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For true food aficionados, the most important thing to bring on any trip is a hearty appetite. Here are some places sure to please your palate, from a B&B with an on-site creamery to a ping-pong pizzeria.
One of the many creative pizzas at Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C.
Courtesy Comet Ping Pong
If the thought of eating fast food while on the road or staying in a hotel turns your stomach, consider taking a culinary-themed vacation this year. Foodie vacationers are more common than ever, and many establishments are recognizing that by offering decadent epicurean packages or innovative cuisines at hole-in-the-wall prices.
Keep things serene with a stop at one of the many wineries-slash-bed-and-breakfasts near Ohio, or tackle a whirlwind tour of some of the biggest culinary cities in the country. Along the way, you’ll find quirky restaurants and fun festivals that will help you kill time until check-in.
Agricultural adventure
Imagine a picturesque farm with all the amenities needed for a quaint and relaxing vacation. There’s a warm bed, a cozy atmosphere, a cafe. Now throw in an on-site chef, a creamery, a winery, a distillery, a stable and tons of farmland to explore, and you have Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay, Michigan.
“We have a complete experience for those who stay in our inn,” says owner Don Coe, and he isn’t exaggerating. He and his wife, Marylou, noticed the popularity of the agro-tourism movement while living in Europe and decided to utilize the idea when they moved to Michigan to start their post-retirement winery/bed-and-breakfast. They grow cherries, grapes and vegetables, which can be found on the inn’s breakfast table each morning and dinner table on weekends, along with freshly laid eggs and meats from the farm’s livestock. “There’s a sense of pride, on our part, to say that this food was grown here on this farm,” says Coe.
Also on-site is the Hearth & Vine, a cafe, market and bakery, open seasonally in warmer months and run by former Columbusite Jen Welty; the Leelanau Cheese Company’s creamery, featuring award-winning cheeses; stable facilities, in case you want to bring your horse on vacation with you, and a winery/distillery, complete with a tasting room.
To get the full culinary experience, stop by the kitchen and watch as chefs prepare the meals—you might even pick up some tips to take home with you. Book your stay at least a month or two in advance, especially in the peak season of May through October.
Travelers who stay at Black Star Farms during the first week of July also can check out the National Cherry Festival, a huge event that draws half a million visitors each year. Held in neighboring Traverse City, the festival’s mission is “to celebrate cherries, tourism and community involvement,” and celebrate it does. With seven days of contests, games, music and parades, not to mention a plethora of cherry-inspired dishes, visitors of all ages will find something to enjoy.
While you’re on the road, why not make a pit stop at Detroit’s Eastern Market? A year-round farmers’ market open every Saturday, the Eastern Market features more than 250 vendors and merchants. Pick up some treats and ingredients to try out a recipe or two from the chefs at Black Star Farms when you get home.
If you get hungry on the road, make sure you stop in Ferndale, Michigan. There you’ll find the Fly Trap, a “finer diner” with Asian-inspired dishes that serves “blunch” all day and was featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” Kara McMillian, who owns the diner with husband Gavin McMillian and brother Sean McClanaghan, explains that they prefer blunch because “we think brunch has more of a stuffy connotation to it.” One look at the menu will tell you that despite the upscale influences, the Fly Trap is anything but stuffy. And with most menu items ringing in under $10, you’re certainly getting some bang for your buck.
Black Star Farms, (231) 944-1251, blackstarfarms.com
National Cherry Festival, July 2-9, visit.cherryfestival.org
Eastern Market, Sat year-round, detroiteasternmarket.com
The Fly Trap, (248) 399-5150, theflytrapferndale.com
Wine & dine
For those who prefer quiet vacations without the farm animals, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, is the place to be. The Historic Lyons House B&B is a three-bedroom haven in the heart of Ontario’s wine country. The owners, Jolanta Janny and Howard Kudlats, bought the house eight years ago after weekly visits to the little town. “As soon as we opened the door, we said, ‘This is it. We want this house,’ ” says Janny. “I believe this house has its own heart.”
The husband-and-wife team makes breakfast for guests every morning, and they take the time to chat with them during the meal. Janny says this personal interaction is what she loves most about running a B&B. “They share a little bit of their lives with us, even if they come for one day,” she says. “We feel like we get to know them. It’s like making friends over and over.”
The B&B offers culinary and wine tour packages year-round, as well as a bicycle wine tour during warmer months. All packages include a three-day, two-night stay with daily epicurean breakfasts. The culinary package includes a three-course, gourmet meal with wine at one of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s fine dining establishments, and the wine tour packages feature visits to four wineries as well as tastings (including that of ice-wine, for which the area is famous).
Janny suggests booking several months in advance, but if she’s fully booked during your vacation time frame, she can set you up at one of the six other B&Bs with which she has a partnership.
During your stay, sign up for a cooking course at the Wine Country Cooking School. Each month (excluding December), the school focuses on a different theme for lessons, offering one-day classes two to three weekends out of the month, two-day classes on the last weekend of each month and one five-day class a month from June through September. All classes involve preparation of a three-course meal, complete with a wine pairing, but longer classes have extra features. Again, book as far in advance as you can, especially for the five-day class, which accepts only eight people per session.
Another fun stop in town is the Farmers’ Market at the Village, open Saturdays from 8 am to 1 pm May through October. With 16 vendors selling baked goods, flowers, produce, meats, cheese and more, you’re sure to find something you love . . . without the hustle and bustle of larger markets.
If you’re heading up during the last weekend of September, make sure you stop by Ohio’s Geneva Grape Jamboree along the way. Taste various grape products, including—you guessed it—wine. And don’t forget to check out the contests, grape stomping and music.
Historic Lyons House B&B, (905) 468-2297, niagaraonthelakeinn.ca
Wine Country Cooking School, (905) 468-8304, www.winecountrycooking.com
Farmers’ Market at the Village, Sat May-Oct, farmersmarketatthevillage.ca
Geneva Grape Jamboree, Sept. 24-25, grapejamboree.com
Dining delight
If your idea of a vacation involves lots of activity, look no farther than Chicago. Arguably one of the culinary centers of the country, Chicago boasts a dining scene that brings an entire world of cuisines to one area. Stay at Ray’s Bucktown B&B, which owner Ray Reiss says is a great alternative to downtown “cookie cutter” hotels. He and his cooks make breakfast for guests from an ever-changing menu in a restaurant-quality kitchen. Reiss focuses on making “classic, simple food, cooked to perfection,” and adds that though he’s taken a few classes, practice really is what makes perfect.
The kitchen is open for guests to use, though Reiss says most people tend to go out for food instead. The neighborhood of Bucktown is chock-full of great restaurants —there are more than 80 within a mile of the B&B, he says. He recommends Café LaGuardia’s Cuban fare, the South American dining at Rio’s D’Sudameria and the contemporary American cuisine at Bristol.
This B&B isn’t your typical quaint inn. It boasts a sauna, steam room and projection TV to make your stay more enjoyable. Reiss suggests booking at least a month or two in advance during the busier summer months, and a few weeks out in the off-season.
If you want to fully utilize the expansive kitchen at the B&B, take a class at nearby Cooking Fools to get some expert tips. The courses vary widely, from techniques to meal preparation, and often come with take-home goodies for extra practice.
Need ingredients? Chicago has dozens of farmers’ markets, many open year-round, for you to find anything you may need. Green City Market focuses on local items and Chicago French Market has some international flair; check out chicagofarmersmarkets.us for a complete list.
Summer visitors can enjoy the Taste of Chicago, a weeklong event just before Independence Day that highlights the amazing cuisine the city has to offer as local restaurants set up booths in Grant Park. Sample more than 200 food items and enjoy local and national celebrity chef appearances. Last year’s participants included Food Network stars Mario Batali and Giada De Laurentiis, as well as performances by Salt-N-Pepa, Los Lonely Boys and Mat Kearney. The free event attracts more than six million people each year.
Still hungry? Check out the Pierogi Festival later in the month in nearby Whiting, Indiana. More than 200,000 people flock to this town each year for music, games, polka and, of course, pierogis. If you’re making the trip in early June, swing by Troy, Ohio, on your way for the Troy Strawberry Festival, a 150,000-person event that’s been held annually since 1977.
Ray’s Bucktown B&B, (773) 384-3245, raysbucktownbandb.com
Cooking Fools, (773) 276-9377, cookingfools.net
Green City Market, Wed and Sat May-Dec, chicagogreencitymarket.org
Chicago French Market, Mon-Sat year-round, frenchmarketchicago.com
Taste of Chicago, June 24-July 3, tasteofchicago.us
Pierogi Festival, July 29-31, pierogifest.net
Troy Strawberry Festival, June 4-5, gostrawberries.com
Capital Cuisine
Visiting Washington, D.C., doesn’t have to be as boring as your high school field trip. There’s plenty to see and do with food in mind in our nation’s capital. Stay at the Morrison House, a B&B-meets-hotel in nearby Alexandria, Virginia, for an upscale twist on the standard inn. The 45-room hybrid has all the charm of a B&B with the services and amenities of a hotel.
Check out the Epicurean Delights package, which adds a three-, six- or seven-course tasting menu at the hotel restaurant to your stay, complete with amuse bouche, intermezzo, wine consultation and a visit from the chef. Or get the Bed and Brunch package, with a three-course champagne breakfast and late checkout.
In D.C., make sure you visit the Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market—named one of the country’s top farmers’ markets by the Wall Street Journal—for great produce, meats, seafood and more. And don’t miss the Julia Child exhibit at the Smithsonian. Her entire Massachusetts kitchen has been uprooted and rebuilt in the National Museum of American History. Home cooks everywhere come to this exhibition—which also features a gallery of Child’s cookbooks, recipes and other artifacts—to pay homage to the woman who revolutionized the American kitchen.
For dinner, swing by D.C.’s Comet Ping Pong, a pizza parlor unlike any you’ve ever seen before. The eatery features a whole room dedicated to ping-pong tables, available free of charge to patrons. Owner James Alefantis grew up playing ping-pong on family vacations and wanted to bring that nostalgia to his restaurant. “Ping-pong is great because it really brings people together and it’s not too competitive,” he explains. “It’s very accessible.”
Comet Ping Pong also is unique because the building is certified “green” and the menu focuses on local and organic ingredients. “That’s how I eat, I use natural ingredients in my cooking and I wanted it to be reflective of that,” says Alefantis, who also is the head chef at the pizzeria. And while you can get a plain pepperoni pie, you have to ask for it specially; the menu is far more creative. Alefantis traveled the country sampling the nation’s best pizzas to find inspiration, and his creations feature toppings such as broccoli rabe, clams, arugula and house-made ricotta. These flatbread pizzas, baked in a wood-burning oven, are sure to be unlike anything you’ve tried before. While you’re there, ask your server where he or she is from; Alefantis says many of his wait staff are university students from Ohio.
Break up your road trip with a stop at one of Ohio’s food festivals. Ohio Brew Week in Athens features craft microbrews from nearly 30 breweries and brings in around 25,000 people during the weeklong festival in July. Traveling in September? Satisfy that sweet tooth with a stop at the Lithopolis Honeyfest. The event features a cookoff, a mead garden, music and more, attracting about 7,000 people to the small town like . . . well, like flies to honey.
Morrison House, (703) 838-8000, morrisonhouse.com
Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market, Sun year-round, freshfarmmarkets.org
Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian, (202) 633-1000, americanhistory.si.edu/kitchen
Comet Ping Pong, (202) 364-0404, cometpingpong.com
Ohio Brew Week, July 10-16, ohiobrewweek.com
Lithopolis Honeyfest, Sept. 10, lithopolishoneyfest.com
Emma Frankart is an assistant editor for Columbus Monthly.
