The 2011 Grand Rapids Wine, Beer & Food Festival takes place Thursday, November 17th through Saturday, November 19th at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. It draws over 10,000 over three days, making it the largest food and wine festival in Michigan and one of the premier events of its kind in the Midwest. Classes, tastings from restaurants & food vendors and pairings are all structured to take the expert or novice deeper into the world of wine, food and other culinary delights.

The festival presents over 1000 beers, wines, ciders and spirits for tasting, and many are crafted in Michigan. While the festival started with a focus on wine, beer gets its due as well, with the Michigan Brewers Guild-sponsored Craft Brew Hall offering a chance to sample dozens of these full flavored brews and to meet the brewmasters.

Show Manager  Cathleen McDonald  explains that this massive variety of food & drink has been a huge asset, saying "The show has grown because the public loves the opportunity to sample wines, beer & spirits without having to purchase the entire bottle.  They can find that great everyday wine that they can purchase at the grocery store or try the products that they would only have dreamed about."

One of the many innovative & engaging features at the festival are the champagne, wine & beer pairings developed by Grand Rapids restaurants - multi-course meals presented by the chef. A number of restaurants are also providing "small plate" samples of their prize cuisine. There's more than just wine to be sampled at the Festival! An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional. There's also seminars from presenters including winemaker John Concannon, wine educator and sommelier Michael Schafer, New Holland Brewing Company Beervangelist and Michigan Brewers Guild Past-President Fred Bueltman, author and Food Network  host Ellie Krieger and "The Fresh Chef" Amanda Leatherman.

Absolute Michigan is excited to offer FOUR free tickets to the Grand Rapids Wine, Beer & Food Festival to one of our readers - just use the email blank at the top to get your name on our list and have a shot at winning. We'll notify the winner next Wednesday!

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Traverse City Wine & Art Festival, 2010 by KatSwinehart

The 2011 Traverse City Wine & Art Festival takes place Saturday, August 20th from 3-10 PM on the beautiful front lawn at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, rain or shine. It's Michigan’s premier celebration of wine, art, food and music, offering an incredible opportunity to taste wines from 24 wineries as you dance, dine, and see extraordinary performers, art and artists.

The wines & wineries are the heart of the festival and the large wine tent is dedicated to featuring well over 100 wines from the Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula and - for the first time - Benzie County. Attendees can choose a tasting or full-glass pour and have a chance to talk with the winemakers and winery reps to learn more about the wines. The 2010 vintage is spectacular, and this is a fantastic opportunity to try the riesling, pinot gris, chardonnay, pinot blanc, cabernet franc and a host of other varieties that are making a lot of noise at wine competitions around the country!

The festival also features a great lineup with some of Michigan's finest musicians. Michigan jazz/folk great Claudia Schmidt kicks things off  and then joins Rachel Davis and Shout Sister Shout. It will be the first time Claudia and Shout Sister Shout have taken the stage together, an event that promises to be one of those "better not miss it" nights. Steppin' In It goes electric and will keep you dancing into the evening. There's also a wide range of performances including dancers, performance artists and the Sweet Adelines.

In addition to a wide selection of art for show & sale and gourmet food from many of the region's finest restaurants for purchase, there's even a chance for YOU to get into the act with "Fashion Is Art". This new feature that invites you to don your most innovative attire for a chance to win the Grand Prize, a spa weekend for two at Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa. Get tickets & lodging package information at traversecitywinefestival.com and check their Facebook for a ticket deal that ends TODAY.

To enter to win a pair of tickets to the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival and to be entered in every one of our Festival Summer giveaways, just join our email list using the form below!

Here's Shout Sister Shout for your listening pleasure!

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The Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula (OMP) and Porterhouse Productions present the second annual Paella In The Park, a summer music & culinary event in the heart of downtown Traverse City.

Traverse City’s bayside Clinch Park grounds will transform into a swingin’ festival! This year’s lineup features national headliner Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, an energetic and exciting band who have been getting audiences up and dancing for 20 years. Rolling Stone declared them the “leaders” of the swing revival are going back to their ska roots with a danceable and entertaining show. They're joined by Groupo Ayé, a 10-piece Cuban salsa band, and Hoots And Hellmouth, a mix of rockabilly and funk.

This 21+ event (no exceptions, please) will again pair the seven OMP wineries with local chefs. Guests will enjoy Spanish paellas from fresh ingredients cooked over an open fire, right on-site. Paella, a rice-based dish that boasts hundreds of variations using different ingredients, is one of Spain’s most popular food entrees. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to converse with local chefs about the art of making paella, as well as enjoy food and wine at each station.

Sign up for our email list below for a chance at 2 tickets and order your limited tickets at Porterhouse Productions.

To enter to win a pair of tickets to Paella in the Park and to be entered in every one of our Festival Summer giveaways, just join our email list using the form below!

Now here's the Cherry Poppin' Daddies playing one of their hits - Zoot Suit Riot. You can get many more in this YouTube playlist!

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More than 30 local restaurants and chefs will offer mouth-watering ethnic items, family favorites, exotic dishes, and local specialties. Enjoy almost 200 items ranging from savory offerings like crab rangoon, shrimp etouffee, sushi and sashimi, prime rib, sunset scampi, beef satay, coconut shrimp, chicken curry and jambalya to desserts including bananas foster, tiramisu, strawberry shortcake, baklava, cannoli, and turtle torte. Vegetarians aren't left wanting either and there are a wide variety of beer, wine and other alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages to enjoy.

There's also live music from bands including the Macpodz, Matt Giraud and Edgar Winter along with all kinds of family fun including ice sculpting, grill-offs and the Greatest Kazoo Duck Race!

Our giveaway includes 2 free entry passes and $10 in tasting tickets and all it takes to enter it (and all our other giveaways) is to be on our email list - use the box below!

Absolute Michigan will not share your email address with anyone. Period. Your inbox is safe with us. What we will share with you is a periodic but usually no more than weekly update, possibly including a special offer, potentially a prize or giveaway and definitely some great news about what is working and fun to do in the Great state called Michigan that we love!

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The annual Kalamazoo Island Festival is an celebration of Jamaican and Caribbean music, culture and food that takes place Thursday June 16th through Saturday the 18th. The annual festival is in its 16th year and benefits the community activities and programs of the Kalamazoo Jaycees and other organizations. Food, drinks, beer, and wine are available for purchase and there a big emphasis on providing an array of Caribbean inspired cuisine.

For entertainment, the live reggae music line-up runs all day and ranges from the top local talent to well-known regional and national headliners including reggae legends The Wailing Souls (video below) and roots/dancehall great Everton Blender and many more under the sun, moon and stars.

To be eligible for a pair of passes to Island Fest and to be entered in every one of the Festival Summer giveaways, just join our email list using the form below!

All summer long Absolute Michigan will be partnering with some of Michigan's most amazing festivals & events to give our readers FREE tickets and a chance to enjoy the food, music and celebration that is part of summertime in the Great Lakes State!

Absolute Michigan will not share your email address with anyone. Period. Your inbox is safe with us. What we will share with you is a periodic but usually no more than weekly update, possibly including a special offer, potentially a prize or giveaway and definitely some great news about what is working and fun to do in the Great State called Michigan that we love!

Here's the Wailing Souls...

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Hamtramck's Pazcki Day page gives you all kinds of lore and legend on these traditional Polish doughnuts which are also known as Bismarcks or plain old jelly doughnuts. They explain:

PÄ…czki is the plural form of the word pÄ…czek in Polish, but many English speakers use paczki as singular and paczkis as plural. A pÄ…czek is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with Plums or other sweet filling...

Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz has described that during the reign of the August III under influence of French cooks who came to Poland at that time, pączki dough baked in Poland has been improved, so that pączki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient Pączki Day Traditionally, the reason for making paczki has been to use up all the lard, sugar and fruit in the house, which are forbidden during Lent.

I guess that if you're facing 40 days without sugar & fruit, a plateful of paczki makes a lot more sense. Dig in with the links below!

• The photo to the right comes from Wikipedia's PÄ…czki entry.
• Forgot to buy your paczkis? Vina at recipezaar has an Authentic Polish Paczki recipe that she found handwritten in her Polish grandmother's cookbook!
• The Paczki Headquarters at the Hamtramck Star is packed with paczki goodness including photos of paczki as big as your head!
• Your Diet Is About To Meet It's Nemesis (or why it's called Fat Tuesday in Detroit) by Detroit Derek on Michigan in Pictures got this big ball of dough rolling!
• You can get even more photos at Flickr Hive Mind: Paczki
• There's a bunch more Pazcki Day info at Kitchen Chick including audio of the correct pronunciation of paczki and the story of   THE FAMOUS PACZKI THAT SAVED EUROPE!
• If you need a sound track to get going, head over to paczkiday.com.
• ArborWiki has a Paczki entry that includes a list of the best bakeries in Hamtramck.
• Absolute Michigan has more Hamtramck links for you to snack on.
  
• The Freep is supposed to be posting the results of their Paczki Limerick Contest this morning but haven't ... maybe they're in a food coma.
• What kid can resist Paczki Pals & Bobbleheads?

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Mack-in-touch Apples by ( Jennifer )

A month ago, Absolute Michigan participated in the the Creating Michigan Culinary Destinations conference (read our live blog) where the Michigan Culinary Tourism initiative was launched. For the video below, we spoke with Melody Johnson of the International Culinary Tourism Association, keynote speaker Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman's, Linda Jones of the Michigan Wine & Grape Council and a number of attendees to get a sense of what culinary tourism can mean for Michigan.

Check out the Michigan Culinary Tourism page for links to foodie tours and other resources.  We're also wondering about your thoughts on how culinary tourism can play a role in Michigan's future - let us know your thoughts and interesting culinary experiences in the comments!

This video features photos from several photographers from the Absolute Michigan pool: blondieyooper, richard deming photography, photoshoparama, oldog_oltrix, southen, detroit derek, trish p and jennifer. Stay tuned to absolutemichigan.com/Culinary for the latest on Michigan's booming epicurean industry!

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All day today the Absolute Michigan team is at Creating Michigan Culinary Destinations, Michigan's first conference on Culinary Tourism. The conference was a hot ticket, and nearly 200 tourism industry stakeholders are getting ready to learn about Michigan's new initiative to increase tourism. You can learn all about the Michigan Culinary Tourism Inititative at that link and read on for updates as we have them!

Zingerman's Delicatessen by Ashley Dinges

1:30 pm The lunch keynote speaker is Ari Weinzweig of one of the giants of Michigan 's food scene, Zingerman's in Ann Arbor. Ari is definitely a fast talker, and related that he got started washing dishes at Maude's, and at that time, Tang and Space Sticks were his culinary adventures. He met co-founder Paul Saginaw at Maude's and -  5 years after opening a deli in a town that wouldn't support delis  at a location with no parking that people couldn't find - was hailed as a genius. Today the Zingerman's empire does $38 million in annual sales.

Ari says that (for him at least) all tourism is culinary. He relates  some "natural laws" from his book A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach to Building a Great Business that he thinks relate to building an authentic culinary destination. Natural law #1 is that an inspiring, strategically sound vision leads to greatness. He cautions that although  great visions come  from the heart, you need to develop your vision with enough richness and depth that people can understand what you're talking about. He shared a bit of the vision for the West Side Farmer's Market. With lines like "All these products have a story and none of them have traveled very far to get here," it's really clear that vision is a big part of what drives Zingerman's.

His 2nd law is "You need to give your customers some really compelling reasons to buy from you." He quotes Jim Hightower "Ain't nothing in the middle of the road but 2 yellow lines and a whole lot of dead armadillos." He  recommends that we seek to create offerings that have appeal for tourists AND residents to create a more resilient and dynamic customer base.

He closes with his belief that the customer experience is the most important thing. He breaks a recent study regarding employee attitudes toward their workplace into football terms: of the 11 players on a football team, only 4 know where the goal is, just two care who wins the game and all but 2 are just as likely to be  rooting for the other team as their own! Does this sound like your business? If it does, what can you do to change it? Ari suggests that maybe Michigan could steal a page from Hawaii and adopt the Ojibway word for welcome and become "The Aaniin State" ... because someone has to be the most welcoming place in country!

Cheers, ©n.wamsley

11:45 am - At the Building Lodging & Tour Packages session, Heather Price of Sandhill Crane Vineyards talked about the "Big Grape Bus" wine event they offer through the Pioneer Wine Trail in SE Michigan and all the pieces   - wine & food pairings, transportation, lodging and entertainment - that come together to create a compelling event. Steve Timmer of the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City echoed the importance of providing an all-inclusive experience and listed some of the things that his resort does including focusing on bringing local wines into their wine shop and even working with attendees on a cooking show.

One attendee (whose location shall remain nameless) wondered what to do when your area has little to offer in terms of culinary tourism. Steve suggested focusing on PR to invite food writers and the media and of course to leverage social media wherever possible. I asked him about if he had a sense whether today's traveler is more or less interested in packages. He said that while packaging remains an important part of travel marketing, he's finding that people are less interested in packages, preferring to design their own experiences. To me, that suggests that it's really important for all players in the culinary travel industry to make their services and offerings clearly available across a wide spectrum of media, including that most old-fashioned of media: making your friends and neighbors aware of what you do!

The Bar @ Hopcat by stevedontsurf

11 am The "Marketing Your Culinary Destination" featured Dianna Stamfler of Promote Michigan, Sam Porter of Porterhouse Productions and Paul Stermer of Fair Food Matters. An audience member asked Sam how he got his nearly 300 volunteers. He answered "It's all about fun. We take care of them pre and post event and engage them as partners to market and develop the events." He also suggested engaging your fans to help you grow your social media network. The audience seemed to agree that social media is a vital component of an overall strategy.

Dianna mentioned that it's the first-ever  Michigan Beer Week in Kalamazoo.  It's been developed  in conjunction with the Winter Beer Conference and bars, restaurants and retailers will be teaming up to offer beer tastings, tap takeovers, brewer meet-and-greets and other special events.

Charlevoix Michigan Peppers by DTWpuck

10  am Melody Johnson of the International Culinary Tourism Association was next up. She shared examples from all over the world of how everyone from third world nations on up the economic ladder are turning to culinary tourism as an economic driver. She cited rocketing technological advancements and our exploding interest in food as two prime drivers and talked about FLOSS (Fresh Local Organic Sustainable and Self-absorbed food). With  your average meal travelling 1500 miles, FLOSS is a concept that can  help keep food local.    Melody also gave a shoutout the the new "Boyne Appetit" marketing effort for Boyne City.

She showed three pictures - a museum, roller coaster and nice plate of food, and reminded attendees that food & drink IS an attraction as well, illustrating it with her discovery of Founder's apricot wheat - a beer that she had last night with dinner and very much enjoyed. It's not something you're likely to find outside of Michigan, so to have it again, she'll have to return. "The Michigan Experience" is what visitors are seeking - unique and memorable experiences that a tourist can brag about when he or she returns home.

9:40 am Steve Loftis of the Michigan Restaurant Association offered some thoughts about where Michigan's restaurants are and what will be on their radar in 2011. One of his recommendations is that restaurants look to younger/technologically savvy members of  their staff for  ideas on more effectively using technology to acquire new patrons, but also to work more with existing customers.  He also stated that "the L word" should be on everyone's mind as they work with their menu, trying to add more local offerings.

grits & bits (pre-syrup)
by jenny murray

9:15 am Linda Jones of the Michigan Wine & Grape Council opened the conference with an introduction to culinary tourism. One new resource for culinary tourists that she pointed out are the Michigan Foodie Tours.
The foodie tours feature local food and unique experiences from the whitefish and pasties of the western UP to the 200 restaurants of Ann Arbor.

7 am Last night I had a chance to talk with Melody Johnson, a founding member  of the International Culinary Tourism Association. Melody is the organization's Community Manager and helps partners develop collaborations and inititiatives to capitalize on their culinary tourism assets. She gave me a simple thought to frame the day: "You always need to keep in mind what your customers  want to be successful. When people are coming to Michigan, they are wanting Michigan. They want authentic culinary experiences, the flavors and experiences that they can only get here."

Although saying "It's the food, silly" may seem a little simplistic, as the nation's second most agriculturally diverse state, Michigan is in a unique position to tout itself as an unparalleled food destination. The local food movement has already started many on the path to promoting the strength and quality of Michigan food & drink and this effort will hopefully encourage many more to  "make it a Michigan wine/beer/fill in the blank."

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Miles of coastline, beautiful beaches and spectacular sand dunes. But traveling in Michigan offers more than that.

The state's wines and beers, fresh fruits, fish and other local flavors are attracting visitors as well.

“Culinary tourism is an exciting new area of economic development for Michigan,” said Linda Jones, executive director of the Michigan Grape and Wine Council.

On Jan. 10, a diverse range of businesses and organizations will celebrate their culinary assets and share ideas to promote culinary tourism at a statewide conference.

Jones said other states promote their culinary assets more aggressively than Michigan, such as Oregon, New York and California.

Culinary tourism includes cooking classes, foodie tours, events and festivals.

The Michigan Culinary Tourism Alliance is one initiative boosting local industry.

Dave Lorenz, manager of public and industry relations at Travel Michigan, said quality food is part of the traveling experiences people look for.

Michigan's diverse agriculture, hunting and fishing provide fresh foods, which creates this experience, Lorenz said. His office is the state's official tourism promotion agency.

For example, Culinary Escapes, a Detroit-based company, offers walking tours to restaurants, markets and local food purveyors in downtown Birmingham, Detroit and Royal Oak from April through October.

Learn Great Foods in Petoskey offers themed retreats, tours and cooking classes. One is Maple Madness Weekend on the Parsons Centennial Farm in Charlevoix, where participants learn how to make maple syrup.

Karel Bush, promotion specialist at Grape and Wine Council, said Michigan's 75 wineries also are travel destinations where people enjoy lush green valleys and savor award-winning wines.

Bush said there are wine routes along the coasts, such as the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail, the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula and the Southeast Michigan Pioneer Wine. Another is the Sunrise Side Wine and Hops Trail along Lake Huron.

Experts said great dining and learning experiences attract more tourists and extend their travel time in the communities.

Lorenz said: “They go out there and spend money that help retain and build jobs.”

Jones said culinary tourism benefits the whole state, particularly areas with major visitor attractions.

Diane Dakins, assistant director of the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau, said the number of tourists in her region has increased because of the development of food-related businesses.

The bureau serves Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Boyne City, which are well-known for wines, whitefish and morel mushrooms.

For example, people pick mushrooms in the woods and learn how to cook them, Dakins said.

“Farms and farmers' markets create jobs and also are a stop for tourists,” Dakins said.

Cooking classes in restaurants and hotels have attracted many customers, Lorenz said. For example, Zazios in Kalamazoo has a Chefs Table, where customers learn from a chef how to make food and then eat it.

Andy Deloney, vice president of public affairs at the Michigan Restaurant Association said developing culinary tourism is particularly important to the hospitality industry.

Deloney said many people have a misconception that they must go to New York, San Francisco or Chicago for both great travel and dinning experiences.

“In Michigan we have lots of fantastic restaurants, too,” he said.

Deloney said the conference will increase awareness of Michigan's dining destinations and build connections among businesses.

The Creating Michigan Culinary Destinations conference in East Lansing is being organized by the Culinary Tourism Alliance in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Travel Michigan and the Restaurant Association.

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Oktoberfest is Mid-Michigan's only authentic German festival, and the authentic food, imported German beer, and traditional German dancing, bring crowds from all over the state. Every year the festival continues to grow, and this year the festival is expected to attract more people than ever. No one will want to miss out on the “music, essen and bier” at the 2010 Old Town Oktoberfest!

For more information and/or tickets visit, www.oldtownoktoberfest.com or visit the Old Town Commercial Association website.

A Brief History of Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest began as a celebration of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese's marriage on October 12, 1810. This year, Munich is celebrating the 176th anniversary of Oktoberfest. Throughout the past 199 years, Oktoberfest has become the world's largest festival and brings nearly six million attendees to Munich during the sixteen-day event to experience their Bavarian culture.

TravelChannelTV - Shane-O guides us through Munich's biggest party - Oktoberfest.

Find your way to Oktoberfest in Lansing's Old Town

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Escape from day-to-day routine and kick off summer with entertainment for all ages. From its humble beginnings, the Island Festival has grown to be the largest celebration of Caribbean Culture in Michigan. Also known as “A Taste of the Caribbean”, the Island Festival brings the unique cuisine of the Islands to Kalamazoo!

Entering its 15th year, the Island Festival has expanded to three days, and is slated for Thursday, Friday and Saturday June 17-19 at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place at the corner of Kalamazoo Ave. and Edwards in downtown Kalamazoo, MI.

The festival begins each day with regional vendors selling Caribbean cuisine and beverages. Walk through “little Jamaica” and experience the arts and crafts vendors selling items ranging from woodcarvings to handmade drums, t-shirts to jewelry and everything in between.

The music and food are complimented with Caribbean style beverages and are all served until 12:30am Thursday and 1:30 am Friday and Saturday.

Music Schedule

The theme for this year's event is Rewind: The Greatest Hits of the Island Festival, featuring several returning acts from previous years.

Thursday
5:00pm-6:00pm - African Teacher/Champion Bubbler (DJ's)
6:30pm-8:00pm - Mystic Dub
8:30-10:00pm - The Jah Kings Reunion
10:30-12:00 - Tribute to Bob Marley - Featuring Hydro-Afro Reggae Band
Between sets African Teacher/Champion Bubbler (DJ's)

Friday
11:45-1:15pm - Gypsi Fari Duo
4:30pm-5:30pm - Fada Wayne W/ Gypsi Fari
6:00pm-7:30pm - Hullabaloo
8:00pm-9:30pm - Taj Weekes and Adowa
10:00pm-11:30pm - Inner Visions
12:00am-1:30am - The Jah Kings
Between Sets Dread I Sound -Selector Jonathon, DJ Triple Crown, DJ Assane

Saturday
12:00-1:30pm - Ras Soul Jah
2:00pm-3:30pm - Family Time Workshop Featuring Dunya Drum & Dance
4:00pm-5:30pm - Fun DubMentals
6:00pm-7:30pm - Spiritual Rez
8:00pm-9:30pm - Bop 25th Anniversary Reunion
10:00pm-11:30pm - Jamacian Reggae legends The Meditations
12:00am-1:30am - Zion Lion
Between Sets Dread I Sound -Selector Jonathon, DJ Triple Crown

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Tasting Tent II by farlane

The 2009 Epicurean Classic takes place St. Joseph August 28 - 30, 2009. It's one of the premier annual celebrations of culinary artisanship, drawing big name chefs from around the nation and world who lead classes & cooking presentations and mingle in a relaxed and unimaginably tasty setting. Add in wines and wineries from all over the world and food & kitchen supply vendors sampling their wares and you will see why many people count this as one of Michigan's signature events.

Enjoy a taste of the Epicurean Classic in this video from Scott Allman Productions and be sure to attend - you will not be sorry!

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Morels ! by cedarkayak

The latest issue of Midwest Living feature on the Best Midwest Food Towns served up a platefull of restaurants in our region that might entice the culinary tourist. Their editors selected Traverse City as the #2 town and Ann Arbor #3. Also featured were a collection of recipes from Traverse City including Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce With Pasta and a Creme Fraiche from Shetler's Dairy.

The Detroit City Council's proposal to demolish Michigan Central Station as a means to bring in Federal stimulus dollars seemed to many to have all the brilliance of a plan to get rich quick by selling both your kidneys. Now the Detroit News reports that developer Manuel (Matty) Moroun is proposing to lease Michigan Central Station to the United States government for redevelopment. The Department of Homeland Security offices for Customs and Border Protection are seeking to lease almost 50,000 square feet of space in the Detroit area to house personnel.

Of surprise to nobody - outside of State government at least - the Detroit News is reporting that Michigan's agricultural industry is bucking the trend of decline:

The state's overall agricultural industry -- which includes not only farming but also food processing and biofuels, wineries and beer-making -- grew 12 percent to $71.3 billion in revenue in 2007, following several years of single-digit growth; 2008 figures are not yet available.

...Some 100 agri-food businesses have started in Michigan during the past five years, according to the MDA.

Imagine what we could do if we really invested in building and promoted our agricultural bounty.

Edward Vielmetti has a tasty post that includes Michigan's morel festivals and the book How to Find Morels by Milan Pelouch. Even more about morels at Absolute Michigan keyword morel!

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The finest Chef teams from Northern & Southern Michigan will again compete in the 2nd Annual event at Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire on April 24-26. The event celebrates Springtime Splendor Week in Michigan, and highlights Michigan's great Agricultural diversity and growing wine & micro-brew industries.

The North vs. South competition on Saturday will again feature fantastic entrée samplings by twelve Chef teams, complimented by fine Michigan wine and micro-brew tastings. North & South winning teams will be chosen by the public and several professional culinary judges, and face off in an “Iron Chef” competition dinner that evening. Chef Eric Villegas of “Fork in the Road” TV fame, and Chef Michelle Bommarito, frequent participant on Food Channel competitions, are among the judges at the Iron Chef show-down.

hazelnut-chocolate pastries by Ledio

Proceeds from the Chef's Challenge benefit Challenge Mountain, an organization dedicated to providing adaptive outdoor recreational equipment to persons with developmental challenges.

Complete details are available at www.chefs-challenge.com or call (231) 535-2227.

You might also want to check out the Chef Challenge promo featuring event organizer and local food promoter Joe Breidenstein.

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oktoberfest by 46137

In 1990, Frankenmuth, "Michigan's Little Bavaria," celebrated its first Oktoberfest. The Frankenmuth Oktoberfest celebrates German culture, heritage and love. Their goal is to incorporate as many of the sights, sounds, taste and traditions of the original Munich Oktoberfest as possible. They strive to retain as much of their Bavarian heritage as possible and proudly demonstrate this during the Frankenmuth Oktoberfest. Frankenmuth is the first Oktoberfest outside of Munich to be sanctioned by the Parliament and the City of Munich.

They offer a variety of authentic German foods, served daily. Delight your senses with Norm's Market catered delicacies. Be sure to enjoy Paula's Famous Funnel cakes. You won't want to miss out savoring some German beers along with the traditional Bavarian Inn pretzels.

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More videos from Scott Allman on YouTube and also visit Fork in the Road!

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The Long Crossing

A combination of Wikipedia's Traverse City, Michigan entry and the Traverse City CVB the Grand Traverse Bay got their name from 18th century French voyagers who made la grande traverse or "the long crossing" across the mouth of the bay Grand Traverse Bay. In 1853 the only post office in the region was located at Old Mission, then known as "Grand Traverse." While in Washington, D.C. in 1852, Tracy Lay convinced the U.S. Post Office to authorize a new post office at his newer settlement across the bay. The village was known as "Grand Traverse City," but at the suggestion of a postal clerk the "Grand" was dropped to limit confusion.

Culinary Delights

The Grand Traverse region earns the nickname of "Cherry Capital of the World," producing an estimated 360,000,000 pounds of cherries annually. It's not just cherries though - the wineries of the Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula have risen quickly to the top due to a conducive micro-climate for growing grapes. You can enjoy the region's agricultural bounty through a wide array of farm markets and food producers like Shetler Family Dairy, Moomers Homemade Ice Cream (named America's Best Scoop in 2008) and Carlson's of Fishtown. There are also at a number of great restaurants in the city and scattered throughout the area. Just a few of these to not miss are Fusion, amical, Trattoria Funistrada, The Old Mission Tavern and (of course) the Cheese Shanty.

Traverse City, in pictures

The photo above is titled Sunrise, East Arm, Traverse Bay and it was taken by Joel Dinda, who has several more from Traverse City and this set of Leelanau County photos (slideshow). As you can see from Joel's photos, the countryside and shoreline surrounding Traverse City is some of the most beautiful in Michigan. In addition to Traverse City, some things you might want to look at include Old Mission, Sleeping Bear Dunes and of course photos of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee & Wexford.

TJ's Pub by the pentax hammer

But what is there to DO in Traverse City?

If you enjoy the outdoors, Northwest Michigan is the place to go. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is among the most beautiful natural areas in the nation, offering miles of untrammeled Lake Michigan coastline, hiking, camping and cultural opportunities and the world's largest shifting sand dunes. There are many more beaches offering swimming and fishing on the area's many inland lakes like North and South Lake Leelanau and Torch Lake. You can also hike the trails of the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, bike on the many backroads and trails including the TART Trails and the Betsie Valley Trail and enjoy golf at a dizzying number of golf courses.

If the outdoors isn't your thing you can experience shopping in downtown Traverse City and at villages across the region. The State Theatre - home of the Traverse City Film Festival - has been beautifully restored and shows a variety of independent and classic movies every day. The region also boasts some excellent museums including the Dennos Museum, Music House (private museum), and Great Lakes Children's Museum in Traverse City, the Manistee County Historical Museum, the Empire Area Historical Museum, Grand Traverse Lighthouse, Guntzviller's Spirit of the Woods Museum (private) and the Carl T. Johnson Hunting & Fishing Center in Cadillac.

Where do I go for more?

You can dig deeper through Absolute Michigan by checking out Absolute Michigan county pages for Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee & Wexford and also try the pages for Traverse City, Manistee, Cadillac and many other towns that you can see on the Absolute Michigan Map of Michigan. Of course there are tons of other web sites with useful information. Some of our favorites are the Traverse City Visitors Convention & Visitor's Bureau, MyNorth, Kalkaska County Michigan Online, the Benzie County Visitors Bureau, and our own Leelanau.com and betsiebay.net.

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Frankenmuth by Tony Tanoury

Wilkommen to Frankenmuth's 50th Annual Bavarian Festival It's not just an event... it's a feeling of "Gemütlichkeit", combined with the warmth and friendship of Michigan's charming Bavarian Village.

It all started in 1959 with a Grand Opening Celebration of the Bavarian style addition to Fischer's Hotel on Main Street. Back then "Tiny" & Dorothy Zehnder gambled on "Bavarianizing" their restaurant and re-naming it Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn. Several years later the event out-grew the parking lots of the restaurants. The Civic Events Council of Frankenmuth took over the operation of what has become an annual Bavarian Festival!

Come and enjoy the Gemütlichkeit of Old Bavaria blended with hospitality of Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth, "Michigan's Little Bavaria", delights over 3 million visitors annually. Come Experience Another World with unique attractions, shopping, restaurants, hotels & camping, festivals, and family fun! Information on what is happening next in Frankenmuth is only a click away.

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A view of Greektown, a District of Detroit by DetroitDerek

We profiled four great Michigan ethnic restaurants this week:

• Legs Inn of Cross Village
• Travelers Club International Restaurant & Tuba Museum of Okemos
• Saffron in Kalamazoo
• Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant in Ann Arbor and Ferndale

How many did we miss? Probably close to a bazillion - help us (and them) out and give a shout out to your favorite ethnic restaurants in Michigan in the comments!

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Saffron in Kalamazoo features authentic Northwest frontier Indian Cuisine with items including Samosas, Tandoori-Sensational Chicken, Shrimp Karahi Masala, Lamb Jhalfrazi and a blistering Vegetable Vindaloo. Sides like clay-oven baked Tandoori Breads and Ralta complete your meal and they'll prepare your meal to suit your palate: mild, medium or hot.

They do catering and have a great page with information about spices used in Indian cooking from which we got the pictures to the right!

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200608 by zTransmissions

The Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum of Okemos is unique for its "traveling" menu, born of the tastes of Jennifer Brooke Byrom and William White who loved to cook feasts of ethnic food - but didn't like to cook the same thing too often!

The menu at "the Tuba" represents authentic cuisine of their Latin, Asian, and Middle-Eastern staples and the regions from Eastern Europe to the Caribbean to Africa to the Mediterranean that are featured in their monthly specials. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and have a great kids menu, solid wine list and over 100 domestic and imported beers.

If you're wondering about the "Tuba Museum" part, there is indeed a tuba museum and it houses a wide range of tubas and sousaphones including the only known example of a double E flat Helicon Tuba inscribed "The Majestic Monster".

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Ethiopian food is naturally low fat due to preservation issues and their menu includes poultry, lamb, beef and a wide range of vegetarian dishes. They also feature a full bar, the spicy teas of the country and (of course) Ethiopian Coffee!

Note that Quality is guaranteed by Seifu Lessanwork, personal butler to His Majesty, the Emperor of Ethiopia!

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legs inn by 46137

The Legs Inn is a "monument to nature" built on a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. The fantasy-like atmosphere of this medieval looking stone, timber and driftwood landmark was created by Polish immigrant, Stanley Smolak who fell in love with Northern Michigan and its people and decided to settle in Cross Village in 1921. The structure reflects the twisted and wild forms of driftwood he collected and the influence of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians native to the area (more history).

The restaurant is still run by the Smolak family who remain dedicated to making your visit to Legs Inn an unforgettable experience. Their specialty is authentic Polish cuisine like Hunter's stew, Goulash, Pierogi, Schnitzel and Kotlet. They also offer delicious American dishes including local fresh Whitefish. They offer Polish beers and even meads to complement your dinner and dessert receives special attention with ethnic offerings like the Fruit Pierogi Du Jour, Nalesnik and Old Fashioned Polish Berry Szarlotka, an Old World Polish crumble cake baked with a blend of fresh apples, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Through the season they host concerts and special events but be advised that the restaurant is only open May - October so check their site for the exact dates! View the Legs Inn on Absolute Michigan's Map of Michigan.

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The Bluebird by The Leland Report

Since 1927 when boat builder Martin Telgard and his wife Leone opened the Bluebird as a small sandwich and soda shop, the Bluebird in Leland has been the gathering place for locals and tourists alike. From the casual bar & tavern to the more elegant, scenic dining room on the banks of the Leland River, the Bluebird tradition of excellence is always apparent.

They have long been known for the finest whitefish and perch in Northern Michigan and also seek the finest steaks and the freshest, flown-in seafood along with their own fresh pasta and baked goods - including their famous cinnamon rolls still made with Leone's recipe - and a very extensive wine list. In the off-season, they also feature ethnic nights every Wednesday and Thursday night with special menus and wine lists.

Here's the location of The Bluebird on Absolute Michigan's Map of Michigan.

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Today is Paczki Day

The Polish News explains that in Polish American communities, Pazcki Day is celebrated on "Fat Tuesday" - the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (today). Polish paczki (filled doughnuts or Bismarks, pronounced "poonch-key") are traditionally eaten. The city of Hamtramck has an annual Paczki-Day Parade, and lines can be seen up to 24 hours before the deep-fried delights go on sale at the numerous local bakeries.

Federal Budget not kind to Michigan

In Budget bleak for Michigan the Detroit News reports that President Bush's proposed budget doesn't have a whole lot of good news for Michigan. Michigan will take cuts in energy assistance to the poor and Medicare and also cuts programs that some Michigan startups are relying on for funding including hydrogen fuel cell vehicle research and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Street Art - Manistique Lighthouse

Who better to answer an uncertain future and the call of eating a whole lot of sugary pastries than Big Boy? Of this photo, whitewaves writes: ...here Big Boy...stands upon the sign holding a Burger staring out at Lake Michigan... off in the distance you see historic Manistique light house.. sometimes i wonder at what point as a civilization did we decided to pave America with strip malls...

Big Boost for Michigan Film Incentives?

mLive has a feature by AP writer David Eggert that says that Michigan lawmakers are weighing the best tax incentives for filmmakers in the nation. Michigan currently offers rebates up to 20%, and while those were among the best in the nation for a week or so when they were passed in 2006, they are closer to the middle of the pack according to the Michigan Film Office. In addition to boosting rebates to 40%, Lawmakers are considering additional incentives for companies that hire and/or train Michigan-based workers instead of flying in crew from outside the state.

Hamtramck, Michigan

The City of Hamtramck says that the area was originally settled by the French who came largely from Quebec, named after a French Revolutionary War hero, Colonel Jean Francois Hamtramck and - with Detroit, Mackinaw and Sergeant - was one of four Wayne County townships. In the 1920s and 30s Poles and Eastern Europeans flocked to the city, drawn by auto industry jobs and their influence remains in the names and culture of the city. The city's population was 22,976 in 2000 (Wikipedia). In addition to a suprising number of cool and offbeat articles, Absolute Michigan keyword Hamtramck features the Hamtramck Star, a web site with great photos and writing about the city.

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Crab Rangoon by Shawn Botruff

For the month of February, we'll be focusing on dining in Michigan. Starting Monday, we'll be offering daily profiles of restaurants. We'll begin with diners and dives, check out some casual and family restaurants, dress up for fine dining and sample some of the great ethnic fare Michigan serves up.

We'll also try and take you a little closer to some of our state's noted chefs, wander through as many cookbooks as we can, take a look at the many culinary festivals out there, pull up a chair at some of Michigan's culinary blogs and in general try to eat our way through February and cabin fever!!

As always, we're looking for your input in the comments or by email. Michigan's a big place and we know that there's a lot out there that we haven't tasted!

Explore Michigan Restaurants

• Michigan Diners & Hometown Favorites
• Michigan Casual & Family Restaurants
• Michigan Fine Dining Restaurants
• Michigan Ethnic Restaurants

(see the ones we featured and add your own favorites!)

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Frank's Restaurant by meanmustard1982

In February we'll be focusing on Michigan dining and cooking all month.

Every day, we'll profile a Michigan restaurant and we're hoping that you'll recommend some of your favorites in the comments below or by email.

From diner to four star restaurant and Detroit to Menominee, we want to offer up a palate-pleasing buffet of all the great eats in Michigan!

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outside east jordan, mi. by redmudball

The photo to the right is of the St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church of East Jordan (link) and is part of Casey's Fall in East Jordan set.

While the color is still in full bloom in the Upper Peninsula, we better head south across the Mighty Mac and spend some time on color touring Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Our first tour of Mackinaw City - Charlevoix - Petoskey (as designed by Travel Michigan) begins just on the other side of the Mackinac Bridge in Mackinaw City. They encourage you to stop in at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, a beautifully restored 1892 structure that serves as a museum and is part of Mackinac State Historic Parks. You might pop for the MSHP day pass and check out Colonial Michilimackinac and/or Mackinac Island, but we better not get sidetracked.

Travel Michigan suggests getting off I-75 (a suggestion with which we heartily concur) and heading south down US-31. Just a few miles down, take Gill Rd. west to Just a Plain Farm, which features a full farm market & bakery plus all kinds of activities including hay rides, pumpkin picking and corn mazes. Then it's back to 31 to Levering Rd. where you'll want a map to navigate to Petoskey State Park, featuring 300+ acres on Little Traverse Bay, sandy beaches and one of the many dunes named Old Baldy on Lake Michigan. If you like views like the one to the left of Harbor Springs by Latitude45, continue on because this area is full of them! Martin has great photos of fall color from all over the Petoskey area as well!

You'll want to keep that map handy (or turn to Google maps) as you head through the city of Petoskey (and maybe stop for lunch or a coffee at Roast & Toast). You may also want to wind through historic and tree-lined Bay View and check out the scenery & fishing on the Bear River. Up the Bear River is Walloon Lake (it's a town and a lake). You can't say Walloon Lake without also saying "Ernest Hemingway", so here's the Hemingway Resource Center's page on the family cottage Windimere on the shore of Walloon Lake. The cottage is privately owned, but there's a wealth of detail about the history of the area.

Assuming you avoid the temptation to brood moodily at Hemingway's favorite barstool, it's on to Charlevoix. On any of several ways, you can pass through a large number of small towns which are well detailed by the Petoskey - Harbor Springs - Boyne Country Visitors Bureau. There's a lot of beautiful scenery here and even the back roads have back roads.

Like Petoskey, Charlevoix is full of all manner of shops and stores. If you're in the mood for a more extended color trip, consider the ferry to Beaver Island. It's known as America's Emerald Isle, but in the fall, there's all kinds of color to be enjoyed. Near Charlevoix there are two state parks, Young State Park on Lake Charlevoix and Fisherman's Island State Park on Lake Michigan.

Assuming you head back north, take M-32 out of Petoskey to Harbor Springs. North of Harbor Springs on M-119 is the "Tunnel of Trees" a gorgeous stretch of narrow road along the shore that is lined with maple and other trees.

The Legs Inn in Cross Village is a textbook example of the "It's my darn place and I'll do whatever the heck I want with it" style of architecture for which northern Michigan is justly celebrated. The picture to the right of the door by artbabee is just the barest sample - she has more in her Charlevoix, Cross Village, and Walloon Lake, Michigan set! Their Polish food is also justly celebrated - here's what they have to say about the whole thing:

Located in historic Cross Village, Michigan, Legs Inn is a "monument to nature." Built on a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, it is unique and mysterious as seen in its architecture and decor. The fantasy-like atmosphere of this medieval looking stone, timber and driftwood landmark was created by one man, Polish immigrant, Stanley Smolak. He fell in love with Northern Michigan and its people, many of them Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and decided to settle in Cross Village in 1921.

Authentic Polish cuisine is our specialty, but delicious American dishes, including local fresh Whitefish, are also served. The Smolak family and staff are dedicated to making your visit to Legs Inn an unforgettable experience, which will have you returning often with family and friends throughout the years.

In a perfect world, you might arrive at Wilderness State Parkin time for sunset over Lake Michigan. In an even more perfect world, you'd be at the top of a multi-year waiting list for a cabin at the park!

Just so it's clear, these fall color tour entries are produced by Absolute Michigan & Michigan in Pictures using the great information compiled in Travel Michigan's Fall Color Tours as a starting point. We're trying to add to what they've put together - not rip them off! As always, if you have links to information or photos that we missed, comments or reports, post them in the comments below!

Don't miss our Michigan Fall Wallpaper series and see more of Travel Michigan's Fall Color Tours.

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oktoberfest by leigh wolf

Every September, Frankenmuth celebrates their German culinary and musical heritage with the Frankenmuth Oktoberfest.

In 1990, Frankenmuth, "Michigan's Little Bavaria," celebrated its first Oktoberfest. The Frankenmuth Oktoberfest celebrates German culture, heritage and love. Our goal is to incorporate as many of the sights, sounds, taste and traditions of the original Munich Oktoberfest as possible. We strive to retain as much of our Bavarian heritage as possible and proudly demonstrate this during the Frankenmuth Oktoberfest. Frankenmuth is the first Oktoberfest outside of Munich to be sanctioned by the Parliament and the City of Munich.

They invite you to attend September 20 - 23, 2007 to enjoy a variety of authentic German foods and (of course) German beers.

Be sure to check out Leigh's great Frankenmuth Oktoberfest photo set (slideshow) and for more on Michigan's Little Barvaria, have a look at Absolute Michigan keyword Frankenmuth!

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I took this photo of Perry Harmon (who now makes a very tasty and tender biscotti for a living) at the Traverse Epicurean Classic last year (slideshow). The Epicurean Classic is an amazing annual celebration of food, wine, brewing and cooking that gets better every year. It was founded to benefit the Great Lakes Culinary Institute through student scholarships and a chance to interact with the world's finest chefs and wine industry professionals and provides dinners, receptions, tasting pavilions and a host of classes from some of the top names in food & wine.

It takes place Thursday, September 13 - Saturday, September 15, 2007 at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City. This year's chefs, wine & food experts and distinguished guests include David Pasternack, Marcel Biro, Isabella Nicoletti, Michael Tucker, Isabel Cruz, the Lee Brothers, Craig Common and Seth Allen.

I can't recommend this highly enough.

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