The Dish

In 1978, Anna Ansari’s father tried to carry a perfect melon from Tashkent, Uzbekistan all the way to Michigan. He didn’t make it past customs. But he talked about that melon for decades, and it became the start of her cookbook.

"Because he talked about it so much and still talks about these things so much that we could almost taste it. As that power of sharing memory, and the way in which food can connect us across space and time, that story to me really was the epitome of that."

Anna grew up in metro Detroit, the daughter of an Iranian father and an American mother. Her book, Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing, follows the old trade routes from Central Asia to the Middle East, and she finds her own story along the way.

In this episode of The Dish we talked about:

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The Iranian kebabs and Michigan sweet corn that taste like childhood

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Green noodles colored with dill, and the Uzbek city where you can only find them

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Iranian chicken and rice cake Anna has topped with birthday candles

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Her cheeseburger macaroni, which her brother warned would offend Iranians everywhere

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The almond bundt cake her mom made for a house full of Iranian guests, and why it worked

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Traverse City has been getting lots of national attention for it's food scene. It was even named Food City of the Year by Midwest Living. But the chefs and wine makers who've shaped this place say the story goes much deeper.

At the second annual Traverse City Food & Wine Festival, The Dish spent time with the people behind the plates. What emerged was deeply rooted to the land, the water, the farms, and the community that lies them together.

Veteran chefs like Eric Patterson of The Cooks' House talked about the decades long relationship with farmers, and one in particular he warmly refers to as "Heirloom Craig."

"We've been with the same grower for 15 years. He provides all of our heirloom tomatoes ... and he brings, between 250 and 500 pounds of tomatoes a week for about eight weeks straight, right around now," he said.

Newer voices, including chefs Cameron Rolka of Umbo and Sarah Bobier of Artisan, described a culinary community that welcomed them in and handed them the keys to the region’s bounty.

Another voice, chef Adam McMarlin of Wren in Sutton's Bay, put it this way: "A lot of the restaurants that have been here before me, like Cooks' House and Trattoria Stella and Tapawingo, really kind of paved the way for what people are seeing when they come to town now, you know?"

You taste that closeness through the food. Whether it's cherries picked at peak ripeness, heirloom tomatoes delivered minutes from the vine, or wines shaped by the cold water surrounding Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas. You can feel it in the way chefs show up for each other in mentoring, collaborating, and celebrating what grows here.

As chef Tony Vu of The Good Bowl put it, Traverse City’s food culture is “by far” defined by its ingredients, and by the people who care for them.

It’s a place where the table keeps getting bigger, and it seems there’s room for whoever shows up next.

We heard from:

Brad Morgan: Wine Club Manager, Mari Vineyards

Myles Anton: Executive Chef & Owner of Trattoria Stella

Amanda Danielson: Founder of Trattoria Stella

Eric Patterson: Co-Chef Owner of The Cooks’ House

Bryan Ulbrich: Left Foot Charlie

Sarah Bobier: Executive Chef at Artisan in ther Delmar Hotel

Cameron Rolka: Chef & Owner of Mink in Detroit, Owner of Umbo in Traverse City

Tony Vu: Chef & Founder of The Good Bowl

Whitney Waara: Event Director, Traverse City Food and Wine

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There's a small restaurant near Western Michigan University where, for a lot of people in Kalamazoo, lunch is also an introduction to gobit doner, to lahmacun, and to a whole cuisine some customers didn't even know they'd been missing.

Ayasofya is Kalamazoo's only Turkish restaurant, and its owners, Halil and Fatma Dursunoğlu, feel that responsibility every time someone walks through the door.

"When you are the only one responsible to represent the Turkish food... you need to think like 100 times more than normal," Fatma said. "I have more responsibility to let them taste good food."

They didn't set out to run a restaurant. Fatma's an environmental engineer who spent ten years working with the United Nations on desertification and erosion. But when she moved to Michigan she was pregnant and craving lahmacun, Turkish flatbread topped with minced meat. She couldn't find it anywhere, so she decided to make it herself. The couple opened Ayasofya while Fatma was nine months pregnant. One day, while preparing food for a customer, she went into labor. After giving birth she was back in the kitchen within two weeks.

"Actually, she went to labor literally from the kitchen," Halil said. "I still remember that day."

The restaurant sits in the old Bruno's pizzeria space, a spot generations of WMU students knew and loved. Fatma and her husband Halil, who teaches computer science and cybersecurity at Western, kept the plates, the forks, even the oven. "We respect their memory," Fatma said.

On this episode, we're in the kitchen for the making of gobit doner, a Turkish sandwich filled with shaved meat, fries, pickles, lettuce, tomato, onions, mayo and fresh-baked flatbread. And Fatma and Halil talk about that it means to be the only ones carrying the Turkish cuisine's reputation on your shoulders.

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Peterson’s Fish Market in Hancock is a family‑run operation built on one guiding principle: freshness. Pat Peterson and her family, catch, fillet, smoke, and serve Lake Superior whitefish just miles from where it’s pulled from the water.

The Petersons come from generations of commercial fishing and are members of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. After early pushback when they arrived in Michigan, the community eventually embraced their market. Today, locals and visitors line up for fried whitefish, smoked fish chowder, and other homemade dishes at Four Suns Fish & Chips.

They fish year‑round, work with biologists to protect the lake, and credit their success to the people who show up day after day. For the Petersons, it’s simple: respect the water, serve fresh fish, and take care of the community that takes care of them.

Give us your suggestions!

• Email us at TheDish@michiganpublic.org
• Find our submission form here

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You won’t find soy beans, corn and mango in the dishes at Unco Chad’s Hawaiian Flavaz. The bright blue food truck pops up around southeast Michigan, and offers something different than other local poke restaurants, owner Chad Kubo said.

Unco Chad’s menu — poke bowls, kalua pork, kalbi chicken and more — is authentically Hawaiian.

Unco Chad’s has become a statewide obsession, and his dishes have gone viral on social media.

Kubo sat down with The Dish to talk about how his childhood in Hawaii influenced his love of food, why he wants to offer authentic flavors to Michigan, and what it looks like to live out a spirit of “aloha.”

Give us your suggestions!

• Email us at TheDish@michiganpublic.org
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Protein is having a moment, with powders available in a variety of flavors and base ingredients. The Green Leap, a family-owned business based in Grand Rapids derives their protein powder from a source you probably won’t find at Meijer: crickets.

We visited Montse Rosales Osoria at her cricket farm in West Michigan, plus the kitchen where she roasts and packs the final product.

Helpful links:

• Find The Green Leap website here
• Find bonus footage on our website here
• Read what the U.N. has to say about insect consumption here
• Read a study about the nutritional benefits of cricket consumption here

Give us your suggestions!

• Email us at TheDish@michiganpublic.org
• Find our submission form here

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Manuel De Paz created his Guatemalan diner, Encuentro Latino, with community in mind. The name translates to “Latin Gathering.” It’s been in the same location in downtown Ypsilanti since 2015. Many other shops have struggled to stick around, but a loyal customer base has kept Encuentro Latino in business.

Today, chef-owner De Paz talks about building something distinctly Guatemalan – a gathering place for everyone – the dishes that keep people coming back, and what it means to keep the doors open when part of your community is afraid to walk through them.

Helpful links!

• Find Encuentro Latino hereand follow them on their Facebook pageto be in on their weekly specials.
• Follow and subscribe to The Dish here so you don't miss an episode!

Give us your suggestions!

• Email us at TheDish@michiganpublic.org
• Find our submission form here

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The Cottage Bagel, a home bakery in Grand Rapids owned by Angela and Tony Ochoa, has developed a loyal following, with weekly bagel and scone pre-order “drops” often selling out within hours. Orders are placed on their website, and then picked up from the Ochoas’ home on Fridays.

The Ochoas highlighted the culture of community-building and supporting local businesses in the city. We talked with Angela and Tony about quiet morning rituals, baking in the Republic of Georgia, and what it means to be part of a growing community of home-based cooks.

Helpful links:

• Find the Cottage Bagel order form here
• Find bonus footage on our website here

Give us your suggestions!

• Email us at TheDish@michiganpublic.org
• Find our submission form here

Support our work: https://www.michiganpublic.org/podfund

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A sober bar manager in Ann Arbor is redefining what zero‑proof cocktails can be.

In this episode, my colleague April Baer talks with Max Schikora of Echelon Kitchen and Bar about his path to sobriety, the pressures of bar culture, and how he’s crafting some of Michigan’s most thoughtful spirit‑free drinks.

Max’s story is also a window into a broader shift. More people in the service industry are choosing sobriety, and more restaurants are making space for them. At Echelon, Max helps lead a weekly Ben’s Friends meeting, part of a national support network for hospitality workers navigating addiction and recovery.

He also walked April through one of his favorite creations: a roasted beet cocktail that’s earthy, bright, and built from kitchen scraps that would otherwise be tossed. It’s a drink that captures his philosophy: nothing wasted, everything intentional.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or useLifeline Chatto connect with a trained counselor.

• Find The Dish's suggestion form here, or email us at TheDish@MichiganPublic.org

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We spent some time with Yumna Jawad, better known as Feel Good Foodie, in her Grand Rapids home. She shared her must-have holiday dish and some super practical tips to help us all survive the holiday season in the kitchen.

• Find Yumna's stuffed grape leaves recipe here
• Find the landing page for Yumna's episode here
• Find The Dish's suggestion form here, or email us at TheDish@MichiganPublic.org

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British-born and Michelin-starred chef Kieron Hales has cooked for presidents and royalty across 27 countries.

He's Executive Chef at Zingerman's Cornman Farms in Dexter, Michigan, a farmhouse and event space with a restored red barn on the property. He works with couples to create custom menus—crafting farm-to-table meals or recreating family favorites—and provides them with the recipes to keep.

Today he talks with me about his favorite food memory, his mother's crepe cannelloni. It’s a labor-intensive lasagna-like creation of crepes stuffed with bolognese and baked in bechamel sauce. Plus what he takes away from cooking at the highest levels of the culinary world, and what it means to create meals that become memories.

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Music in this episode byBlue Dot Sessions.

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In Boyne City, a little lakeside town in Northern Michigan, there’s a bakery offering crepes of a quality that you'd expect to find in France. It’s owned by a classically trained French baker, Gildas Berrou. The shop offers a variety of savory and sweet fresh-baked goods, including traditional crepes made to order. Just don’t ask Gildas to add American cheese.

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Find the Gildas' Lake Street Bakery website here
• Find bonus footage on our website here

We’d love for you to fill out this listener survey. It will only take a few minutes, and it will help us know what you want to hear!

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Music in this episode byBlue Dot Sessions.

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Milkweed Inn is a unique culinary getaway hidden deep in the Upper Penninsula's Hiawatha National Forest. Chef Lane Regan works to craft menus that are foraged and locally sourced. We learned about what it takes to craft and execute such a remote experience, and the ways the environment shape Chef Regan's food philosophy.

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Read about Lane's work at Elizabeth
• The website for Milkweed Inn
• Bonus photos from our visit to Milkweed Inn

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Music in this episode byBlue Dot Sessions.

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Brothers Patrick and Ryan Evans fell in love with Sichuanese cuisine while working in San Francisco's fine dining industry. When they returned to Michigan, they teamed up with Ryan Corbin, a fellow chef, to bring those flavors to Traverse City.

We talked to the trio about Crocodile Palace, their takeout-only Sichuan restaurant, the appeal of the Sichuan region's mala flavor profile, and the ingredients that go into their bestselling dan dan noodles.

HELPFUL LINKS:

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Crocodile Palace's main brick-and-mortar is located at 124 Cochlin St. in Traverse City.

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Their kitchen at The Little Fleet near downtown Traverse City is open year-round, and offers a less spicy menu of options.

• Find bonus footage from our trip, plus a map of all our past trips, here!

We’d love for you to fill out this listener survey. It will only take a few minutes, and it will help us know what you want to hear!

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Music in this episode byBlue Dot Sessions.

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Tanya and Wasinade Raphael are the mother-daughter team behind Raphael Foods. You’ll find their food truck drawing long lines at powwows and other tribal events across northern Michigan. Most of their dishes are built on hot, pillowy fry bread – a Native American flat bread with a complex history.

• Find operating hours for Raphael Foods here.
• Find bonus footage from our trip here.

Want more food stories? Listen here.

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Brittany March, the owner of a culinary pop-up called It’s Food Detroit, has a deep love for pizza that goes all the way back to childhood. Now, she's cooking her own pies, offering a vegan-first take on Detroit-style. She has plans to open up her own brick-and-mortar called Roots and Dough next spring.

• Find details about Brittany's fundraiser for her brick-and-mortar here.
• Learn more about Village Pizza and Alkebu-lan Village here.
• Find bonus footage from our trip here.

Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way.

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work.

Music in this episode byBlue Dot Sessions.

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We’d love for you to fill out this listener survey. It will only take a few minutes, and it will help us know what you want to hear!

The Maple Grille in Hemlock, Michigan, offers a rotating farm-to-table menu. Everything is cooked on a wood-fired grill or pizza oven. The business sits on 6 acres of land, including the restaurant, a brewery housed in a repurposed shipping container, a chicken coop, a hoop house, and a small produce farm.

Two things stand out in the gravel parking lot: the smoke wafting out of a long pavilion, and an enormous pile of firewood.

“The Maple Grille started out here,” said Josh Schaeding, chef and owner of the restaurant.

Before the property just off M-46 became a restaurant, it was home to a construction company owned by Schaeding’s father and grandfather. The family built two long maple syrup evaporators in front of the business, near the roadside.

“So many people stopped by and thought we were cooking ribs,” Schaeding said. “We were just cooking maple syrup. I decided as soon as syrup season was over to… start a restaurant here.”

The restaurant is surrounded by farmland and draws in a mix of locals, loyal seasonal customers, and vacationers passing through on their way up north. Nearly everything on the menu is locally sourced, from the meat to the produce to the firewood that fuels all three of their grills.

You can see more photos from our visit HERE.

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It's Season 2 of The Dish!

Today’s story takes us back to 2014, Ann Arbor. That’s when Eric Holloway started making cheesecake with his mom. Before that, Eric was in a bad place. But he’s come a long way from growing pot for a living to baking cheesecakes.

• EK’s Cheesecakes offers custom orders that are available for delivery or pickup at Stadium Market in Ann Arbor.
• They also offer a rotating menu at their storefront in Dexter on Fridays and Saturdays. EK’s Cheesecakes shares its storefront and kitchen with Rich Grains Bakery

We’d love for you to fill out this listener survey. It will only take a few minutes, and it will help us know what you want to hear!

Is there a culinary creative we should get to know in your area? If so, tell us about them. You can send your tips to TheDish@MichiganPublic.org

GUEST:

• Eric Holloway is the owner of EK’s Cheesecakes and co-owner of Rich Grains Bakery.

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A brand new season of The Dish is here, and we’re kicking things off with a Michigan favorite – pączki. We’ll take you inside a popular Hamtramck bakery known as "Pączki Headquarters," to see what it takes to make thousands of these rich jelly donuts ahead of Fat Tuesday, plus we’ll talk to a food writer about why this Polish tradition is so beloved, and how the pączki keep evolving.

GUESTS:

• Micki Maynard, journalist and editor of Culinary Woman Newsletter on Substack
• Suzy Ognanovich, New Palace Bakery family member

Photo caption: New Palace Bakery offers traditional and new flavor pączki.

Photo credit: Ronia Cabansag

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Chef Eddie Vargas has a long history with birria — a flavorful stew that is slow cooked until the meat of choice is fall-apart tender. Filled with dried chiles, garlic, and spices, the stew is traditionally made with large cuts of goat or lamb. However, in the U.S., it is most often made with beef. In the past decade, birra tacos, quesabirria, and even birra ramen have taken off. Listen to how Eddie is making this traditional stew. And stay tuned because in 2025, Eddie is opening a new taqueria called Tacos Wuey Detroit with his father Jose.

Looking for more conversations from The Dish? Right this way.

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Music in this episode by Audio Network andBlue Dot Sessions.

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