Northern
WINTER
DESTINATION
The farm-to-table
culture around
Traverse City
can be found in a
surprising variety
of places.
a food destination.
Traverse City cuisine is an eclectic,
relatively recent movement that borrows freely from other regional styles
and relies heavily on imagination,
boldness and spunk. But if it has one
defining characteristic, that would be
a generous use of fresh ingredients
from nearby farms, forests, waters and
orchards. From appetizers to dessert,
local restaurateurs seem to be on a
mission to showcase the best of what
the area has to offer.
Local chefs have always relied on
the region’s abundance of fresh fruits.
Mike and Denise Busley, owners of
the Grand Traverse Pie Company, have
been featured on the Food Network
and earned fans all across the United
States, but they know their popular
bakery/café wouldn’t exist if it weren’t
for the fresh ingredients they find all
around them.
Equally committed to that idea is
Dave Denison, owner/chef at Amical, a
downtown Traverse City bistro offering French and Italian rustic cooking.
Most of the greens, tomatoes, herbs
and fruits featured on his menu are
supplied by area farmers, and so is
much of the fish and meat. Down the
46 FOOD TRAVELER | WINTER 2013
street, chefs Eric Patterson and Jennifer Blakeslee have made fresh local
ingredients the mainstay of their restaurant, The Cook’s House, where 90%
of the menu is locally