Emily Tennyson, Michigan Travel Ideas contributing writer, shares her favorite places to pick up the freshest Michigan foods around her hometown of Detroit. Sample the state’s bounty yourself along three food trails that are highlighted in the article “Get Fresh” in the 2010 issue of Michigan Travel Ideas. Also be sure to check out “Fresh” – one of our new TV ads this year focused on the bounty of Pure Michigan.

As a lifelong Detroiter and all-around foodie, I’m in the habit of watching trends. Lucky for me, I have a lot of fresh food options nearby and decide to reserve a couple Saturdays to visit some surrounding area farmers markets.

Mount Clemens is a quiet lakeside town with a decades-old farmers market.

On a beautiful Saturday morning I drive to Mount Clemens, a quiet lakeside town about 30 miles northeast of Detroit. For many local farmers the decades-old farmers market is their sole opportunity to meet the public and share their wares (open every Friday and Saturday, May through November, from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.). The vendors set up in the grass and sell everything from the back of their pickups. When I peek into the back of an S-10, I see tiny redskin potatoes the size of grapes, still caked in dirt, and bright green haricots verts. A perfect nicoise salad starts to formulate. One truck over, I find dessert, too – the lone quart of fuzzy yellow raspberries.

I move a couple trucks down to find vendors Ellen and Bill Gass of Centennial Farm. For the past 25 years, they have organically raised the tasty fare they sell at the market. I try their intense, woody raw asparagus. Next time, it might be one of the 50 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, or 60 kinds of lettuce. I head home with my finds, already looking forward to my next weekend’s adventure.

On another beautiful Saturday morning I drive to Ann Arbor and Chelsea, both about 45 miles west of Detroit. I bring along my daughter Chloe, an aspiring chef.

Chelsea's downtown farmers market is alongside the Purple Rose Theatre.

Around the block from Zingerman’s Deli  (open everyday 7a.m.-10 p.m.) we find the open-air green awning farmers market (open every Wednesday and Saturday, May through December, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Even though it’s only 9 a.m., it’s pretty busy. I am pleased to see rows of curly, sage green lettuce, piles of kale, shiny white leeks, towering basil plants and rafts of strawberries. The fruits are appealing, but I’m craving carbs. I taste Anatolian Bakery’s Mediterranean-style almond muffin. A good choice, I decide.

After we’ve had our fill in Ann Arbor we make the 15-minute drive to nearby Chelsea. We find a small but well edited farmers market (open every Saturday, May-October, from 8 a.m.–noon). There, I discover tiny boxes of baby lettuce, organic eggs and aromatic dill.  I purchase shiny yellow peppers from the Beautiful Earth Farm with dinner in mind.  

Full bellies and satisfied palates accompany us as we head home. I wonder if Chloe is busy next Saturday…

Writer Emily Tennyson, a fourth generation Detroiter, cherishes her hometown and Sanders Hot Fudge for dessert and, always, a drive along Lake St. Clair.

In Michigan’s “Little Bavaria,” Christmas isn’t just a one-day celebration. From its warehouse-sized Christmas store to its tiny replica chapel, Frankenmuth takes the joy of the holidays into the winter months and throughout the year.

Trimmed in ribbons and pine rope, Frankenmuth’s Bavarian Inn towers over this onetime mill town along the Cass River like a castle straight from the pages of a Christmas fairy tale.

I love the storybook atmosphere that enfolds this Thumb community, from alpine-style buildings that line the business district to the covered bridge and peak-roofed cottages converted to shops along Main Street. The sidewalks and doorsteps look freshly scrubbed, and everyone says “hello.”

Bronners CHRISTmas Wonderland

Above the gingerbread-trimmed inn, the clock tower’s 35-bell carillon peals twice daily, and the Pied Piper and other storybook characters pop out from behind a bronze door at the top. I can’t say I knew this when I arrived. I just followed the shoppers gathering at its base despite a cold wind carrying snowflakes.  The swirling white seems like part of the show!

We’re all glad to put down bags stuffed with parcels from dozens of stores lining the surrounding streets. One store sells Christmas sweaters. In another, I watched cooks shaping huge slabs of gooey fudge. Local crafters’ works fill Schnitzelbank Woodcarving Studio, and comforters crowd Zeilinger Wool Company.

The Bavarian Inn and the sprawling white-frame Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth serve the family-style chicken dinners that have brought travelers to town for generations. By mid-morning, the aroma of the fried chicken and trademark stuffing has me thinking about lunch, but there’s more to see first.

Lighted displays lead the way to Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth’s landmark giant year-round Christmas store that’s the size of four football fields. Inside, 350 trees sparkle with miles of lights amid more than 50,000 kinds of ornaments, trimmings and gifts.

I purposely end my visit at the non-denominational Silent Night Chapel, a replica of a historic church near Salzburg, Austria, where the carol first was performed. Founder Wally Bronner built the chapel on the grounds so that the spirit of the holidays would live on in his complex and the town. It does, especially at this quiet little shrine.

Barbara Morrow has written and edited travel articles for Midwest Living since 1989, including articles about every part of Michigan. Barbara also directs the editorial content and direction of Michigan Travel Ideas, the official Pure Michigan Travel Guide.

Thanks to Kristi Trevarrow for her guest blog piece on Pure Michigan shopping.  We love to hear from our audience, so please visit our guest blogger information page to learn how to submit your own story.

As the reality of my ever-growing shopping list set in, I decided to practice what I preach and do my holiday shopping in my downtown. Working in a downtown district, it is easy to be spoiled by the wide variety of businesses, each offering their own distinctive array of goods.  It struck me that many of my friends and family might not be aware of all the great things to be found so close to home, so why not put downtown “under the tree” this holiday season.

With a chill in the air and wallet in hand, off I scurried from shop to shop in search of twinkling treasures.   Exceptional gifts, inimitable objects and bright, smiling faces welcomed me at every stop on my shopping tour.  I could hardly contain my excitement as I marveled at the fantastic items found right in my own hometown.  My holiday shopping list became shorter at every stop, while the number of packages steadily increased.

I encountered handmade items of all kinds including candles, soaps, mittens, toys and chocolates.  I always have good, yet ill-fated intentions of making my own gifts, so this was a welcome find. The merchants were happy to share the stories behind these items – how they were crafted, where were they made and most interestingly, why they chose to offer this product to their customers and neighbors.

Along the way, I discovered many made in Michigan products including Sanders, Cherry Republic, Made In Detroit and Leelanau Coffee. Shopping local and Michigan-made?  That’s a gift giving home run. 

A stop by my favorite bakery for a minute of rest and a white chocolate cocoa inspired me to expand my local shopping mission to include my holiday entertaining needs.  Faster than you can say Kris Kringle, I ordered handcrafted artisan breads for my holiday table.  Just down the street, I stopped at the florist and ordered my holiday centerpiece. And all of this in less than a morning and just a few steps from my door.

I walked out of every store knowing that I didn’t just find a wonderful gift or item, I made an investment in my community. So when you’re out and about, caught up in the holiday hustle and bustle, remember, shopping local is the best gift you can give yourself.

 Kristi Trevarrow is the executive director of the Rochester Downtown Development Authority.  If you have some tips on shopping Michigan-made and local, or just want to let Kristi know what you thought of her story, leave a comment below.