Summer Sippers: Cocktails from Northern Michigan
I love my Michigan Wine, but sometimes summer calls for a cocktail. So I decided to share a collection of drink recipes made from Michigan wine, spirits and beer. Cheers! Raz Be Daz | Recipe from Black Star Farms To make this, pour ¾ glass of Black Star Farms Be Dazzled Sparkling wine, and then top off [...]
How to Enjoy a Spring Break Staycation Up North
No travel plans for Spring Break this year? Chin up. We've got some great suggestions to help you enjoy a staycation in Traverse City. Here's our 7 Ways for 7 Days: How to Enjoy Your Spring Break Staycation. 1. Spring Skiing Spend a day on the slopes this spring break, it's an unusual treat to have conditions this sweet. Our [...]
Proposed "Bed Tax" Increase to Boost CVB Marketing Efforts
Regional Convention & Visitors Bureaus throughout the state are faced with the question of whether or not to increase their room assessment, also known as a "Bed Tax" from 2% up to 5%. What's the impetus behind this proposal? And what do our local CVBs plan to do? Here's what I discovered. The Facts on Bed Tax If you've [...]
Plan Your Trip to Traverse with New iPhone App from Mealtickets
Mealtickets & Unusual Ideas is proud to present a brand new iPhone app called Traverse Traveler. The Traverse Traveler iPhone app is a handy mobile guide for the Traverse area visitor designed to promote local restaurants, wineries, attractions, shopping, events, services and more. And best of all...it's a FREE download for iPhone and iTouch users. Whether you're planning a trip to northwest Michigan, [...]
What are the 5 Most Common Items Hotel Guests Leave Behind?
Digging Around in the Lost and Found How many times do you check your belongings, dig through suitcases and peruse the room before closing the hotel door on the final day of vacation? If you're anything like me, about a dozen. And yet, we still leave important items behind. When I was a child, we traveled often on weekends [...]
Wonderful World of Michigan Wine, Beer and Spirits
The beverage business is booming in Michigan. And everyone from visitors to lodging personnel to locals wants to keep up with what's new in the world of wine, beer and spirits in Northern Michigan. So here are some highlights from our customers in the industry. Right Brain Brewery 90 lbs of asparagus were grilled and turned into what has [...]
Local Chefs in the Running for James Beard Award
Considered "The Oscars of the food world," by Time Magazine, the James Beard Foundation Award is one of the highest honors a chef can receive. And three Traverse Area chefs are on the cusp of receiving this very honor. Semi-finalists in the category Best Chef: Great Lakes 2010 are chef Miles Anton of Trattoria Stella, chef Randy Chamberlain of Blu, and chef Guillaume Hazaël-Massieux of La Bécasse. The semi-finalists were chosen from [...]
The Village: Behind the Scenes Tour with Ray Minervini
The Village at Grand Traverse Commons Tour with Ray Minervini Did you know...the entire campus at the old Traverse City State Hospital—one million square feet of brick, wood and stone— was built from the ground up in less than 2 years? There are 400,000 square feet of space in Building 50 alone! That's an architectural feat that must have taken [...]
Stay in Style at the Wellington Inn
Charming Carriage House still has Room at the Inn When I roam around the county filling displays at hotels, motels, resorts and wineries, I try to take a moment and chat with the owners and staff. I stopped this week at the Wellington Inn in Traverse City and was surprised to learn that there was still room available in the carriage [...]
Hometown Highlights: Spartan Flag Company
Spartan Flag Company is now closed Did you know, the majority of the world's golf flags are made in Northport, Michigan? I had no idea. That is, until I had the chance to get a tour of the Spartan Flag Company, in beautiful Northport, Michigan. It was there I came to see why the golf industry has grown to [...]