Culinary Journeys – Kyoto, Japan, Part 1

Continuing our culinary journey through Japan, echoing Basho's haiku style. Recounting experiences with traditional and modern Japanese meals, highlighting kaiseki dining and street food. Connecting food with culture, emphasizing the flavors of sushi, matcha, and regional cuisine, while exploring themes of tradition and creativity.

Restaurant – Birch

In a few weeks from the writing of this post, James Beard Foundation will announce it's winners for Best Chef for 2024. The Great Lakes region in the awards includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, which puts Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland all in the same category. Tough sledding for the Great Lakes cities. Milwaukee (thankfully!) [...]

Foraged Fiddleheads and Pheasant Back Mushroom with Broiled Walleye

Spring comes late to the northern woods of Michigan, extending the early spring foraging season well into mid-May. This year it provided another opportunity to return to our indigenous-inspired cooking approach we have been exploring for a few years now. We have already shared one walleye recipe in our indigenous-inspired cooking approach here. But a [...]

New Purveyors Added

We're happy to announce that we have added three new sources to our Purveyors page, two processed meat sources and one for smoked fish. In Port Washington, WI there is a small, white storefront tucked back off the main street, where you can find a variety of Great Lakes area fish that have been brined [...]