out delivery services in March.

FROM AROUND THE NORTH

By Ross Boissoneau From Cadillac to Petoskey, the North’s food and restaurant scene doesn’t stop changing.

That’s perhaps been particularly true with COVID-19 interrupting indoor dining, shuttering some popular favorites (goodbye, The Franklin) and offering opportunities for others (Hello, Brasserie Amie). Here we’ll help you catch up on some changes and a few pitstops you won’t want to miss.

CADILLAC New Owners for Hermann’s European Café and Other Properties Chef Hermann Suhs has been an institution in Cadillac (and on TV) for more than three decades. Now the end of an era is drawing nigh: After two previous sales fell through, he’s finally found buyers: Mike Blackmer and John Kulhavi, who purchased the Cadillac Sands hotel in summer 2019, bought Hermann’s European Café and his two other businesses, Olga’s Butcher Shop and Table 212 Wine Bar. “They [the previous buyers] weren’t the right people. [Blackmer and Kulhavi] are the right people,” said Suhs.

Blackmer and Kulhavi, who have renamed the Sands hotel Lake Cadillac Resort, are investing nearly $1 million in its renovations.

A spokesperson said the goal is to similarly update and modernize Suhs’ properties, including turning Table 212 Wine Bar into a pub. The spokesperson said there is no timeline for the renovations to be completed, as the company is also still working on transforming Lake Cadillac Resort.

As for Chef Hermann himself, said he’ll

stay on as a consultant for a year. He’s also contracted with TV 9&10 to continue his evening cooking segment for at least another year as well. “They wanted me for two, but I signed a one-year contract,” he said.

BENZIE Rolls Rice Forever Trades Austin for Up North Dana Falconberry and Jonathan Boyd have relocated their vegan spring roll business from Austin, Texas, to the commercial kitchen at the nonprofit community center Grown Benzie.

They’re planning for a pop-up Rolls Rice Rollout at the end of February and hope to begin making deliveries in March.

They said the move was prompted by the market and the fact they have family downstate, but also the fact that Michigan is more committed to conservation. “There’s a much deeper commitment to public land conservation,” said Boyd. “That doesn’t exist in Texas,” added Falconberry.

People will be able to order from the website — www.rollsriceforever.com — and receive deliveries on Sundays. They plan to start by servicing northern Benzie County and southern Leelanau, from Honor, Beulah and Frankfort to Empire and Glen Arbor.

Catering Company adds Small-Dinner Delivery Service Tim and Melanie Griffith’s Mel&Fell catering business, which grew to include dinner delivery during the pandemic (think: sunset beach picnic with snacks, sandwiches and a bottle of wine) has now morphed into a Wednesday dinner delivery service, and business is booming. “January was one of our

10 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

biggest months,” said Tim Griffith. The pair hopes to expand service beyond their Empire area base to the northern and eastern parts of the county. “We have interest in Suttons Bay and Leland,” said Melanie; it’s just a matter of being able to hire delivery drivers. Nearby? See www.melandfell.com to order.

Hot Sauce Maker Trades Detroit for Up North Detroit resident Stephen Cooper-McCann is moving his Redfelr hot-sauce-making operations to Grow Benzie. He told Northern Express the move comes down to a number of factors: the availability of the ingredients, the affordability of the kitchen, and the fact his dad lives in Manistee. “I looked locally, but the rates are really expensive,” he said of the Detroit area. “It’s cheaper to do it there [at Grow Benzie], plus they know farmers.

He began working on the concept for Redfelr nearly a decade ago. It combines Jonagold apples, Serrano peppers, and other ingredients. He lets the fresh produce ferment in the jars, then bottles it for distribution via the web or select downstate locations. He’s hoping to expand to some specialty stores in this region if he can produce enough.

LEELANAU Cedar City Market II to Open this Month Just a bit north, proprietor David Gersenson promises his Cedar City Market II will open sometime this month. He and his wife, Theresa, had hoped to open the store at the former Pleva’s Meats location shortly after Christmas, but that’s been delayed by construction and licensing.

Gersenson previously operated five

organic food stores across the country and currently owns four hotels in Leelanau County, though two are under contract to be sold. He also owns Broomstack Kitchen & Taphouse — and curling facility — in Maple City. When it does open, Cedar City Market II will include a full-service butcher shop, with custom cuts, plus a full complement of sausages, once a smoking/curing license is secured. The store will also stock a variety of complementary specialty products as well.

Former Bank in Cedar to Become Coffee Shop The former Chase bank building is undergoing minor renovations, with owners Lisa Rossi-Brett and Rick Brett establishing a real estate office in one part, and Cindy Gale opening Cedar River Coffee Company in the other. “I’ve always wanted to open a coffee shop, and I think Cedar needs more food choices,” she said, noting that she believes the two newcomers will complement one another and longtime community fixture Cedar Tavern.

She said it will be the only coffee shop in the county using Roaster Jack coffee, and she will also offer to-go sandwiches, snacks, salads and pastries. “I want to use as much local-based as possible.” As renovation are still underway, not opening date has been set.

GRAND TRAVERSE Benedict Moves — Opening Soon In Traverse City, Leslie Elsen said her breakfast/lunch stop Benedict is on track to open this month as well, though she is still looking to secure her liquor license. She said the move to the Lake Street location, formerly

A st His Killer

still from r Fan.

Outdoor Beerdsman’s move to online retail means a move to and tasting room in Charlevoix for Long Road Distillery.

Detroit-launched Redfelr hot sauce will be made and distributed Up North.

Leslie Elsen’s Benedict’s new location on Lake Street in Traverse City.

Rolls Rice’s famous peanut sauce.

home to French restaurant Patisserie Amie (which moved into a much bigger location at the corner of Front and Cass Street in downtown Traverse City, formerly occupied

by The Franklin), has nearly tripled her space. “[Benedict’s previous space on Union Street] was adorable, but had constraints with the size,” she said.

As might be expected from the name, the eatery specializes in variations on Eggs Benedict. She also wants to add some additional light options, such as biscuit sandwiches, salads, a veggie sandwich, and grain bowls.

natural fit,” said Van Strien of the Grand Rapidsbased distillery. He said the company will now operate its own tasting room and retail shop next door to Beaver Island Boat Company, on the south end of Charlevoix. Van Strien noted Long Road Distillers already uses the boat company for its annual trip to Beaver Island to pick juniper for its popular gin, Michigin.

EMMET New Developments in Outdoor Dining In Downtown Petoskey, long-term plans for outdoor dining are moving ahead. Petoskey Downtown Director Becky Goodman said the city has approved plans for downtown restaurants to use parking spaces in front of their locations again this year; whether the businesses will have to rent the spaces or use them free going forward depends on the state’s restrictions.

“It’s for full-service restaurants only.

There’s no cost if there are restrictions, and $200 per month [otherwise].”

capacity and takeout doesn’t make sense for the new restaurant. “At 50 percent, I can open within two weeks,” Naturkas said.

He said the menu will be similar to that at their Paper Station Bistro in Harbor Springs, with upscale salads, sandwiches, some appetizers, and entrees. “It’s not going to be a big menu, but core foods, good food, just taken up a few notches,” he said.

CHARLEVOIX Long Road Distillery Moving from Boyne City to Charlevoix Long Road Distillery co-owner Kyle Van Strien told Northern Express that the decision by owner of the Outdoor Beerdsman retailer to go to an online model meant finding a new home. The company previously sold its spirits in a small area of the clothing shop.

“Northern Michigan has always been a

Hotel Earl Adding Food Service & Rooftop Deck Hotel Earl’s renovations haven’t stopped.

The hotel dipped its toe into food service at its lobby bar at the end of last year, and the menu has already expanded — and will continue to do so as the season changes (and hopefully, as the pandemic wanes). General Manager Ian Fleming said current offerings include pizza made by That French Place and baked onsite, as well as a charcuterie plate, Mediterranean plate, and desserts.

He said the hotel is also working on opening a rooftop deck later this year. It, too, will offer drinks and similar dining options.

Beacon Bistro to Open When Restrictions Ease Mike and Tawna Naturkas are eying an opening date for their latest restaurant venture, Beacon Bistro, when circumstances warrant. Mike Naturkas said renovations at the location of the former Twisted Olive are nearly complete, but he wants to wait until restrictions are eased before opening the doors. He says restricting dining to 25 percent

*** READER SUGGESTIONS WANTED *** Have news about a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, or food product in your area — or just a favorite dish or drink from a local spot? Let us know. We’re always looking to showcase the latest and greatest in the North’s food and beverage industry.

Email us anytime — subject head: You Gotta Try This — at info@ northernexpress.com.

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Hexenbelle

Global comfort food, locally roasted coffee, and magical baked goods converge to whip up a better world from the heart of Traverse City’s Warehouse District.

By Janice Binkert One of Traverse City’s newest and most innovative restaurant/cafes, Hexenbelle, launched in November 2020, is the concept of Christian Geoghegan (head chef), Hanna Lane (head baker) and Heather Webber (head of the coffee/espresso program). The members of this young trio are already recognized among those in the local food and beverage community as up-and-comers to watch. The Northern Express talked with Geoghegan, whose multicultural background not only inspires many of the dishes on the wholly vegetarian Hexenbelle menu, but also helps to foster an atmosphere of respect and inclusion for people and foods of all kinds.

The story behind the name Hexenbelle reads like a fairytale: The word breaks down into Hexen, the German word for witches, and belle, the French word for beautiful.

The combination evokes a magical forest flower for the restaurant’s founders — thus the wildflower-like logo. And with their feminist beliefs (witches, being powerful female figures, represent sisterhood and a reverence for Mother Nature’s gifts), they like to think it represents the secret special ingredient in everything they create, but also the fact that they are conjuring up food and drink to make others happy.

Two of the first things that will probably catch your eye when you enter Hexenbelle

for the first time are its soothing pink color scheme (an homage to women, meant to be reminiscent of a womb), and the large Palestinian and Pride Progress (LGBTQ+BIPOC) flags adorning one wall.

Christian Geoghegan, who worked alongside Chef James Bloomfield in this same space when it was Alliance, is fully on board with celebrating women — in a pink-hued setting or anywhere else. And as a biracial person of Palestinian descent who identifies as nonbinary, Geoghegan feels a deep connection with both of the flags displayed. Born in Livonia, just outside of Detroit, to an Irish father and a Palestinian mother, Geoghegan grew up in an Arabic household and honors that heritage. (Note: Geoghegan prefers the use of they, their, and them to male or female pronouns, which is reflected in the text of this article.)

The passions behind Hexenbelle’s existence are simple: carefully curated, delicious, and conscientiously prepared vegetarian fare, freshly baked pastries, and locally roasted coffee (from Chuck Korson at BLK/MRKT Roastery, Lane and Webber’s former employer). But its creators are also committed to having the venue be more than just a place to eat and drink.

The trio wants Hexenbelle to be dedicated to expanding people’s horizons (culinary and otherwise), tempering prejudices, bringing people together, and supporting worthy causes (see sidebar). It’s a tall order, but one

14 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

that these three smart, highly principled, compassionate individuals strive to fill every day. And judging from the positive and enthusiastic public response to Hexenbelle ever since it opened, this region has an appetite for both its food and its ethos.

“Growing up, I was very close to my maternal grandmother, whose family had deep roots in the Palestinian city of Ramallah,” said Geoghegan. “She and my mom are my two biggest food influences — that’s where my love of cooking came from. I have younger brothers, but I was the firstborn, and my mom and dad were both working when I was little, so my grandparents would look after me, and my grandma would cook all of these wonderful Palestinian dishes.

“She had come to the Detroit area as a young girl with my great-grandparents, immigrants who had been forced out of their homeland. The family tried very hard to fit into their new surroundings, but my mom, as a woman and a brown person growing up in Detroit in the ‘60s and ‘70s, endured a lot of racism and harassment. I suffered the same fate after 9/11. We were basically told that we needed to assimilate to try to move forward. But the irony is that by trying to assimilate, you lose some of your identity.

Still, our traditional food has remained a thing of great significance to my family, and I hope that by sharing my version of it here at Hexenbelle, I can reclaim part of that

Clockwise from top left: Hexenbelle’s coffee bar.

Owners Hanna Lane, Heather Webber, and Christian Geoghegan.

Oh, just the usual: pomegranate-glazed, sumac-dusted Honey Wafer Cookies and Guava Bun Hummus with flatbread.

A mocha made with love.

A basket of Blueberry and Pomegranate Danish with Buttery Oat Streusel

identity. It’s one way of keeping Palestinian culture alive and making it something that can be enjoyed and appreciated by others.”

Hexenbelle’s menu is all about comfort food from different global perspectives, and Hummus is the single most important thing on the menu for Geoghegan. “All cooks talk about ‘What would be your last meal?’ and mine would be hummus,” they said. “I know it will never be as good as my grandmother’s — ever — but that’s OK. We don’t use a recipe. It’s not that we’re arrogant; it’s just that it forces us to be present each time we make it and try to understand how the tahini is sometimes different, and the chickpeas are sometimes different, and you work from that to get it to where it’s balanced on your palate.”

Geoghegan’s hummus is served with flatbread, drizzled with Hexenbelle’s very special olive oil — fair trade, organic, Jenin Palestinian Olive Oil — and dusted with house-made za’atar spice mix. Another classic Palestinian comfort food on the Hexenbelle menu that transports Geohegen

Indoor Dining is Back — Yea! back to their grandma’s kitchen is maftoul, a soul-warming dish of couscous with tomatostewed chickpeas, labneh, and cucumber.

The menu features many Arabic and Middle Eastern items, but also food from other parts of the world. “My respect for hummus became kind of a guiding principle and root for including other iconic international dishes in our selections. I thought, ‘OK, if hummus is that important to me, every other country or world region has the equivalent of that,’ they said. “It might be Asian fried rice. It might be Mexican mole.

It’s that food that defines their culture, their quintessential emotive food experience, and what everyone can relate their memories to.”

Breakfast and lunch offerings are relatively static, but for the dinner menu, Geoghegan tries to do a new dish every week. “I think we started with Mapo Tofu, an umami-rich Sichuan dish with doubanjiang (a spicy fermented broad bean sauce) served over rice,” they said. “It was inspired by James Beard award-winning chef Danny Bowien from Mission Chinese in San Francisco — he’s one of my favorite chefs. It took a lot of research to understand not just the cooking process for it but also the ingredients and the why and the how of it, but that’s important to me. This weekend for dinner, I’ll do a Persian dish, Chelo ba Tahdig, which is Persian saffron and ghee rice. The rice is really the main thing, but we will serve a Great Northern Bean khoresh (stew) with it, as well as yogurt on the side and pomegranate seeds, because some people might be hesitant to order it if it were just rice.”

Geoghegan also feels it’s important to understand the relationship of food to the season, and he genuinely appreciates local farmers and the great things they are doing.

“We’re so blessed up here,” they said. “There is so much amazing produce available. That’s what keeps pushing me, and that’s why Heather and I became vegetarian and then vegan. Obviously, that can be a challenge when you’re working in the culinary field.

I was a vegetarian while I was working at Alliance, but I was still trying everything because I wanted to learn, and it was part of my job. James, by the way, was a great mentor to me at Alliance, as was legendary Tapawingo chef Pete Peterson, who was doing front of the house there for about a year. Those two, and so many others, made the effort and took the time to teach and guide me, and I am grateful for that.”

Building on their previous experiences, the Hexenbelle partners saw a way to use all of their different talents in one place. “All of us have strengths and weaknesses, and luckily the weaknesses are overlapped by someone else’s strengths,” said Geoghegan.

“I’m a good cook but not a great baker, so thankfully, we have Hannah, who is the best baker I’ve ever been around. She keeps our bakery case stocked with a rotating array of sweet and savory breads, pastries, cookies, and cakes. Her Guava Bun — babka dough filled with cream cheese, guava jam, and lime zest — is incredible. She surprised me recently with her new Peanut Butter Tahini Cookie, and I was blown away.

One delicious result of Geoghegan’s interest in Sichuan food: His Sichuan Mapo Tofu. “I’m very interested in Sichuan food, especially since studying the history of the Silk Road,” Geoghegan said. “It started in Xi’an in China and went all the way to the Middle East, and you start to see the culinary line through that whole region. You see lamb dishes, certain spices like cumin, and other flavors of China and you’re like, oh, that’s familiar to me. But when I want to cook Sichuan food — or food from any other culture that is not my own — I’m kind of asking permission. And the permission is that if I respect its origins and it’s tasty, it’s OK.”

“And then we have Heather, who is a barista extraordinaire. Her Witches in Paris coffee creation — with powdered sugar, butter caramel sauce, and cinnamon — is insanely good. Together we can do this unique thing that’s somehow connected because we’re all on the same page. It’s not three individual people, it’s a unit. We view it like music — three major tones in a chord.

All different notes, but they’re combining to produce something harmonious.”

Find Hexenbelle at 144 Hall St., Suite 107, in Traverse City’s Warehouse MRKT. Online orders only: at hexenbelle.square.site. (Note: If an item is active on the website, it’s available to order online.) For more information, including days and hours of service, see website, email hexenbelle@gmail.com, or call (231) 486-6128.

GIVING BACK “We all feel very lucky to be where we are, doing what we want to be doing, and it motivates us to be constantly engaged with helping others who aren’t so fortunate,” said Geoghegan.

“We celebrated the winter solstice — something we carried over from BLK\ MRKT — by donating to hospice. We also champion women’s causes. We’re 2/3 women-owned, which is a huge thing for us. We definitely want to start working with people from Up North Pride, too.

We’re not going to pretend we don’t care about political causes or environmental causes or ethical causes, like people who are marginalized. Everything and everyone matters to us, and we don’t try to hide who we are or who we support.

We also know that we’re lucky because of the help we’ve received from so many sources, so it’s important for us to give back, or give someone a platform, or give someone a voice, or have a location for events that matter. I really want to host group events here when it’s safe to do so again.”

Flavor

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Fuel My Life Traverse City Shaina LaFond, personal chef, certified fitness nutrition specialist, and owner/founder of Fuel My Life, was inspired to create her unique business concept — a nutritionfocused, “food as fuel” meal service in 2018 — through struggles she herself had experienced in trying to strike a balance between her business and private life. A career in the food and beverage industry had led to an unhealthy lifestyle and the added responsibility of raising a family, while feeling exhausted and lacking energy ultimately resulted in frustration and stress for her. But ironically, although food had been part of the problem, in the end, it turned out to be the solution.

As LaFond put it, “Changing my relationship with food changed everything.

With Fuel My Life, we not only want to help people find more time in their day but also provide a way for them to make educated decisions about the food they are consuming and how it affects their well-being.”

On the Menu: The menu choices offered

by Fuel My Life are not only healthy but diverse, delicious, and — something that is often neglected in to-go food — attractively presented. Whether you’re an omnivore or prefer vegetarian, vegan, keto, gluten-free, lactose-free, low carb, or low-fat fare, you’re sure to find something here.

Choose from refreshers like the almondcinnamon smoothie (with unsweetened almond milk, local gala apple, fresh banana, vanilla whey protein, almond butter, glutenfree oats, chia seeds, and hemp hearts).

Or tuck into dishes like succulent flank steak (with fresh lettuce wedge, crispy bacon, tomato, and house-made Greek yogurt blue cheese dressing), zesty blackened shrimp tacos (with wild-caught shrimp, blackened seasoning, avocado oil, corn tortillas, feta cheese, tomatoes, cabbage-carrot slaw, and cilantro-lime crema), a crunchy baked falafel bowl (with chickpeas, organic baby spinach, tomatoes, onions, feta, hummus, tzatziki, cucumber, parsley, and garlic), or wild-caught sockeye salmon (with lemon-caper butter sauce, cauliflower puree, and asparagus), hearty vegetarian white lasagna (with pasta, zucchini, shredded mozzarella, cottage cheese, carrots, spinach, unsweetened almond milk, parmesan cheese).

Craving an indulgent treat? The indulgent Double Chocolate Protein Donuts (gluten-free flour, egg, whey protein, olive oil, vanilla, and Neufchâtel cheese) are a must. No matter what you select, each item on the ordering pages lists all ingredients (and allergy alerts where relevant) as well as nutritional information on calories, protein, fat and carbs.

For more information, or to order items from Fuel My Life, go online to fuelmylifetc.com or call (269) 599-7542. Pickup is offered at 2259 Traversefield Drive in Traverse City. In-town delivery is also available on weekdays.

Little Traverse Inn & Gastro Pub Maple City Graeme Leask, an accomplished chef and engaging raconteur, is originally from Scotland.

He and his business and life partner, Michelle Schulte, are the proprietors and gracious hosts of the Little Traverse Inn and Gastro Pub in the heart of Leelanau County, housed in a charming structure dating back to 1890.

When Leask and Schulte heard the forecast that COVID-19 would see a new surge by late fall and winter, they decided to be proactive in preparing for that inevitability. They were already doing takeout, but to accommodate onsite dining, they set about building five “ice shanties,” (though that description hardly does them justice) in the restaurant’s summer beer garden.

The shanties outfitted with tables for six — one family, household, or social bubble — are thoroughly sanitized by staff and an Ozonator between seatings. To allow time for that 30-minute cleaning process, reservations for the shanties are limited to 1½ hours, and a deposit is required (100 percent of which applies to guests’ dinner costs). As Leask explained, “We only do the deposit because the last thing you need when you’ve only got five tables is somebody not showing up.”

On the Menu: Popular classics from the U.K. include Scotch Eggs (house-made bulk “banger” sausage wrapped around a hard-boiled, farmfresh egg, panko-crusted, flash-fried and served on a bed of greens with house-made whiskymustard sauce on the side), Shepherd’s Pie (tender lamb and hearty vegetables topped with roasted garlic and leek mashed potatoes), and Beef Wellington (prime-cut tenderloin coated with mushroom duxelles, wrapped in filo pastry, roasted to perfection and served with complementary sides).

A few of Leask’s Indian specialties include Onion Bhaji (spicy, crispy onion fritters], Lamb Vindaloo (tender lamb cooked in a zesty potato stew made with eighteen different spices, served with naan bread and pickled vegetables), and Byriani (a savory Kashmiri stew of spinach, onion, and tomatoes, a fusion of aromatic spices and dried Kashmiri chile, with the option of adding chicken or shrimp).

“It’s just so much fun cooking Indian food,” said Leask. And guests obviously enjoy eating it, too — the best-selling dish on the whole menu is Chicken Tikka Masala (a creamy, smoky, onion, garlic, ginger, and tomatobased dish with coconut milk).

Beyond British and Indian fare, the Gastro Pub also does takes on American fare, such as Fried Chicken (served with mashed potatoes and scalloped corn), Mac & Cheese (house-made cheese sauce, ham, pickled jalapeños, and panko bread crumbs, served with minted peas), and prize-winning burgers, the customer favorite of which is the Chutney Burger (stuffed with jalapeños, cheddar and bacon, topped with Canadian bacon, Swiss cheese, and jalapeño mayo, and served with and Leask’s legendary apple and

16 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

tomato chutney).

Find Little Traverse Inn and Gastro Pub at 149 East Harbor Hwy. in Maple City. (231) 2282560, littletraverseinn.com.

Moose Jaw Junction Larks Lake In the heart of northern Michigan’s sprawling, woolly wilderness, near the corner of Van and Larks Lake roads — at the southern tip of Larks Lake itself — sits Moose Jaw Junction, a little restaurant with a rather large following.

Tourists often query area residents about good eating places up here. Moose Jaw Junction — much like Cross Village’s Legs Inn and Harbor Springs’ Crow’s Nest — is often mentioned as a “must” for visitors. And, though seemingly perched in the middle of nowhere, this place is definitely worth the drive.

The restaurant is once again open, but diners can still sit outdoors, behind the restaurant if they prefer. A small wood fire offers warmth, and a few picnic tables are available. This setup is a natural for snowmobilers, who regularly descend on this clean little establishment for food, warmth, and liquid refreshment.

On the Menu: A range of high-quality barstyle food is available — gourmet pizza; a range of quesadillas, fajitas, burritos, and tacos; a collection of burgers and other sandwiches; a bunch of appetizers; and a small wine list — but of particular interest to us was the Moose Jaw Club, a sandwich billed as a BLT/hamburger collision that features a tasty beef patty, which, along with other items, is culled from nearby Jurek’s Meat Market. This sandwich, served with a mound of large, crispy French fries, is one of the best riffs on the traditional club sandwich we’ve ever tried. Green lettuce, tasty tomato, and savory bacon top the burger, all of which is bookended by two pleasingly grilled buttery bread slices. Binding it all together is a delicious and slightly spicy deli sauce, tickled with cayenne pepper and good mayo.

Those seeking a hearty, comforting appetizer for three or four people might choose the Moose Jaw Poutine — a great value since it’s a hefty portion. A large bed of skinon fries is smothered in melted cheddar jack cheese, beef gravy, and tender pulled pork.

Moose Jaw Junction is also known for its communal Friday night fish fries, which feature battered cod — the same fish featured in the restaurant’s most popular dish, Larks Lake Lobster ($18.99). It’s not really lobster, of course, but expertly prepared cod, which owner Chris Tibbits said tastes something like lobster when dipped in melted butter. The meat also appears similar to lobster, so flaky and tasty as to be labeled … if not lobster, then decadent nonetheless. A well-seasoned, golden brown, and satisfyingly crispy batter coats the chunky, boneless white meat planks, which are served on a pile of fries, and include a clever tartar sauce, accompanied by a small tub of creamy coleslaw.

Find Moose Jaw Junction in downtown Larks Lake, 966 W. Van Rd., near Pellston. (231) 5398528, www.moosejawjunction.com.

The Stone Oven Lake Ann Brian Adams saw an opportunity in the village of Lake Ann when the LA Café closed in 2012. Though the village itself boasts only a couple hundred people, it’s just up the road to the dense shoreside populous surrounding nearby Long Lake and nearby Traverse City. Adams was confident there was a large enough population to support a restaurant.

Turns out he was right. And it helped that three years after opening The Stone Oven, he gained a new neighbor. Brewer Matt Therrien opened Lake Ann Brewing next door, and better yet, he had no interest in making food for his patrons.

“We knew each other. He didn’t want to have anything to do with food. I didn’t want to have anything to do with alcohol. It works good for both of us,” said Adams.

Patrons at Lake Ann Brewing are welcome (even encouraged) to purchase food from Stone Oven to enjoy with their beer. Of course, that wouldn’t be the case if The Stone Oven wasn’t up to snuff. Adams, who is today sole owner of the eatery — he and his ex-wife opened it together — takes pride in the fact that many of the dishes are made from scratch.

On the Menu: Adams said the most popular items on The Stone Oven menu include the Thai Reuben and white chicken pizza. The former starts out Reuben-ey enough — the requisite corned beef and Swiss cheese on rye bread. But it’s dressed up with a spicy slaw and Thai chili aioli. The white chicken pizza includes bacon mushrooms, spinach, and red onion, all set off by a white cheddar béchamel.

More mundane, but no less delicious, the mac and cheese (with chicken or without) is a perennial favorite, as is the Friday walleye fish fry. So, too, is the Greek salad, with artichokes, beets, feta, red onions, banana peppers, and kalamata olives.

“I’ve loved salads since I was a kid, and I’m usually disappointed in the salads I get when I go out to eat, so I place a lot of emphasis on making sure the veggies are fresh and they look good,” said Adams.

Adams’ appreciation for fresh and tasty vegetable shows. In addition to burgers, a diverse selection of sandwiches and wraps, and nine different specialty pizzas (plus 18 toppings customers can choose from to design their own), The Stone Oven offers eight different salads, each an inspired combination of meats, cheeses, toppings, and vegetables that go well beyond the standard cucumber, tomato, and red onion mix.

Find The Stone Oven at 6551 First St., in Lake Ann. (231) 275-8520, www.stoneovenla.com.

Lost Village Pierogi Petoskey & Beyond The seeds for Lost Village Pierogi were planted several years ago at Christmastime, as Mike and Holly Kotz — a screen printer making T-shirts and high school

English teacher respectively — tried to find authentic pierogies, like the kind Mike Kotz’s grandmother and aunts used to make.

“First, we tried to find a source [of pierogi] locally, because there are a bunch of Polish halls and whatnot [in Grand Rapids],” Mike Kotz recalled. “The harder we tried, the more disappointing experiences we had. So finally, it boiled down to ‘OK, let’s make them ourselves.’

We got my grandmother’s dough recipe, and we started there.”

Before long, they’d moved from making pierogi for friends and family to selling them out of the home kitchen. Fast-forward to the present day, and Lost Village Pierogi has moved from Grand Rapids to Petoskey and cranking out 500 dozen — yes, 500 dozen — pierogis on its busiest days. If you’d rather not do the math, that’s about 6,000 authentic dumplings a day, each doughy delight handmade, filled, pressed, boiled, frozen, and packed into bags.

“Our pierogi goes right from frozen to sauté. It’s pretty much just five minutes on each side in the pan, in your oil of choice,” said Mike Kotz.” We say ‘From freezer to dinner plate in under 10 minutes.’”

On the Menu: Lost Village has a regular rotation of more than 20 different pierogi varieties, ranging from what Mike Kotz calls “the traditional stuff,” fillings like potato and cheddar, or kielbasa and sauerkraut, to more experimental approaches, like an “overwhelmingly popular” Lobster Rangoon recipe, or a pierogi called “Hog Slop” that’s filled with pulled pork, mashed potatoes, and corn) The Kotzes are even willing to do custom orders; Holly Kotz said one customer in Grand Rapids asked them to make a batch of pierogi stuffed with cream cheese, raisins, and chives — a customer’s family tradition from youth.

Lost Village Pierogi are $15 per dozen but they are packaged by the half-dozen, so you can mix-n-match, which, with more than a dozen savory combos (from Kielbasa Kraut to Philly cheesesteak to Cuban Pork Tamale) and four dessert varieties (think: Cinnamon Apple French Toast, Pineapple Upside Down Cake), trust us, you’ll want to mix and match. Luckily, they offer a three-dozen special for $40; save $5 and mix ’n match up to six varieties.

Lost Village Pierogi is located at 307 Petoskey St for curbside service and local delivery. It occasionally hosts mobile events across the North (see Lost Village Pierogi’s Facebook page for announcements). Check out the current menu and the online order form at www.lostvillagepierogi.com.

My Grandmother’s Table Charlevoix Jozef “Joe” Zebediah’s late grandmother, Martha DeMarino, may not have even known who famous chef James Beard was during her life in Pittsburgh. But, according to Zebediah, she embodied his love of food and its ability to not only bridge enormous cultural gaps but also to nourish, heal, and harken.

As co-owner of one of Charlevoix’s newest eateries, My Grandmother’s Table, Zebediah and his partner, Nick Easton, want to mimic DeMarino’s approach — nourishing their community with high-quality poly-ethnic cuisine. And though there are many tables in their restaurant, it’s all modeled after one: hers.

“My grandmother lived in a very culturally diverse neighborhood, and she loved inviting neighbors over for dinner,” said 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.”

On the Menu: While My Grandmother’s Table touts a tantalizing selection of baked goods, (including some vegan offerings) and a fully-appointed coffee bar capable of all the best coffee and tea concoctions, but it’s the food menu, with its ethnically diversified offerings, that is so interesting.

On any given day in the last year, a patron

at My Grandmother’s Table might have enjoyed Jamaican Jerked Chicken, Russian Kotleti, Thai Orange Chicken, Italian Gnocchi with Meatballs or Sausage, Polish Pierogi and Kielbasa (possibly the best Polish sausage we’ve ever tasted, elevated further by a creamy cucumber salad bathed in a subtle, creamy sauce crowned with a sprig of dill), Amish Meatloaf, St. Louis Pulled Pork, and Three Sisters Stew, a hearty combo that takes its name from the traditional Native American trio planting of corn, beans, and squash.

Not enough for ya? Easton and Zebediah made use of the recent break from in-person dining to ready their upcoming winter menu, which includes, among other things, Ukrainian City Chicken, Japanese Sushi, Israeli French Toast, Cuban Black Bean Soup, New York City Eggs Benedict, and African Jollof Rice with Chicken.

Find My Grandmother’s Table at 115 Bridge St., in Charlevoix. (231) 437-3132 or search “My Grandmother’s Table” on Facebook.

Farm Club Leelanau County To paraphrase the famous line from the 1989 film Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” That’s certainly what happened with the dream that Little Fleet’s Gary and Allison Jonas and Loma Farm’s Nic and Sara Theisen realized upon launching Farm Club in mid-July 2020 on the Leelanau Peninsula.

The venture is unique in northern Michigan — and even far beyond it. “We’re not a farm-to-table restaurant,” said Nic Theisen.

“We’re a restaurant on a farm.” It’s a fine distinction, but a significant one.

Farm Club is situated on 35 scenic acres just off the Traverse Area Recreation Trail (TART), near Mile 7. Its hilltop centerpiece, housing a restaurant, brewery, bakery, and marketplace, is an architecturally striking structure clad in rough-hewn cedar and topped with a metal roof and solar panels that blend seamlessly into the rural character of the landscape. (The owners worked with Traverse City’s DesignSmith on the concept.) Energy-efficient floor-toceiling windows run the entire length of the south-facing side of the building, framing the spectacular pastoral views and leading out to a long, covered patio and a sprawling seating area with well-distanced picnic tables. A number of fire pits and a large tent also a stand ready to add warmth outside.

On the Menu: As one would expect from a farm-led kitchen — helmed by executive chef Abra Berens, whose “Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables,” was named one of the best cookbooks of 2019 by The New Yorker magazine — Farm Club’s menu is printed daily.

Intriguing yet approachable, its categories include snacks, boards, small plates, large plates, and desserts. A recent selection featured such diverse choices as IPA popcorn (made with Michigan popcorn and East Kent Golding hops), a plowman’s platter (with locally cured meat, fish, and cheese), fried eggplant (with cauliflower, arugula, tahini, and lentils), beans and broth (calypso beans, olive oil, garlic and thyme, with homemade bread and green salad) and a sausage plate (with spaetzle, apple mustard, and green salad). Dessert was a choice of panna cotta or rice pudding.

Besides the incredible food, beer is a big deal at Farm Club. Brewer Corey Valdez, a former professor, with a PhD in organic chemistry, brews at least a half-dozen proprietary ales and lagers onsite, all with fairly low ABVs yet high in flavor. His table beer and farmhouse ale are both made with wild yeast harvested on the property, and he and Nic are experimenting with other on-site botanicals, herbs, flowers or fruits that might be incorporated into the brewing process at some future date.

How does a restaurant with such a strong focus on seasonality continue to be seasonal when winter comes to the farm, and the fields are dormant? “Nic is working hard to cellar a lot of vegetables so that we can feature local produce year-round,” said Allison Jonas. “And he is also preserving. He made an amazing

kimchi recently that we’re selling in the market, and we’ll have all sorts of pickled and fermented foods. Another thing we’re doing is taking the spent grains from the brewery and giving them to a farmer who will use them for animal feed and start raising pigs and chickens for us.”

Farm Club is located at 10051 S. Lake Leelanau Dr., (Country Road 641), just north of downtown Traverse City. For more information, call (231) 252-3079, visit farmclubtc.com, or check them out on Facebook or Instagram.

Turkey’s Cafe & Pizzeria Harbor Springs According to owner Jeff Graham, Turkey’s Cafe & Pizzeria in Harbor Springs — a picturesque indoor-outdoor eatery styled in perky and preppy pink, white, and black — is located in one of Harbor Springs’ oldest structures, a former newspaper office and, as fate would have it, site of the first pizza ever made in that town.

Patio seating behind a white picket fence and under a large shade tree supplements Turkey’s small dining room, one side of which is lined with compact wooden booths. A short cocktail bar on the opposite wall connects two larger booths. A vintage bottle collection and other nostalgic knick-knacks hearken to the days when Graham, currently in his 45th year as owner, was growing up in the tiny hamlet on the shores of Little Traverse Bay. On the Menu: Aside from the hearty, excellent pizzas that feature handmade dough and meats from the 1913-founded Plath’s Smoked Meats, the restaurant offers a variety of large sandwiches in a range of styles, including six specialty burgers, five filling sandwiches, plus three wraps and three sandwiches all featuring … what else? Turkey!

These namesake birds are roasted right in the restaurant, their tender white meat hand-pulled and stuffed between layers of homemade bread. Turkey specialties include the sizable Turkey Sandwich, Turk’s Turkey Day Sandwich, and popular Turkey Club, which comes piled with deep red tomatoes, crisp green lettuce, and mayo slathered on thick, grilled whole wheat bread.

On the lighter side, Turkey’s offers eight robust salads, the most popular being the Cherry Chicken Salad — a bed of greens layered with grilled chicken breast, dried cherries, feta cheese, walnuts, onions, and a tasty raspberry vinaigrette. For those who prefer low-frills, Turkey’s offers the basics: a grilled cheese, the All-American Hot Dog, and chicken strips.

But for those who want frills, and plenty of them, pizza is what puts Turkey’s on the map.

Handmade and hand-tossed dough gives each pie a golden brown, slightly crunchy crust that makes a perfect palette for the pizzeria’s rainbow of fresh toppings. Plath’s meats account for the protein options, while vegetable topping choices include fresh basil, chopped garlic, artichoke hearts, jalapenos, and a dozen more.

Find Turkey’s Cafe & Pizzaria at 250 E. Main St., in Harbor Springs. www.turkeyspizzaria. com, (231) 526-6041.

ranging from a classic marinara to a campanelle with peas, ricotta, and lemon — clocks in at just $10 a dish, making it all too easy to sample several. Dziedzic said a favorite is the bucatini, which features pancetta, garlic, a simple white wine sauce, and truffle oil.

Pizzas are the next biggest draw. “Our ‘roman style’ pizzas are crave-worthy,” Dziedzic said. “A thicker focaccia-style dough is cooked to melty perfection with this delightful, crispy crust. The Italian is the most popular, with a smoky tomato sauce and prosciutto.”

Though the pastas and pizzas are the headliners, there’s even more to explore: a Caesar salad with bright lemon notes; white beans with herbs, olive oil, and a side of scrumptious garlic bread; and heirloom tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella, aged balsamic, cucumbers, and pancetta. Don’t forget the strawberry-filled Italian donuts, complete with Nutella, wine selections sourced from Italy and northern Michigan, or the Italian margarita made with amaretto and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Find The Flying Noodle at 136 E. Front St. (231) 943-1178, flyingnoodletc.com.

Cops & Doughnuts Bakery Gaylord There’s a cop shop in Gaylord where the phrase “D.W.I.” has nothing to do with adult beverages or erratic driving. At the Cops & Doughnuts Bakery, “D.W.I.” means “Donuts Were Involved,” a bit of sly humor that adorns coffee mugs, T-shirts, hats, and police-related gear available for visitors.

Don’t like that one? Try “Don’t Glaze Me, Bro.” or “Cereal Killer” or “You Have the Right to Remain Glazed.”

Lots of thin-blue-line silliness here. But folks don’t stop in for the cop shop corny swag, they come for the goods — the baked goods.

“We offer a full line of great pastries,” said Alan White, one of the nine active and retired Clare police officers who own the bakery.

On the Menu: Some of the bakery’s most popular creations include the sweet-and-salty Bacon Squealer, an elongated maple-glazed doughnut with two bacon strips. Other popular choices include the Fleeing Felon Fritter (an apple creation that is big, cinnamon-y, and moist) and the custard-filled, chocolate-frosted Bismarck.

In 2013, Saveur magazine even named Cops & Doughnuts — then only one location, in Clare, Michigan — one of the finest doughnut shops in the nation and their “NightStick” (a triple-chocolate Long John) as one of the best doughnuts in the world. The following year, Doughnut Showdown, a popular television show on the Food Channel, picked Cops & Doughnuts’ “Driftwood Doughnut” (a Long John filled with coconut cream and topped with chocolate ganache and toasted coconut) as a contest winner, netting the bakers a $10,000 top prize.

Cookie lovers will want to try the jumbo oatmeal raisin date-filled cookies, the jumbo chocolate chip, or the jumbo peanut butter.

(Jumbo is a common theme here.) Wash that sweet treat down with their signature coffee — available in medium roast (Day Shift) dark roast (Night Shift) or decaf (Off-Duty).

An assortment of breads is baked fresh daily, including Italian, cinnamon-raisin, pumpernickel rye, cheddar cheese, and more.

“We have a fifth-generation breadmaker overseeing things,” said White.

Find the Cops & Doughnuts Gaylord location — aka, the “Jay’s Precinct” shop — at 1151 South Otsego Ave., which is connected to the Jay’s Sporting Goods store. www. copsdoughnuts.com, (989) 968-4488.

ADD SOME SPICE TO YOUR LIFE

Flying Noodle Traverse City The Flying Noodle — the baby sister of beloved taco shop Mama Lu’s, which operates just across the street — landed in downtown Traverse City in July 2020, inside the space formerly occupied by eateries like Gaijin and, before that, Harvest. The aptly titled “Italian Pasta House” offers a delightful array of carb-y dishes and vegetarian staples at equally delightful prices.

“As with Mama Lu’s, our team [Heather and Dallas Dziedzic and Mama Lu’s owners John Larson and Adrienne Brunette] really wanted to bring Traverse City another casual and approachable concept,” said Heather Dziedzic. “Somewhere where you can bring your family for dinner, or go on date night, or just pop in during lunch and grab a quick bite.”

On the Menu: In three words, affordable Italian goodness. The entire pasta portion —

Do Yourself a Favor: Phone first!

We’d like nothing better than for our readers to support local restaurants like these featured here, but before popping in anywhere, we recommend calling ahead to stay abreast of the latest regarding each eatery’s indoor and outdoor seating availability, reservation requirements, open hours, and menu changes.

Northern Express Weekly • february 15, 2021 • 17

English teacher respectively — tried to find authentic pierogies, like the kind Mike Kotz’s grandmother and aunts used to make.

“First, we tried to find a source [of pierogi] locally, because there are a bunch of Polish halls and whatnot [in Grand Rapids],” Mike Kotz recalled. “The harder we tried, the more disappointing experiences we had. So finally, it boiled down to ‘OK, let’s make them ourselves.’

We got my grandmother’s dough recipe, and we started there.”

Before long, they’d moved from making pierogi for friends and family to selling them out of the home kitchen. Fast-forward to the present day, and Lost Village Pierogi has moved from Grand Rapids to Petoskey and cranking out 500 dozen — yes, 500 dozen — pierogis on its busiest days. If you’d rather not do the math, that’s about 6,000 authentic dumplings a day, each doughy delight handmade, filled, pressed, boiled, frozen, and packed into bags.

“Our pierogi goes right from frozen to sauté. It’s pretty much just five minutes on each side in the pan, in your oil of choice,” said Mike Kotz.” We say ‘From freezer to dinner plate in under 10 minutes.’”

On the Menu: Lost Village has a regular rotation of more than 20 different pierogi 1-9PM varieties,MONDAY-THURSDAY ranging from what Mike Kotz calls “the traditional stuff,” fillings like potato FRIDAY & SATURDAY 12-10PM and cheddar,SUNDAY or kielbasa and sauerkraut, 12-9PM to more experimental approaches, like an “overwhelmingly popular” Lobster Rangoon recipe, or a pierogi called “Hog Slop” that’s filled with pulled pork, mashed potatoes, and corn) The Kotzes are even willing to do custom orders; Holly Kotz said one customer in Grand Rapids asked them to make a batch of pierogi stuffed with cream cheese, raisins, and chives — a customer’s family tradition from youth.

Lost Village Pierogi are $15 per dozen but they are packaged by the half-dozen, so you (231) 252-3552 can mix-n-match, which, with more than a 439 combos E Eighth St.Kielbasa Kraut to dozen savory (from Philly cheesesteak to Cuban Traverse City Pork Tamale) and four dessert varieties (think: Cinnamon Apple French Toast, Pineapple Upside Down Cake), trust us, you’ll want to mix and match. Luckily, they offer a three-dozen special for $40; save $5 and mix ’n match up to six varieties.

Lost Village Pierogi is located at 307 Petoskey St for curbside service and local delivery. It occasionally hosts mobile events across the North (see Lost Village Pierogi’s Facebook page for announcements). Check out the current menu and the online order form at www.lostvillagepierogi.com.

at My Grandmother’s Table might have enjoyed Jamaican Jerked Chicken, Russian Kotleti, Thai Orange Chicken, Italian Gnocchi with Meatballs or Sausage, Polish Pierogi and Kielbasa (possibly the best Polish sausage we’ve ever tasted, elevated further by a creamy cucumber salad bathed in a subtle, creamy sauce crowned with a sprig of dill), Amish Meatloaf, St. Louis Pulled Pork, and Three Sisters Stew, a hearty combo that takes its name from the traditional Native American trio planting of corn, beans, and squash.

Not enough for ya? Easton and Zebediah made use of the recent break from in-person dining to ready their upcoming winter menu, which includes, among other things, Ukrainian City Chicken, Japanese Sushi, Israeli French Toast, Cuban Black Bean Soup, New York City Eggs Benedict, and African Jollof Rice with Chicken.

Find My Grandmother’s Table at 115 Bridge St., in Charlevoix. (231) 437-3132 or search “My Grandmother’s Table” on Facebook.

NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS

Farm Club 231.946.8822 Leelanau County To paraphrase MANISTEE AND the famous line from the TRAVERSE 1989 film Field of CITY LOCATIONS Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” That’s certainly what happenedWound with the dream that Diabetic Little Fleet’s Gary and Allison Jonas and Loma Farm’s NicCare and Management Sara Theisen realized upon launching Farm Club in mid-July 2020 on the Leelanau Peninsula.

Sports The venture is Injuries unique in northern MichiganAnkle — and even far beyond it. “We’re not Replacements a farm-to-table restaurant,” said Nic Theisen.

“We’re a restaurant on a farm.” It’s a fine Dr Jeffrey S Weber, distinction, but a significant one.DPM, Farm Club is situated on 35 scenic acres just Fellowship Trained Surgeon off the Traverse Area Recreation Trail (TART), near Dr Mile 7. Its hilltop centerpiece, housing a Randy G Hartman, DPM, restaurant, brewery, bakery, and marketplace, Board striking Certified is an architecturally structure clad in rough-hewn cedar and topped with a metal roof www.BirchTreeFootandAnkle.com and solar panels that blend seamlessly into the rural character of the landscape. (The owners worked with Traverse City’s DesignSmith on the concept.) Energy-efficient floor-toceiling windows run the entire length of the south-facing side of the building, framing the spectacular pastoral views and leading out to a long, covered patio and a sprawling seating area with well-distanced picnic tables. A number of fire pits and a large tent also a stand ready to add warmth outside.

On the Menu: As one would expect from a farm-led kitchen — helmed by executive chef Abra Berens, whose “Ruffage: A Practical My Grandmother’s Table Guide to Vegetables,” was named one of the Charlevoix best cookbooks of 2019 by The New Yorker Jozef “Joe” Zebediah’s magazine — Farm Club’s menu is printed daily. late grandmother, Martha Intriguing yet approachable, its categories DeMarino, may not have even include snacks, boards, small plates, large known who famous chef James plates, and desserts. A recent selection featured Beard Famous was during her life in such diverse choices as IPA popcorn (made Burgers.

Pittsburgh. But, according to with Michigan popcorn and East Kent Golding Zebediah, she embodied his love of food and hops), a plowman’s platter (with locally cured Local Brews and enormous Craft Cocktails. its ability to not only bridge cultural meat, fish, and cheese), fried eggplant (with gaps but also to nourish, heal, and harken. cauliflower, arugula, tahini, and lentils), beans AsFreshwater co-owner of one of Charlevoix’s newest and broth (calypso beans, olive oil, garlic Fish. eateries, My Grandmother’s Table, Zebediah and thyme, with homemade bread and green and his partner, Nick Easton, want to mimic salad) and a sausage plate (with spaetzle, apple Soups and Sandwiches.

DeMarino’s approach — nourishing their mustard, and green salad). Dessert was a community with high-quality poly-ethnic choice of panna cotta or rice pudding. cuisine. And though there are many tables in Besides the incredible food, beer is a big deal their restaurant, it’s all modeled after one: hers. at Farm Club. Brewer Corey Valdez, a former DON’T FORGET TOTS! “My grandmother livedTHE in a very culturally professor, with a PhD in organic chemistry, diverse neighborhood, and she loved inviting brews at least a half-dozen proprietary ales and ( We over knowfor you’ve missed ) neighbors dinner, ” saidthem.

Zebediah.

“If lagers onsite, all with fairly low ABVs yet high they were from Japan or Africa or Poland — in flavor. His table beer and farmhouse ale are or even if they were from America, she’d ask both made with wild yeast harvested on the them, ‘What is a food you miss from home?’ property, and he and Nic are experimenting Then she’d gather the ingredients for these with other on-site botanicals, herbs, flowers dishes and do her best to recreate them.” or fruits that might be incorporated into the On the Menu: While My Grandmother’s brewing process at some future date.

Table touts a tantalizing selection of baked How does a restaurant with such a strong goods, (including some vegan offerings) and focus on seasonality continue to be seasonal a fully-appointed coffee bar capable of all the when winter comes to the farm, and the fields best coffee and tea concoctions, but it’s the food are dormant? “Nic is231.334.3754 working hard to cellar a artsglenarbor.com menu, with its ethnically diversified offerings, lot of vegetables so that we can feature local that is so interesting. produce year-round,” said Allison Jonas. “And On any given day in the last year, a patron he is also preserving. He made an amazing

NOW OPEN FOR INDOOR & OUTDOOR SEATING!

KEEP LOCAL ALIVE! Yep, we’re still here, thanks to you.

Authenti

cal y Art

’s since 193

DINE-IN or TAKE-OUT

18 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

4!

kimchi recently that we’re selling in the market, and we’ll have all sorts of pickled and fermented foods. Another thing we’re doing is taking the spent grains from the brewery and giving them to a farmer who will use them for animal feed and start raising pigs and chickens for us.”

Farm Club is located at 10051 S. Lake Leelanau Dr., (Country Road 641), just north of downtown Traverse City. For more information, call (231) 252-3079, visit farmclubtc.com, or check them out on Facebook or Instagram.

Turkey’s Cafe & Pizzeria Harbor Springs According to owner Jeff Graham, Turkey’s Cafe & Pizzeria in Harbor Springs — a picturesque indoor-outdoor eatery styled in perky and preppy pink, white, and black — is located in one of Harbor Springs’ oldest structures, a former newspaper office and, as fate would have it, site of the first pizza ever made in that town.

Patio seating behind a white picket fence and under a large shade tree supplements Turkey’s small dining room, one side of which is lined with compact wooden booths. A short cocktail bar on the opposite wall connects two larger booths. A vintage bottle collection and other nostalgic knick-knacks hearken to the days when Graham, currently in his 45th year as owner, was growing up in the tiny hamlet on the shores of Little Traverse Bay. On the Menu: Aside from the hearty, excellent pizzas that feature handmade dough and meats from the 1913-founded Plath’s Smoked Meats, the restaurant offers a variety of large sandwiches in a range of styles, including six specialty burgers, five filling sandwiches, plus three wraps and three sandwiches all featuring … what else? Turkey!

These namesake birds are roasted right in the restaurant, their tender white meat hand-pulled and stuffed between layers of homemade bread. Turkey specialties include the sizable Turkey Sandwich, Turk’s Turkey Day Sandwich, and popular Turkey Club, which comes piled with deep red tomatoes, crisp green lettuce, and mayo slathered on thick, grilled whole wheat bread.

On the lighter side, Turkey’s offers eight robust salads, the most popular being the Cherry Chicken Salad — a bed of greens layered with grilled chicken breast, dried cherries, feta cheese, walnuts, onions, and a tasty raspberry vinaigrette. For those who prefer low-frills, Turkey’s offers the basics: a grilled cheese, the All-American Hot Dog, and chicken strips.

But for those who want frills, and plenty of them, pizza is what puts Turkey’s on the map.

Handmade and hand-tossed dough gives each pie a golden brown, slightly crunchy crust that makes a perfect palette for the pizzeria’s rainbow of fresh toppings. Plath’s meats account for the protein options, while vegetable topping choices include fresh basil, chopped garlic, artichoke hearts, jalapenos, and a dozen more.

Find Turkey’s Cafe & Pizzaria at 250 E. Main St., in Harbor Springs. www.turkeyspizzaria. com, (231) 526-6041.

Flying Noodle Traverse City The Flying Noodle — the baby sister of beloved taco shop Mama Lu’s, which operates just across the street — landed in downtown Traverse City in July 2020, inside the space formerly occupied by eateries like Gaijin and, before that, Harvest. The aptly titled “Italian Pasta House” offers a delightful array of carb-y dishes and vegetarian staples at equally delightful prices.

“As with Mama Lu’s, our team [Heather and Dallas Dziedzic and Mama Lu’s owners John Larson and Adrienne Brunette] really wanted to bring Traverse City another casual and approachable concept,” said Heather Dziedzic. “Somewhere where you can bring your family for dinner, or go on date night, or just pop in during lunch and grab a quick bite.”

On the Menu: In three words, affordable Italian goodness. The entire pasta portion —

ranging from a classic marinara to a campanelle with peas, ricotta, and lemon — clocks in at just $10 a dish, making it all too easy to sample several. Dziedzic said a favorite is the bucatini, which features pancetta, garlic, a simple white wine sauce, and truffle oil.

Pizzas are the next biggest draw. “Our ‘roman style’ pizzas are crave-worthy,” Dziedzic said. “A thicker focaccia-style dough is cooked to melty perfection with this delightful, crispy crust. The Italian is the most popular, with a smoky tomato sauce and prosciutto.”

Though the pastas and pizzas are the headliners, there’s even more to explore: a Caesar salad with bright lemon notes; white beans with herbs, olive oil, and a side of scrumptious garlic bread; and heirloom tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella, aged balsamic, cucumbers, and pancetta. Don’t forget the strawberry-filled Italian donuts, complete with Nutella, wine selections sourced from Italy and northern Michigan, or the Italian margarita made with amaretto and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Find The Flying Noodle at 136 E. Front St. (231) 943-1178, flyingnoodletc.com.

Cops & Doughnuts Bakery Gaylord There’s a cop shop in Gaylord where the phrase “D.W.I.” has nothing to do with adult beverages or erratic driving. At the Cops & Doughnuts Bakery, “D.W.I.” means “Donuts Were Involved,” a bit of sly humor that adorns coffee mugs, T-shirts, hats, and police-related gear available for visitors.

Don’t like that one? Try “Don’t Glaze Me, Bro.” or “Cereal Killer” or “You Have the Right to Remain Glazed.”

Lots of thin-blue-line silliness here. But folks don’t stop in for the cop shop corny swag, they come for the goods — the baked goods.

“We offer a full line of great pastries,” said Alan White, one of the nine active and retired Clare police officers who own the bakery.

On the Menu: Some of the bakery’s most popular creations include the sweet-and-salty Bacon Squealer, an elongated maple-glazed doughnut with two bacon strips. Other popular choices include the Fleeing Felon Fritter (an apple creation that is big, cinnamon-y, and moist) and the custard-filled, chocolate-frosted Bismarck.

In 2013, Saveur magazine even named Cops & Doughnuts — then only one location, in Clare, Michigan — one of the finest doughnut shops in the nation and their “NightStick” (a triple-chocolate Long John) as one of the best doughnuts in the world. The following year, Doughnut Showdown, a popular television show on the Food Channel, picked Cops & Doughnuts’ “Driftwood Doughnut” (a Long John filled with coconut cream and topped with chocolate ganache and toasted coconut) as a contest winner, netting the bakers a $10,000 top prize.

Cookie lovers will want to try the jumbo oatmeal raisin date-filled cookies, the jumbo chocolate chip, or the jumbo peanut butter.

(Jumbo is a common theme here.) Wash that sweet treat down with their signature coffee — available in medium roast (Day Shift) dark roast (Night Shift) or decaf (Off-Duty).

An assortment of breads is baked fresh daily, including Italian, cinnamon-raisin, pumpernickel rye, cheddar cheese, and more.

“We have a fifth-generation breadmaker overseeing things,” said White.

Find the Cops & Doughnuts Gaylord location — aka, the “Jay’s Precinct” shop — at 1151 South Otsego Ave., which is connected to the Jay’s Sporting Goods store. www. copsdoughnuts.com, (989) 968-4488.

Do Yourself a Favor: Phone first!

We’d like nothing better than for our readers to support local restaurants like these featured here, but before popping in anywhere, we recommend calling ahead to stay abreast of the latest regarding each eatery’s indoor and outdoor seating availability, reservation requirements, open hours, and menu changes.

LOFTY AMBITIONS Watch — or join — the kitemare on Lake Leelanau Feb. 20: the Midwest Snow Kite Jam

By Craig Manning You wanna fly, little girl? Or try flying yourself? You’ll have your chance Feb. 20, when a mix of local and out-of-town snowkiters converge on Lake Leelanau’s ice in search of big wind and even bigger air.

Next weekend marks the annual Midwest Snow Kite Jam, one of the few local events going forward in early 2021 in spite of COVID-19.

The reason? According to Laythen Young, a Portage-based physical therapist who’s one of the event’s organizations, just watching Snow Kite Jam sessions sparks intense awe and entertainment — even with social distancing and other COVID precautions observed.

Think of snow kiting as the cold-weather equivalent of kiteboarding. It takes the summer sport and makes it a winter one — trading sun for snow, water for ice, and water kiteboarding boards for skis or snowboards. Snow-kiters can aim for speed, height, tricks, or length of time in the air, depending on their preference or the event at hand. The upcoming Jam offers kiters opportunities for all of the above, with three main competitive events — plus a clinic for newbies — all on the tentative schedule for the day.

SNOW KITE CENTRAL: LAKE LEELANAU Whether you’re interested in joining the Jam as a participant or spectator, you’ll find the event’s “home base” on Lake Leelanau, at 7001 E Bingham Rd., along with dozens of competitive snow kiters from four different states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois.

Young tells Northern Express that the Midwest Snow Kite Jam has been happening in some form since the early 2010s, with Lake Leelanau earning “home base” status due to its snow-kite-friendly geography.

“We like Lake Leelanau,” Young said. “First of all, it has good proximity to Traverse City.

Most of our [out-of-town] participants are staying in Traverse City, so it’s 20 minutes out, and it’s easy to get there. Second, it’s a long lake.

When the wind blows out of the southwest or the northwest — which are the predominant

two directions when we don’t have a storm coming in — it’s ideal [for snow kiting] because the wind will blow along the whole length of the lake and create perfect conditions.”

Ah … “perfect conditions” — that elusive northern Michigan weather event.

Despite hosting the event at a venue naturally predisposed to a kiteboarders’ ideal conditions, Young acknowledges there’s always a roll of the dice when it comes to picking a specific day for a big event like the Snow Kite Jam. “You gotta pray for wind,” he said.

Provided the wind blows on Feb. 20 — and from the right direction, hopefully — the Midwest Snow Kite Jam will consist of three main competitive events. First, around 10am, snow kiters will race each other around a makeshift course on the ice to see who is fastest.

Second, around noon, there will be a “freestyle competition,” with a ramp and a rail set up for snow kiters to showcase their slide and ride skills. Third, around 1pm, competitors will take part in a high jump competition, which Young describes as the snow kiting equivalent of pole vaulting. All times, of course, are tentative, depending on wind and weather conditions.

WIND + WATER = WHOA If you’re starved for some good oldfashioned live-sports spectating — and lord knows there haven’t been many opportunities for that lately — you might wonder what sort of athletic feats you could behold at the Midwest Snow Kite Jam. The good news is that each event has its own charms. The mass start of the snow kite race, for instance, makes for a great photo op, with multi-colored kites filling the sky as racers catch the wind nearly simultaneously.

The freestyle competition combines the daring tricks of a ski-and-snowboard terrain park (itself the winter version of a skate park), with the added propulsion of the kite, for some truly thrilling sights.

And if what you’re in the mood for is a full-on high-flying display, then you can’t beat the high jump, where Young says competitors

will be asked to leap over incrementally higher benchmarks as the contest goes on. The starting height is two feet, though Young says the setup for the high jump allows for a hurdle as high as 20 feet in the air.

“We probably won’t put [the bar] up to 20 feet unless there’s a good foot or foot-and-a-half of snow on the ground [for padding],” Young said.

“In the water, we’ve got [kiteboarders] who post 60 feet, but when you’re falling on water, it’s a little safer than falling on ice. I did put a 20-footer up there, though, if somebody wants to try it.”

MUST HAVE (OR BE WILLING TO WORK FOR) ROCK-HARD ABS Snow kiting is a lot of fun to watch from the sidelines, but if you want to get in the game, now could be the perfect opportunity.

Tentatively scheduled for 2pm that day is a snow-kiting clinic, where folks can learn the basics of the sport without having to bring or invest in any gear of their own. “[Participants] will have an opportunity to fly a snow-kite trainer, which is basically just a small two-line kite,” Young said. “The class is going to be about 30 minutes to an hour, and we’ll just do a little demonstration of the equipment and a few safety procedures, like how to set the equipment up and what it involves. We just want to see if we can grow the sport a little bit.”

From the thrills to the growing tightknit community of snow kiters in northern Michigan, there are many good reasons to get involved with the sport. You will, of course, need your own kite if you decide to take your new hobby beyond Saturday’s clinic. Luckily, there will be a raffle for a brand-new kite at this year’s event, with tickets available to participants and spectators alike.

As for athletic ability, snow kiting might look effortless when you’re watching someone clear a 15-foot bar in a high jump competition, but it does take a certain amount of strength and ability.

“It’s a slightly common misconception that you need a lot of upper body strength [for snow kiting],” said Kristi Avery, a local

financial advisor and passionate snow kiter.

“While that’s really important, I think core and leg strength are a more dominant need for learning how to kite on water or on snow.

The harness takes the bulk of the power from the kite, and that’s wrapped around your waist.

The kite connects directly to that harness, and you steer with the bar that’s also connected to the harness. So that’s where all of the pressure is taken, and you want to make sure that you are at least somewhat athletic to give it a go.”

Still, Avery says that if someone wants to get into the sport, winter is the better time.

Snow kiting on ice has a gentler learning curve than kiteboarding on water, with skis (rather than a snowboard) the best equipment for beginners just learning the ropes.

GET OUT (OR UP!) THERE If you’re interested in attending this year’s Midwest Snow Kite Jam as a participant — whether competing for a medal or simply trying the clinic — you can register online at www.eventbrite. com/e/2021-midwest-snowkite-jamtickets-135446968529. Keep an eye on www.facebook.com/2021Snowkitejam for the latest updates about the event, including details about parking and any changes of plans due to weather.

Northern Express Weekly • february 15, 2021 • 19

ON THE LINE Local restaurateurs get personal

By Lynda Wheatley At the outset of the pandemic, it’s likely none of us knew just how surreal it would feel to go weeks, months, and — for some of us — nearly a year without gathering inside a restaurant.

The simple act of bellying up to a bar, cozying up in a booth, or tucking in to a white-cloth-covered table for a meal with friends, coworkers, clients, or even a first date was suddenly recategorized a lifethreatening risk.

Whatever your conviction about the reality of the risk, or the rules intended to mitigate it, we all paid a price in losing that simple pleasure — no one, of course, more than the people whose livelihoods depend on it.

To get a better sense of the in-house experience over the last 11 months, Northern Express reached out to a dozen restaurants across northwest Lower Michigan. Of those willing to share their “family’s” struggles and strategies, we opted to highlight the eateries you might assume odds would favor — those located in one of the most densely populated areas Up North, the nationallyknown foodie town, Traverse City.

JOLLY PUMPKIN Jim DeMarsh, General Manager Before & Now: With our ability to add additional outdoor tables, we actually ended up with roughly the same amount of seats prior to the onset of the pandemic. Staffing, however, has been particularly difficult, and we anticipate more struggles with this heading into the 2021 season.

Summer Changes: We were able to add about 10 additional patio tables that helped to offset our limited indoor dining. One of the greatest assets we were able to take advantage of is the physical landscape of our property, encouraging guests to BYOB (Bring your own blanket), order take out and have a picnic on our lawn overlooking West bay. Any given evening we could see 15–20 socially distanced groups enjoying our food and craft beverages on our lawn.

Winter Changes: We added heaters, made sure our outdoor fires were lit, and did our best to make an inviting atmosphere.

New Strategies: We certainly had to take a practical approach to the menu items we were offering, in particular, items in which would “travel” well and still uphold our standards.

The Worst: The uncertainty of knowing when we could re-open, when we could call staff back, and having to do so on what seemed like a moment’s notice was very difficult.

The Best: By far the greatest moment was right before we re-opened after Memorial Weekend. Every single one of our staff members returned with an eagerness to get back to work. As with most businesses, there is a family-type atmosphere that holds us together.

AMICAL Co-owner David Denison Past & Present: We had 16 tables (seating for 100) inside and eight tables (seating for 32) on the patio, although our occupancy is higher. Before the first shutdown in March, we had 40 staff members and typically employ up to 65 staff members in our high [summer] season. Right now, we’re at 27 seats inside, 20 outside, and 25 staff members — most of whom are part-time.

Summer Changes: We added four tables on the street, with umbrellas, which gave us 16 seats. We already had the extra tables; we removed them from our dining room and patio to reduce to the 50 percent capacity restrictions there. The time and investment were absolutely worth it; guests wanted to be outside.

Winter Changes: We invested in additional heaters. Our patio covers, curtains, and drops have been in place for quite some time.

[Amical has always been able to seat guests on its patio year-round if they prefer to sit outside.] However, this resulted in zero extra seating because the Grand Traverse County Health Department ruled the outdoor patio not serviceable as an outdoor dining option.

Other Investments: We upped the level of our disinfectant and sanitizing products, along with the frequency of use, installed hand sanitizer stations, and changed to a higher quality, compostable to-go container program. The to-go containers easily added 5 percent to our costs during our carryout-

20 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

only restrictions. I can’t imagine the impact on the landfills across the country or what some of our patrons have stashed in their cupboards.

Worth It? If we are able to keep our staff and guests safe and healthy during these times, then we would have to say the investment in these practices was worth the cost. We have spent a quartercentury building trust with our clients and community. We were not going to throw that away by not complying with health and safety protocols during a pandemic.

The Big Hit: Revenue was down about 40 percent in the summer season and down 65–70 percent this winter.

New Strategies: During our carryout only period, we offered 50 percent off the price of our wine list, restructured our menu to accommodate family meal “take-andbake” items, offered alternative packaging/ sizing on some desserts and menu items.

Our curbside pickup was engineered to be touchless if our guests requested this option, and we offered food pickup out back during the summer street closure.

The Worst: The moment we realized that we had little to no control over the events as they continued to unfold. With no experience in dealing with the scope of this type of business interruption, no immediate financial support or insurance reimbursements on the horizon, things initially looked quite bleak.

The Best: The best part I suppose, if there is a best part, was the support from the community. Not just ordering takeout but also how they came together and financially helped so many of our staff through the hardest moment of their lives. It was just remarkable.

We always knew the restaurant would survive this because of the community we live in.

Our biggest worry was our staff being able to survive this financially and mentally. —Jeffery Libman, Amical general manager.

THE FLYING NOODLE Adrienne Brunette, Owner Operator Opening Interrupted: [The Flying Noodle, which opened downtown in July 2020] was supposed to be 60 seats with a team of 20 to 25.

Now, with just 15 seats, we have a staff of eight.

Left: Amical GM Jeffrey Libman’s survival tip for comrades in the trenches: “Do everything that you can to help people during difficult periods. Be supportive, be understanding, and try to keep your “family” intact. Challenging times come and go. How you treat one another during the most extreme circumstances will define the future of your relationships.”

Right: In addition to ingredients, The Good Bowl’s DIY Dumpling Kit includes a QR code to show you how to make the perfect folds for three types of dumplings, as well as easy cooking instructions.

Changes: With Front Street closed this summer, we were able to add a patio with tables and umbrellas, and seating for 20.

This winter — we didn’t add any seating; there’s no space.

Worth It? Absolutely worth the investment, but it was difficult to come up with more operating capital when we were just opening; [pandemic-prompted expenses] were not in the initial budget.

Regardless, it paid off in seats for our guests and jobs for our team.

For Keeps? We do not know if Front Street will be closed to traffic again in the future, but if it is, absolutely. If not, we’re located somewhere an outdoor space is proving a bit difficult to make work.

Other Investments: An air filtration system, delivery service, and lots of PPE and cleaning supplies. Also, lots of printing for single-use menus, contact-tracing sheets, signage, and distributing information to guests and staff. We also had a huge additional expense of carryout packaging. In total, about $20K. New Strategies: We did make several menu changes to accommodate takeout, including adding pizza to the menu and nearly at-cost to go wine and beer.

The Big Hit: Since we were not open last year, we don’t have anything to compare it to. But we know the demand for the seats is there, so we estimate a 50 percent or more loss in revenue.

The Worst: By far, having to lay off almost 20 people weeks before Christmas. It makes me well up in tears even now because, honestly, we had made it so far, and it just felt so defeating. To have to deliver such crap news to people you really care about — there is just nothing that feels worse than that moment for me. I felt helpless that we didn’t have jobs for them, because their jobs suddenly didn’t exist.

When it’s finally time to ...

DOWNSIZE

BUY YOUR DREAM HOME

OR FIND THE PERFECT VACATION HOME The Best: When we finally opened our doors for the first time in July. When we started the project at the end of 2019, there was no pandemic, and we were naively plugging away at what was supposed to be an early spring opening. Those first few months of the shutdown, with people unable to work construction, the opening date kept getting pushed back with every extended stay-athome order; it felt like a 5k that turned into a marathon. When we finally opened those doors and were able to welcome a full — well, 50 percent — restaurant of guests, it was that moment every restaurant owner works toward, and we just looked at each other and said, “We freaking made it!”

Industry Survival Tip: Keep reminding yourselves that while it feels never-ending, this too shall pass. And drink lots of coffee.

Wine helps too.

THE GOOD BOWL, DOWNTOWN TRAVERSE CITY Soon Hagerty, co-owner of The Good Bowl Before & Now: Before, we had 36 seats and 17–18 part-time and full-time staff.

This summer, we added five [sidewalk?] tables, which added roughly 20 seats, but we still had to focus on occupancy limits.

Most people chose to take advantage of our outdoor seating, which was very beneficial.

It’s always nice to eat al fresco — and it created attention for our restaurant, bringing in more traffic. We couldn’t do the same in winter, so we focused on takeout specials and virtual events. Overall, we saw 7 percent less in annual revenue from 2019 to 2020.

Other Investments: We invested in a lot of PPE — and also, beautiful 8-foot-tall partitions between tables for added safety; the cost was roughly $1,800.

New Strategies: We created beautiful, branded cocktail bottles, virtual cooking classes, weekly specials to keep things fresh, DIY Dumpling Kits, frozen pho and

The struggle customers don’t see? “Everything,” replied Flying Noodle’s Adrienne Brunette. “Really, I think we have tried to be very transparent with our guests in our journey through all of this; we needed to include them because it was so uncharted. I think the things they don’t see — and that we try to make sure they don’t feel — is the immense stress of it all. The constant requirement to be planning ahead for things you cannot control so our guests and staff don’t feel that uncertainty. Even today, we have to be ready for anything. Another shutdown; 50 percent, 40 percent or 100 percent seating; supply chain issues, our team’s health — it’s just constantly making a plan for every scenario, and then making a plan for a plan for a plan.”

dumplings, and fun chefs’ challenges to create new and unique dishes for our guests.

We also relied on our values: supporting our community. We created The Good Bowl Hospitality Fund that supported any foodservice or hospitality worker in TC that needed help, giving gas cards and Meijer gift cards — we were so proud as a team to be able to do that for this struggling industry.

Takeaway: I guess you have to decide what you focus on in times of crisis, the good or the bad. We chose to look at what we could change and then elevate. Our biggest challenge was ensuring the health and safety of our employees; the first time one of our employees contracted it, we had to ensure we handled it well and as thoughtfully as possible. We didn’t have a playbook to look at and had to navigate it as best as we could — based on employees first and business second, while balancing each employee’s view on the pandemic’s impact on them personally.

What Customers Don’t See: The dayto-day worry of what day you will have to shut down the business if there is a COVID breakout was paralyzing and emotionally taxing. And how to keep staff on during a shutdown and loss of dine-in. We had to keep paying our key players, regardless of sales, to ensure we could retain that toptier talent to serve our guests when things opened back up.

Industry Survival Tip: I truly believe you have to take care of your team first, otherwise your restaurant will never sustain a culture

Jennifer Gaston will guide you through the process as your trusted advocate.

Be the priority and call Jennifer today!

REALTOR

jennifer@jennifergaston.com 231.313.0591

SUPPORT YOUR CULINARY COMMUNITY: EAT1 As our region’s service industry emerges from the state’s second indoor-dining shutdown and into a winter season rife with restrictions and more unknowns, we encourage you to support their community’s local restaurants while you still can.

Dine in, take out, and take advantage of special events like these: • Traverse City’s Restaurant Week, expanded for the first time from one week to two, will run Sunday, Feb. 21 to Saturday, March 6. Thirty participating restaurants will offer either $25 or $35 three-course meals for dine-in or carryout.

For links to menus and reservation and ordering information, click on Events at www.downtowntc.com.

• Harbor Springs Area Spring Restaurant Week starts Feb. 26 and runs 10 days, until March 7. So far, 10 restaurants are offering up special menus and deals, with more likely to join. For the latest participants and menu peeks, click on Events at www.harborspringschamber.com.

Northern Express Weekly • february 15, 2021 • 21

feb 13

saturday

FREE FISHING WEEKEND: Feb. 13-14. Two days twice a year, families & friends can enjoy one of Michigan’s premiere outdoor activities - Michigan fishing - for free! petoskeyarea.com/event-detail/free-fishing-weekend-1

---------------------CHOCOLATE COVERED BOYNE: Boyne City, Feb. 12-13. Featuring a Chocolate Dessert Contest & tasty specials, treats & sales. boynecitymainstreet.com/calendar/event/chocolate-covered-boyne-4

---------------------DOWNTOWN PETOSKEY’S WINTER WEEKEND: Feb. 12-15. Tour over 30 ice sculptures, shop the President’s Day deals, & grab dinner to go, or sit down & dine. petoskeydowntown. com/downtown-events/winterweekend

---------------------INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: Downtown Charlevoix, Feb. 12-15. Bargains on a variety of merchandise at participating stores. business.charlevoix.org/events/details/indoor-sidewalk-sales-02-12-2021-13141

---------------------FEBRUARY VALENTINE GIFT TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS: 10am-4pm, Music House Museum, Williamsburg. During February, the Music House Museum will be offering free tours to all on the medical front lines during the pandemic. Open Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays throughout Feb. for tours. Call & make a reservation. musichouse.org

---------------------HARBOR SPRINGS’ THIRD ANNUAL ICE FEST: Downtown Harbor Springs, Feb. 12-14.

Ice sculptures will be stationed around the city. downtownharborsprings.com/general-2

---------------------NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: An original play with music by Mad River Theater Works, based on Eugene Bullard’s life, the first African-American combat pilot & adventurer. True story. Register. Free. Runs Feb. 3 – March 5. greatlakescfa.org/event-detail/next-gen-virtual-event-wings-of-courage

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PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND SALE EVENT & LOOKIN’ FOR LINCOLN SCAVENGER HUNT: Feb. 12-14. Featuring many deals in Downtown TC shops & restaurants. Be Lookin’ for Lincoln in the storefronts for the Presidents’ Day weekend scavenger hunt. Find all of the masked honest Abes & enter to win $200 in Downtown gift certificates. Ballots will be available at all participating locations. downtowntc. com/presidents-day-weekend-sale-event

---------------------SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: Presented by 5

To One & Norte. Sign up with Great Start to be a sculptor, stroller, or both. Sculptors will receive a free Talking is Teaching resource bag, book, & a yard sign... plus some Norte swag. Runs Feb. 1 - March 15. greatstartkids.com/snow-sculpturestroll/?mc_cid=89f4a634c7&mc_eid=df24b9efb4

february

13-21

---------------------SUPER SATURDAY: 10am-noon, Career Tech Center, TBAISD, TC. Drive-thru event. Free tax prep, free lunch (Jimmy John’s), prizes, virtual workshops, & free dental pre-screening.

Reserve your spot: 231-714-4696. nmcaa.net/ calendar.asp?eid=1480

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send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

DOG SLED RIDES: Shanty Creek Resort, Schuss Mountain, Nordic Center, Bellaire. Second Hand Mushers Rescue will give dog sled rides. They are offered every 30 minutes from 11am - 1:30pm. Face masks required. Reserve your spot: 866-695-5010. $65 per ride. secondchancemushersrescue.com/dog-sled-rides.html

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LANTERN-LIT SKI & SNOWSHOE: 6-9pm, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. Enjoy an evening ski on GRNA’s groomed ski trails or snowshoe the boardwalk to the river. GRNA will have a warm campfire at the Center pavilion. A self-guided, open-house style ski or snowshoe.

Bring a flashlight or head lamp. Reserve your spot. $5/person. grassriver.org

feb 14

sunday

DATE NIGHT WITH THE DENNOS: 7pm. Enjoy a Valentine’s Day program at home, with a mix of art, music, trivia & prizes. Featuring artworks from the Dennos Museum Center collection, special guests, & a variety of games.

Registration required: $20 per device; $15 Dennos members. shop.dennosmuseum.org/product/date-night/2505. Option: Use code DENNOS to receive a free growler with your order at Rare Bird Brewery. They will prepare a 3-course meal for two ($50). Visit rarebirdbrewpub.com to place your order on Feb. 13 or 14 in advance of the program to secure your dinner. Pick up only.

---------------------FEBRUARY VALENTINE GIFT TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------AIRSOFT BIATHLON: Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville. Combine airsoft & cross-country skiing into the Airsoft Biathlon. For ages 8 & older. Begins at Kinlochen. Start times are 1-3pm. Cost is $20/person; includes crosscountry ski equipment rental & airsoft equipment. Reserve your spot: 888-968-7686, ext.

4000. crystalmountain.com/event/biathlon

---------------------FREE FISHING WEEKEND: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

Come Inside For The Smokehouse

Enjoy free activities at Mackinaw City’s Winter Fest on Sat., Feb. 20. Catch the Outhouse Races at Shepler’s Dock, kids sled races, BIG Freeze obstacle course and Ice Queen Elsa. There will also be a before, after and during party at the Dixie Saloon. mackinawcity.com/events/28th-annual-winter-fest BEAVER DAM OLYMPICS: 1-3pm, Otsego Resort, Gaylord. Featuring 4 person teams competing in 4 activity relays including sack race, corn hole, beer pong, & plank skis. Check-in at 1pm; event starts at 2pm. $100 entry fee per team.

Prizes available for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place teams. otsegoclub.com/event/beaver-dam-olympics-2

----------------------

DOWNTOWN PETOSKEY’S WEEKEND: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

DOG SLED RIDES: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------WINTER

----------------------

PRESIDENTS’ DAY WEEKEND SALE EVENT & LOOKIN’ FOR LINCOLN SCAVENGER HUNT: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

----------------------

“AFFAIRS OF THE HEART”: 7pm. Dorothy Parker’s take on love & relationships is not your typical Valentine’s Day card. She explores the pitfalls of romance, the frailty of relationships & the unrealistic expectations that couples carry with them, all with wit & charm that is singularly her own. This video will be available beginning Feb. 14 at www.oldtownplayhouse.com. Previous videos are also available online. 947-2210, ext.2. Free.

----------------------

INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

----------------------

------------------------------------------HARBOR SPRINGS’ THIRD ANNUAL ICE FEST: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

----------------------

feb 15

monday

DOWNTOWN PETOSKEY’S WINTER WEEKEND: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

--------------

INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: (See Sat., Feb. 13) SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------DOG SLED RIDES: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

Come in from the Cold!

Flavor

Cherrywood Smoked Ribs

Flavor 306 Elm - Kalkaska

22 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

Supremo - Neapolitan Pizza 148 W. Main - Gaylord (989) 748-4848

feb 16

tuesday

VIRTUAL CONNECTING WOMEN LUNCHEON: Noon. “Be Brave” presented

by Heidi Fraser Yocum. Face your dreams, desires & passion & start moving in the direction of living your best life. Held via Zoom. $20 members; $25 not-yet members. Includes a $10 gift card to Snowbelt Brewing Co. Register. gaylordchamber.com

---------------------NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------EXERCISE & HEART HEALTH: 1:30pm. A free class to learn how exercise improves heart health, plus the additional benefits that being active can provide for your overall health. The presenter, David Block, ACSM, CCEP, is a certified clinical exercise physiologist at Munson’s Cardiac Prevention & Rehabilitation Department. To register, email: jransom@tadl.org & you will receive a confirmation email with the details needed to join this Zoom event. Class size is limited to 15.

---------------------SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------ANIMAL COMMUNICATION: Noon. Held online. Explore the basics behind how animals communicate, as well as what it is that they’re “saying” to each other. Reserve your spot.

Free. grassriver.org

----------------------

VIRTUAL ISEA CAFE - THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: 1pm.

Presented by Jess Lasoff-Santos from the University of Michigan & Katie Williamson from Rare’s Center for Behavior & Environment. A Zoom link to participate will be sent to you after registration.

Free. schoolship.org/news-events/isea-cafe

feb 17

wednesday

PETOSKEY & HARBOR SPRINGS VIRTUAL BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5:30-7pm. Hosted on Remo.

Register. petoskey.chambermaster.com/eventregistration/register/23578

---------------------NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------DESIGNING YOUR LIFE VIA ZOOM: 6:30pm.

A 90 minute online workshop that introduces the transformative concepts of the New York Times bestselling book, “Designing Your Life,” led by TC resident Maureen Voss. Registration required. Free. tadl.org/event/designing-yourlife-via-zoom

---------------------SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

feb 18

thursday

IAF: OUTLOOKS ON US NATIONAL SECURITY WITH KAREN GREENBERG: 5pm.

The International Affairs Forum welcomes Karen Greenberg, director of Fordham University’s Center on National Security & author of “Rogue Justice: The Making of the Security State,” to address the state of US strategic alliances around the world & national security challenges facing the Biden-Harris administration. Livestream via Zoom with Q & A. Register for this virtual event. $10 suggested donation; free to students & educators. tciaf.com

---------------------NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------OFFICIATING HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS WITH JOE MALEC: 7pm. Join Joe Malec of Top O’Michigan Officials Association to learn what it takes to become an MHSAA official.

Held online. Register. ncmclifelonglearning. com/event-4155210

---------------------SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------BASIC STEPS TO STARTING A BUSINESS: 11:30am. Presented by SCORE Traverse City, this free virtual workshop will offer a pre-business overview to help you reach a “go or no-go” decision for your start-up idea. You will learn the basics to guide you through your start-up journey. Free. traversecity.score.org/event/ basic-steps-start-business

feb 19

friday

SNO-BLAST WINTER FESTIVAL: 6pm, East Jordan.

The South Arm ORV Club is holding a Guided Safari Ride tonight. The ride will leave from the East Jordan Sno-Mobilers Club Grounds & end back at the Club grounds later in the evening. Find ‘East Jordan Sno Blast’ on Facebook.

---------------------FEBRUARY VALENTINE GIFT TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------LUNCHEON LECTURE: REDISTRICTING THE NEW WAY: Noon. Held online. Sally Marsh, director of special projects for the Michigan Department of State, explains the process of “Voters Not Politicians” constitutional amendment, which makes a commission of 13 randomly selected citizens responsible for drawing district lines for the Michigan Senate, Michigan House of Representatives & U.S. Congress. Register. Free. ncmclifelonglearning.com/event-4086055

---------------------GLEN LAKE BOOK CLUB: 10am, Glen Arbor Town Hall. Featuring “Long Petal of the Sea” by Isabel Allende.

BOOK CATERING SERVICES EARLY !

Dates are filling quickly for rescheduled pandemic weddings 767 Duell Rd. Traverse City 1833-WB-CATER (922-2837) westbaycatering@gmail.com westbaycatering.com

NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------STATE OF COMMUNITY LUNCHEON: 11:30am. Virtual event presented by the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Experts will give updates on topics such as education, health care, housing, high water & more. $10/person. petoskeychamber.com

---------------------SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------“A DISCUSSION ON ELECTIONS & VOTING”: 7pm. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will appear at this virtual event commemorating the centennial anniversary of the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote. Hosted by Rachel Wilczewski, NMC sociology instructor. A live Q&A will follow Benson’s presentation. Held via Zoom: https://nmc. zoom.us/j/96362184978

feb 20

saturday

MACKINAW WINTER FEST: Mackinaw City. Outhouse Races at Shepler’s Dock, kids sled races, BIG Freeze obstacle course & Ice Queen Elsa. Enjoy the before, after & during party at the Dixie Saloon. mackinawcity. com/events/28th-annual-winter-fest

---------------------SNO-BLAST WINTER FESTIVAL: East Jordan.

The East Jordan Sno-Mobilers will hold several outside events at their grounds located on Mt. Bliss Road. There will also be a Grand Story Hour at 11am via Zoom, Sno-Sculpture Contest, Coloring Contest, Sno-Blast Drawing Contest, & more.

Find ‘East Jordan Sno Blast’ on Facebook.

---------------------FEBRUARY VALENTINE GIFT TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------KIDS FREE-SKI: 10am-4pm, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. Twelve pairs of youth skis, designed for ages 6-11, will be available with rental fee waived. Free. grassriver.org

---------------------LAKE LEELANAU SNOWKITE RACE: 10am, Lake Leelanau. A triangle race on Lake Leelanau which includes two classes, skiing & snowboarding. Each race leg will be about two miles.

Presented by Midwest Snow Kite Jam. Find ‘Snowkite Race’ on Facebook.

---------------------MODEL RAILROAD ZOOM MEETING: 10am.

National Model Railroad Association North Central Region Division 2 Monthly Zoom Meeting.

Includes a presentation on model railroading & a show & tell. For login & password contact: superintendent.nmra.ncr.div2@gmail.com Free.

NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------OTSEGO RESORT’S ANNUAL WINTER WINE WALK: Otsego Resort, Gaylord. Check in at noon outside the River Cabin. A winter walk on the snowshoe path from the River

HAPPY HOUR DRINK SPECIALS Tues - 4-8pm: The Pocket Mon March 16- $5 martinis, $5 domestic beer pitcher, $10 craft beer pitcher.

FROM 9pm-1am:OPEN-6PM Kung Fu Rodeo

it in the can night -2pm-10pm $1 domestic, Wed Hours- Get Monday-Thursday $3 craft- w/DJ JR Friday-Sunday noon-10pm Thurs -$2 off all drinks and $2 Labatt drafts w/DJ Ricky T

Tues Feb 16th - open mic comedy

Fri March 20 - Buckets of Beer starting at $8 (2-8pm)

Cabin to the Beaver Dam where a bonfire awaits. Enjoy three wine tasting stations paired with light food fare. Walk or snowshoe. Rentals available, but must be reserved ahead of time: 989-732-5181. $35. otsegoclub.com

---------------------SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------WINTER LUMINARY STROLL & SIP: 6-8pm, Martha Wagbo Farm & Education Center, East Jordan. Family-friendly hike, ski or snowshoe by candlelight. Treats & warming fires back at the farm. BYO favorite mug. Suggested donation: $5-$10/person or $20-$30/family. Find ‘Wagbo Farm & Education Center’ on Facebook.

---------------------MOONLIGHT SNOWSHOE HIKE: 6pm, Otsego Resort, Gaylord. Presented by Tubbs & Atlas & Whitebirch Outfitters. Experience a guided snowshoe hike on new route followed by an outdoor fire & refreshments at the River Cabin. Limited rentals available. Free. whitebirchoutfitters.com

---------------------DOG SLED RIDES: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

feb 21

sunday

2021 TC RESTAURANT WEEK: Downtown TC, Feb. 21 - March 6. Restaurants will offer three-course meals for dine-in or to-go for $25 or $35. downtowntc.com

--------------

FEBRUARY VALENTINE GIFT TO HEALTHCARE WORKERS: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------WINTER FUN DAY: 11am. Celebrate Missaukee Mountain &/or County. Downhill skiing, cross country trails, sledding, contests & games. Family friendly pricing for ski rentals & tow rope tickets for the day. All other activities & games free.

---------------------NEXT GEN VIRTUAL EVENT: “WINGS OF COURAGE”: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------FEBRUARY ACCESS: Noon, GT Civic Center, west side behind Oak Park School, TC. Sled & enjoy hot cocoa. Presented by Arts for All of Northern Michigan. RSVP. $5/person. form.jotform.com/210335766250148?mc_ cid=f388cf57af&mc_eid=31c0d0fd7e

---------------------SNOW SCULPTURE STROLL: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

---------------------THE SKINNY ON 2021: NEW YEAR, NEW PLANTS & NEW PRODUCTS!: 2pm. Held via Zoom. Garden Goods’ Robin Smillie shares what’s new in the garden industry, including houseplants, perennials, tools & garden art. Class will reveal new plants developed for 2021 as well as necessary growing conditions such as zone, soil & sun/ shade requirements. Free for members; $10 for non-members. thebotanicgarden.org/events

---------------------DOG SLED RIDES: (See Sat., Feb. 13)

Y TUESDA TRIVIA TIO A P ON THE PM 7-9

PATIO AND INDOOR - Sunday-Saturday Noon-10pm (kitchen open noon-9pm)

DRINK SPECIALS (3-6 Monday-Friday): $2 well drinks, $2 domestic drafts, $2.50 domestic bottles, $5 Hornitos margarita DAILY FOOD SPECIALS (3-6pm):

Fri Feb 19th: True Tones ($5 cover) Sat March 21 - The Isaac Ryder Band (No Covers) Sat Feb 20th: Wink Solo (no cover) Sunday March 22 KARAOKE Sun 21st:( 10pm-2am) Karaoke

Monday - $1 chips/salsa Tuesday - $1 enchiladas Wednesday - $5 potato basket (fries or tots) Thursday - $5 hot pretzels w/ beer cheese Friday - $5 fried veggies (cauliflower or mushrooms)

941-1930 downtown TC check us out at unionstreetstationtc.net

Noon - 10pm - 221 E State St. downtown TC

Happy Hour: The Chris Michels Band Then: The Isaac Ryder Band

TO-GO ORDERS AVAILABLE - 231-252-4157

Northern Express Weekly • february 15, 2021 • 23

the ADViCE GOddESS Job Corpse

Stainless Steal

: My girlfriend of a year is beautiful, intelligent, sweet, and loving and the first woman I could see having a future with. Last week, I was told I’m being laid off from my job at a large media conglomerate.

I haven’t told anyone, but I’m feeling increasingly guilty for keeping it a secret from my girlfriend. The thing is I’m afraid she’ll think less of me, even if she pretends not to. To be honest, I’d rather break up with her than tell her.

— Distraught

Q

Q

A

A

: Ideally, when you propose a date-night activity, it isn’t a choice between: “We could go to the grocery store and look at all the food we can’t afford to buy” or “to the bank with a sawed-off shotgun and a wheelbarrow.”

GOOD FOR

THRIFT

Acme

Cadillac

Cheboygan

Petoskey

Alpena

Charlevoix

Gaylord

Traverse City

THRIFT LOCAL

goodwillnmi.org

24 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

BY Amy Alkon

However, your heartbreaking “I’d rather break up with her than tell her” probably stems from shortsightedness about female mating psychology. Because men and women co-evolved, men are acutely aware that women seek “providers” as partners. But, in ancestral times, when our current mating psychology was shaped, there was no such thing as wealth: assets that could be stashed (or places to stash them). No money, no banks, no corpse-sized freezer to cram 126 bison burgers into. Accordingly, evolutionary psychologist David Buss explains that women gauge a man’s mate value by “looking beyond his current position” and evaluating his potential: his ability to acquire status and resources in the future. (Today, Top Ramen.

Tomorrow, top surgeon.)

Assuming you didn’t get your job because your boss threw darts at LinkedIn and hit you in the neck, you’ve probably got the smarts, talent, and ambition to get a new gig — or start a business of your own. And chances are there’s more to your relationship than two nice people hooking up on the regular. Cobble together the courage to be vulnerable. Tell your girlfriend what you’re going through, including how you feel: perhaps scared, unsure of your value, and maybe like you’ve let her down. Sure, she might drop you like a hot rock — but she might instead show you she loves you and believes in you, even when you’re having a tough time believing in yourself. There’s one way to find out which it is, and it isn’t by spending two months keeping mum about the layoff while having pretend work calls on Zoom with your friend’s dog.

: I’m a woman in my 20s with a friend who often copies my style. It feels like she’s trying to one-up me, but I’ve tried to ignore it. Well, for years, I’ve rimmed my lower eye with thick black kohl. She commented on it several weeks ago and then started doing it herself. At lunch yesterday, she said (about my eyeliner): “You started doing that? I’ve done it forever.” This is the third time she’s pretended my style she copied was hers first, but I feel petty being upset about it.

— Unflattered : Apparently, there could be two snowflakes that are alike — from very tiny snow crystals — but they probably wouldn’t show up at the same bar wearing the same dress and eyeliner.

“Monkey see, monkey do” isn’t limited to monkeys or stylejacking female friends. Even fruit flies are copycats, spotting an alpha ladyfly getting it on with a particular dudefly and, afterward, engaging in “mate-choice copying”: the insect sex version of “I’ll have what she’s having!” Like fruit flies, we evolved to copy high-status peeps (friends and celebrities) to advance our evolutionary interests: survival, social survival, and our ability to mate and pass on our genes. Accordingly, evolutionary psychologist Abraham Buunk finds that envy is wrongly maligned as a toxic emotion. Sure, some envious people act in destructive ways (“malicious envy”), but simply noticing others outpacing us and feeling bad about it serves as an internal alarm system: “Hey, Slackerella... better catch up!”

We’re told “imitation” is some fabulous form of flattery, so it can feel petty to accuse somebody of stealing your look. However, evolutionary psychologist Vladas Griskevicius explains that we try to make ourselves attractive to potential partners by seeming unique and special, standing out from the crowd. So, this woman’s ultimately cheating in competing for mates, which is probably why she’s “gaslighting” you. Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which somebody tries to destabilize your grasp on the facts by denying what you know is true, to the point where you might start questioning it yourself. In other words, what’s creepy here isn’t so much the crime as the cover-up. Probably the only way to stop this is dialing back her presence in your life. You can call the cops if somebody stabs you or steals your TV, but there are no actual fashion police to be dispatched, a la, “911, what is your emergency?” You: “Help!

She plagiarized my eyeliner!”

MAPLE CITY TOWN HALL HOME of many Polka Dances, Wedding Receptions, and community luncheons over the years.

This 5,400 sq. ft space with seating capacity for 300 and max capacity of 350 is on 5 acres. Zoned for all kinds of uses, from Single Family Dwelling, Duplex, Adult Foster Care and Special land Uses like Boarding or Lodging, Bed and Breakfast, Fruit Packing and Grading, Winery, Kennel, Riding Stable, etc. $299,000 MLS 1877422 5 ACRES ON M-72 PERFECT PARCEL FOR A HOME and road side farm stand, with frontage on M-72, and Cedar Rd. Zoned Agricultural Residential with Special Uses. Has billboard with annual rent paid for additional income. $85,000 MLS 1872575

30 ACRES IN LEELANAU Choose from 30 acres or 3 different 10 acre parcels in this location, just outside the village of Empire. An easement allows for access to the individual parcels, or enjoy the whole thing! Historically used as an orchard, therefore, cleared and ready for a home site. Agriculturally zoned, therefore making a great spot for a farm! MLS# 1883066 Starting at $79,900 TIMBER VIEW RIDGE MOSTLY WOODED 1.14 acre parcel in the Timber View Ridge neighborhood in Empire township. Adjacent to common area, and trail system for hiking or skiing! Glen Lake school district. $44,900 MLS 1859344

“Jonesin” Crosswords "True/False Test" --either way, it's correct. by Matt Jones

DOWN ACROSS 1 Colony resident 1 A name by any other name?

2 Dragon’s den 6 ___-pitch softball 3 “Picnic” playwright 9 Gradually withdraw 4 Really wish you could 13 Country singer Griffith 5 Instrument that can play quarter tones 14 Place first 6 Refrain for a “sweet chariot” 15 Titular “Pinhead” of comics 7 Letters for the 2020 Super Bowl 16 Short, effective set for a stand-up comedian 8 Margin in a close game, Graaf maybe returns home Veterinary student Miranda 18 Pissed to her family farm in Dewitt, Iowa to help care for her ailing father 9 Bugs as part of her determination to keep the fourth-generation farm 19 Gain again, as trust Green-minded going. 10 Baffled about what to org. do with her life, she battles with her mother about finishing her education while discovering family 20 Former Quebecois premier ___ Levesque 11 Fitting secrets that turn her world upside down. She is engaged to Dylan, 22 Cosecant, for one 12 Billchiropractic who appears in who the 2021 Amazon a narcissistic student keeps her hookedmovie in their relationship.

“Bliss” 27 “Citizen Kane” studio Yet, shortly upon returning home, Miranda develops feelings for 15handsome Much of Hank, a penny 29 Grant temporary use of ruggedly a farm courier who sparks a hint of doubt 17 about herof commitment to Dylan.weekends, Risky decisions ahead, Part some three-day forlieshort 30 “Frozen” princess with the welfare of the family farm hanging in the balance.

21 Belgian salad green 31 Raphael’s weapon, in “Teenage Mutant Ninja “This23 breezy read grabs your hand takes you along a journey of loss and Artery along the and thigh Turtles” sorrow, and gain and happiness. It’s a discovery of power and finding out what’s 24 “Be back ___” ultimately important in life. Get your favorite beverage, cozy in, and immerse 32 Molecule unit yourself one struggling 25in2020 Pixar family’s moviestory and the decisions that will affect them for a lifetime.” —Lori Puckett, former television host and multimedia 34 Held for possible sale, maybe 26 Au pair professional 36 Midwestern NBA follower, maybe 27 Oakland athletecaptures hope, aspiration, and life’s potential “Unforgotten Dreams beautifully with duty, roots, and a greater calling. The story unfolds as life 39 Japanese period for over 250 years (headquar- intersecting 28 Kyoto garment does, with familiar themes and unexpected turns along the way. As I watched tered in what is now Tokyo) 31take Blood flow facilitator Miranda risks and awaited her decisions, I could see myself in the pages.

I was charmed and captivated, and I’m looking forward to more from Elizabeth 40 Oboe, for one 32 ___ Lingus (carrier based in Dublin) Thompson.” —Amy Petty, award-winning singer-songwriter 33 Techno offshoot big in the 1990s 41 Suffix for trick 35 Ryerson whoElizabeth showsAnn up Thompson (again!) lives during repeat 42 Leakes of reality TV in northern Michigan with her husband. She enjoys viewings of “Groundhog Day” 43 Final Four initials hiking, running, and riding horses. She 37 Traffic noise pairs listening to music and eating comfort 45 Post-apocalyptic zombie series, to fans foodgreen with writing stories love and 38 How some flat, insects areabout described 46 Tank dwellers that need a lot of care relationships.

44 Oldest PHOTO BY BRITTANY SANDERSON ever U.S. ex-president 50 “Cinderella Man” antagonist 45 It’s still a good idea to get a shot for it 51 Feature of some interesting stories 47 Pet food brand 54 Internet connection device 48 The Lightning Seeds lead singer Broudie FICTION / Romance / Western / Clean & Wholesome 57 “Heads up!” (or advice to crossword speed- FICTION / Romance 49 Wanda FICTION / Small Town & Ruralof “Curb Your Enthusiasm” solvers) 52 Mass movement of viewers to another Twitch 60 A fire sign stream 53 Air France assets, once 61 “Yikes!”

54 Magazine with a final print issue in 2018 62 High-ranking 55 Mineral-rich source 63 “Edward Scissorhands” star 56 Quick swim 64 Ham sandwich bread 58 “Pay attention!”

65 Like some bathwater 59 Scottish mystery writer Josephine

AFFORDABLE BUILDING SITE Great walk out basement possibilities. Close to Glen Lake schools, national park, and Big Glen Lake.

Over 20 acres of common area on a paved and private road. $30,000 MLS 1864443

231-334-2758

www.serbinrealestate.com

a novel

Elizabeth Ann Thompson

Elizabeth Ann Thompson lives in northern Michigan with her husband.

She enjoys hiking, running, and riding horses.

She pairs listening to music and eating comfort food with writing stories about love and relationships.

Unforgotten Dreams now available on Amazon and Ingramspark

Northern Express Weekly • february 15, 2021 • 25

lOGY

FEB 15 - FEB 21

BY ROB BREZSNY

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)

ultimately became one of the 20th century’s most renowned composers.

But his career had a rough start. Symphony No. 1, his first major work, was panned by critics, sending him into a four-year depression. Eventually he recovered. His next major composition, Piano Concerto No. 2, was wellreceived. I don’t anticipate that your rookie offerings or new work will get the kind of terrible reviews that Rachmaninoff’s did. But at least initially, there may be no great reviews, and possibly even indifference. Keep the faith, my dear. Don’t falter in carrying out your vision of the future. The rewards will come in due time.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “The most

beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes,” declared author André Gide.

As a writer myself, I will testify to the truth of that formulation. But what about those of you who aren’t poets and novelists and essayists? Here’s how I would alter Gide’s statement to fit you: “The most beautiful things are those that rapture prompts and reason refines.”

Or maybe this: “The most beautiful things are those that experimentation finds and reason uses.” Or how about this one: “The most beautiful things are those that wildness generates and reason enhances.” Any and all of those dynamics will be treasures for you in the coming weeks.

TAURUS

(April 20-May 20): Blogger Rachel C. Lewis confides, “I love being horribly straightforward. I love sending reckless text messages and telling people I love them and telling people they are absolutely magical humans and I cannot believe they really exist. I love saying, ‘Kiss me harder,’ and ‘You’re a good person,’ and, ‘You brighten my day.’” What would your unique version of Lewis’s forthrightness be like, Taurus? What brazen praise would you offer? What declarations of affection and care would you unleash? What naked confessions might you reveal? The coming days will be a favorable time to explore these possibilities.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It’s a good time to

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) The poet Nayyirah Waheed has some advice I want you to hear. She writes, “Be easy. Take your time. You are coming home to yourself.” I will add that from my astrological perspective, the coming weeks will indeed be a time for you to relax more deeply into yourself—to welcome yourself fully into your unique destiny; to forgive yourself for what you imagine are your flaws; to not wish you were someone else pursuing a different path; to be at peace and in harmony with the exact life you have.

become more of who you are by engaging with more of what you are not. Get in the mood for this heroic exercise by studying the following rant

by Gemini poet Adam Zagajewski (who writes in Polish), translated by Gemini poet Clare Cavanaugh: “Read for yourselves, read for the sake of your inspiration, for the sweet turmoil in your lovely head. But also read against yourselves, read for questioning and impotence, for despair and erudition, read the dry, sardonic remarks of cynical philosophers.

Read those whose darkness or malice or madness or greatness you can’t yet understand, because only in this way will you grow, outlive yourself, and become what you are.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “The chief

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’re on the

object of education is not to learn things but to unlearn things,” wrote author G. K. Chesterton.

He was exaggerating for dramatic effect when he said that, as he often did. The more nuanced truth is that one of the central aims of education is to learn things, and another very worthy aim is to unlearn things. I believe you are currently in a phase when you should put an emphasis on unlearning things that are irrelevant and meaningless and obstructive. This will be excellent preparation for your next phase, which will be learning a lot of useful and vitalizing new things.

verge of breakthroughs. You’re ready to explore frontiers, at least in your imagination. You’re brave enough to go further and try harder than you’ve been able to before. With that in mind, here’s a highly apropos idea from Cancerian novelist Tom Robbins. He writes, “If you take any activity, any art, any discipline, any skill, take it and push it as far as it will go, push it beyond where it has ever been before, push it to the wildest edge of edges, then you force it into the realm of magic.” (I might use the word “coax” or “nudge” instead of “force” in Robbins’ statement.)

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): Ancient Greek

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In her story

playwright Euripides was popular and influential—and remains so to this day, 2,400 years later. But there’s a curiously boring aspect in five of his plays, Andromache, Alcestis, Helen, Medea, and The Bacchae. They all have the same exact ending: six lines, spoken by a chorus, that basically say the gods are unpredictable. Was Euripides lazy? Trying too hard to drive home the point? Or were the endings added later by an editor? Scholars disagree. The main reason I’m bringing this to your attention is to encourage you to avoid similar behavior. I think it’s very important that the stories you’re living right now have different endings than all the stories of your past.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Atheists like to

confront religious people with accusations like this: “If God is so good, why does he allow suffering in the world?” Their simplistic, childish idea of God as some sort of Moral Policeman is ignorant of the lush range of ruminations about the Divine as offered down through the ages by poets, novelists, philosophers, and theologians. For example, poet Stéphane Mallarmé wrote, “Spirit cares for nothing except universal musicality.” He suggested that the Supreme Intelligence is an artist making music and telling stories. And as you know, music and stories include all human adventures, not just the happy stuff. I bring these thoughts to your attention, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a favorable time to honor and celebrate the marvelously rich stories of your own life—and to feel gratitude for the full range of experience with which they have blessed you. PS: Now is also a favorable phase to rethink and reconfigure your answers to the Big Questions.

NORTHERN EXPRESS

CLAS SIFIE DS OTHER TRAVERSE BAY CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTER is hiring! The Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center seeks a full-time masters-level Therapist to join its intervention team in responding to child victims of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and violence. For additional information, please visit our website at www.traversebaycac.org cborchard@traversebaycac.org _____________________________________ NOW HIRING - MECHANICS Crystal Mountain is hiring ski lift and outdoor mechanics at a premium wage. Year round opportunities available. Enjoy great recreation benefits for our winter season, inducing a FREE downhill ski pass! Please visit www.crystalmountain.com to view more details and apply today. https:// www.crystalmountain.com/ _____________________________________

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“Homelanding,” Margaret Atwood writes, “Take me to your trees. Take me to your breakfasts, your sunsets, your bad dreams, your shoes.

Take me to your fingers.” I’d love you to express requests like that. It’s a favorable time for you to delve deeper into the mysteries of people you care about.

You will generate healing and blessings by cultivating reverent curiosity and smart empathy and crafty intimacy. Find out more about your best allies!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’re about

to reach the end of your phase of correction and adjustment. To mark this momentous transition, and to honor your ever-increasing ability to negotiate with your demons, I offer you the following inspirational proclamation by poet Jeannette Napolitano: “I don’t want to look back in five years’ time and think, ‘We could have been magnificent, but I was afraid.’ In five years, I want to tell of how fear tried to cheat me out of the best thing in life, and I didn’t let it.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): It’s not a good time

for you to be obsessed with vague abstractions, fear-based fantasies, and imaginary possibilities.

But it is a favorable phase to rise up in behalf of intimate, practical changes. At least for now, I also want to advise you not to be angry and militant about big, complicated issues that you have little power to affect. On the other hand, I encourage you to get inspired and aggressive about injustices you can truly help fix and erroneous approaches you can correct and close-at-hand dilemmas for which you can summon constructive solutions.

26 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly

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Northern Express Weekly • february 15, 2021 • 27

28 • february 15, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly