Cooking

Catering to all the folks

In business for more than a century, Kewpee is the second oldest hamburger chain in the United States. Beginning with the Kewpee Hotel in Flint, Michigan, founder Samuel “Old Man Kewpee” Blair soon opened his original hamburger stand. That location served the world’s first deluxe hamburger, crafted from fresh, never-frozen beef and topped with tomatoes, lettuce and mayo. By licensing the Kewpee name, Blair and Ohio Kewpee Hotel operator Edwin Adams expanded into a chain of hundreds of hamburger stands and restaurants, mainly in the Midwest. A small number of Kewpee locations survived competition and still serve Olive Burgers, fries, malts and pie to lucky customers.

Author Gary Flinn tells the full story of Kewpee, its many locations long gone and its spinoff, Halo Burger.

A Vehicle City Success Story

The history of Flint's food culture has always been largely overshadowed by the stories of its industries. But the origins and rapid expansion of the number of Macedonian Coney shops in Flint paralleled the explosive growth of the city's automotive industry throughout the twentieth century. Born of an immigrant escaping the war-torn Balkans in the early 1900s who combined his idea for one dish with the skills of butchering and meatpacking experts from Wisconsin and Germany, the simple Flint Coney became an institution among the city's autoworkers, tradespeople, and families. Mainstays such as Flint Original Coney Island, Angelo's, and Atlas were frequented by regular patrons for decades, with others such as Capitol and Starlite carrying on those traditions today.

Genesee County native Dave Liske explores these global origins and the cultural history of the Flint Coney.

Author and award-winning historian Russell M. Magnaghi delves into the delectable food history of the Upper Peninsula.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a veritable cornucopia of delicious dishes. Over the centuries, the shared food knowledge and passion Native Americans and immigrant of all kinds produced the region’s iconic foods and beloved restaurants. Mackinac Island remains the epicenter for fine food. Here one can dine on freshly caught trout and whitefish at the Grand Hotel before tracking down the island’s celebrated fudge for dessert. Afield of the island, visitors and residents alike can attend a Friday night fish fry virtually anywhere in the area, savor a juicy “Big C” burger at one of the many Clyde’s Drive-In locations, or just have a refreshing glass of beer at Tahquamenon Brew Pub in aptly-named Paradise.

For more than 130 years, there has been no sweeter word in Detroit than Sanders.

Sanders was more than just an ice-cream and candy shop--a Detroit icon, it served a fountain of memories for generations. The venerable confectioner was once as much a part of Detroit's streetscape as the Big Three, Hudson's, and Coney Islands, where customers stood two and three deep behind lunch counters for tuna or egg salad sandwiches, devil's food buttercream "bumpy'? cake, hot fudge sundaes, and Sanders' signature dessert--hot fudge cream puffs. As Detroit boomed, so did Sanders, and at its peak, the company boasted more than 50 stores, with its products available in as many as 200 supermarkets. The Motor City nearly lost Sanders in the mid-1980s, but its dessert shops have begun to resurface, thanks to another Detroit institution, Morley Brands LLC, which bought the Sanders brand in 2002. Even after more than a century has passed when Fred Sanders opened his first shop in Chicago, Sanders Confectionery has opportunity to become a national player in desserts and candy.

Through stories and recipes nearly lost to time, author Paul Vachon explores the history of the Motor City's fine dining, ethnic eateries and everything in between. Grab a cup of coffee - he's got stories to share.

While some restaurants come and go with little fanfare, others are dearly missed and never forgotten. In 1962, patrons of the Caucus Club were among the first to hear the voice of an eighteen-year-old Barbra Streisand. Before Stouffer's launched a frozen food empire, it was better known for its restaurants with two popular locations in Detroit. The Machus Red Fox was the last place former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa was seen alive.

This collection of Ann Arbor's most iconic local eateries from college hangouts to elegant eateries is sure to satisfy.

What is an iconic Ann Arbor restaurant? Ask anyone who has ever spent time there as a student, traveler, or ""townie,"" and they are likely to name several favorites in an instant. From debating the best place to celebrate or console on football Saturdays to deciding where to eat after the bars close, the choices have always sparked passionate conversation. In Ann Arbor, people are known to have strong feelings about the best places for pizza, coffee, beer, burgers, noodles, and burritos. Although many of the go-to hangouts are long gone, a surprising number still thrive. And there are always a few newcomers coming along to win the hearts of the next generation of diners, nibblers, and noshers. Some are fine restaurants and taverns, and others are lunch counters, diners, carry-outs, and drive-ins--but in each and every case, they are unique and together make up a collection of iconic local eateries.

Michigan's beer history is as diverse as the breweries themselves, and the stories behind them are as fascinating as their tasty concoctions.

A few enterprising women found themselves at the forefront of early brewing in the state, and several early Detroit brewers also served as mayor. Pfeiffer's mascot was designed by Walt Disney Studios. Jackson's Eberle Brewing Company took its fight against local prohibition all the way to the Supreme Court, and the Silver Foam trademark embroiled disputants in a different legal fight. Renowned modern craft brewers grew from humble beginnings, often staving off financial disaster, to establish themselves as local, or even national, juggernauts.

Grab your favorite brew and join author Patti F. Smith for a look at Michigan's distant brewing past and its recent triumphs.