On The Road: A food tour of Traverse City, Michigan

And while Indianapolis is where I keep my heart and soul — my thrice-locked chest — I can't help but feed my sense of wonder on the open road.

So for the first part of a new series entitled "On the Road" (thanks, Jean-Louis), I headed to Michigan for a press trip coordinated by Pure Michigan. The trip took me and five other journalists to upper Michigan -- not upper, upper Michigan, the U.P. -- but upper-ish Michigan. Traverse City to be exact, which is basically just above the pinky, on Lake Michigan.

If you have family, or friends, or your uncle's neighbor's friends, who sojourn up to Michigan every summer, there is a great chance they head to Traverse City. It's a quaint town, with a small, homey, welcoming downtown area that sits just one road off of the shore of Lake Michigan. And while it is definitely most known as a summer getaway, it truly shines as an autumn escape.

While summertime is packed to the brim with higher price points on hotels and other accommodations, the fall-time is temperate due to the lake effect, the streets and restaurants and wineries are much less crowded and it's easier to get lost in the charm of the town.

I kicked off my trip, after waking up at the godawful hour of 2:45 a.m. for a turbulent, stomach-churning flight to Detroit, followed by a smooth and pretzel-filled flight to Traverse City, with a much-needed latté from a hip and trendy coffee spot named Brew. The latté was good -- which means it wasn't too acidic or bitter and it woke me right up.

All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I continued my trek down Front Street, the main street through the town, to my first food stop, Grand Traverse Pie Co.

Yes, I stopped in the Cherry Republic on the way, if you like cherries, and spicy cherry bbq, hot cherry salsa and cherry summer sausage pique your interest, you should do the same.  

I was at Grand Traverse Pie Co. for one thing — a mythical treat I had first read about in Neil Gaiman's masterwork, American Gods — I was there for a pasty. At the time I posted a pic that equated pasty and tasty, but pasty is actually enunciated more closely to fan-tas-tic, which it is. It's a meal in your hand, and a U.P. tradition, of a dough pocket filled with beef, rutabaga, carrot, potato and onion and then dipped in gravy. They told me there is a common debate between gravy dippers and ketchup dippers, but if you choose ketchup over gravy in any debate you're a monster.

If you must have something with tomato in it, I would suggest the GTPie tomato bisque that stuck with me all day.

But don't fill yourself too much because that pie word in the company's name is what they're all about and don't forget you've found yourself in the cherry capital of the world. Get a slice of cherry pie and pretend you're in a David Lynch paradise.

Once I officially felt like I had become a pie, it was time to get out and do a bit of walking. Front Street is filled with so many different unique shops and boutiques you could spend a whole day meandering in and out of stores.

Another walking option I took on my second day was at the recently renovated and surprisingly wonderful Village at Grand Traverse Commons. The Commons, which is filled with local restaurants, unique shops, and high-end condominiums and apartments, is truly a feat of repurposing a location. It is all held within what once was the Traverse City State Hospital, which was a mental hospital for much of northern Michigan until it closed in 1989

While you could simply spend your day making your way into the shops — which if you do and consider yourself bibliophile, Landmark Books is a must-stop, despite its size, it's truly one of the best-curated bookstores I've wandered through —  I would suggest taking a guided tour of the grounds with the wonderful and knowledgeable tour guide, Joe Kilpatrick.

An hour with Joe gave me an immense amount of appreciation for the restoration project and Joe's heartfelt thoughts and firsthand accounts on the hospital and how they attempted to rehabilitate patients left me sad about some of our modern approaches to mental health.

If you're looking for a tour filled with scary stories or about the spooky things that we equate with close mental hospitals, this isn't the tour for you. However, you might get the heebie-jeebies when you make your way down into the damp, tunnels that run below the grounds.

If you are moreso in the mood for being outdoorsy and active, in Traverse City adventure abounds. I hit the Boardman River for a kayak trip with Paddle for Pints.

The trip is a unique way of seeing the city and getting a taste of the booming brewing scene. Your guide leads you on a six-hour tour that hits six local breweries including Right Brain, The Workshop, Monkey Fist and more. The paddle down the river was relaxing and refreshing and the guides are happy to answer any questions you may have. Plus, you get to drink beer, so that rocks. A heads-up, Paddle for Pints fills up really quickly every season, so book your trip early. If they're all booked up try out their sister company Kayak, Bike & Brew.

I had no idea about Michigan's wine scene, but a quick drive out to the Brys Estate on Old Mission Peninsula made me think it's pretty damn good. The Estate looks out over rolling vineyards that run into a thin forest line before ending in the bay. Sitting atop the outdoor dining deck gives a wonderful view of the picturesque vista, which is the perfect complement to a mid-afternoon wine tasting.

We were given an array of wines that ranged from a velvety, green apple Dry Riesling to very oaky and spicy Pinot Noir. Everything we tasted was quality, even those who weren't big fans of wine could enjoy the perfectly named f-rosé, which was more-or-less a frozen strawberry daiquiri with rosé instead of rum. They let us know that as the weather cooled it would be replaced by a spiked apple cider featuring the Riesling.

After drinkin' some wine and feelin' fine, it's worth taking the rest of the drive to the tip of the peninsula — if you have a DD, of course — to the Mission Point Lighthouse at the tip. Meander down to the water and enjoy an easy walk along the sandy beach and then turn back, look at the lighthouse and reminisce about that weird Goonies knock-off they made in the '90s named The Treasure. That's what I did anyways.

Once evening comes Traverse City has a seemingly endless amount of restaurants to hit, but for me, it was time to grab pizza at The Filling Station. Housed in the old train station, The Filling Station is a micro-brewery with 10 beers on tap and they make a mighty fine pizza-pie in the wood-fired ovens.

We split four different pizzas and four salads, each one was better than the last. When it came to the salads, the clear standout for me was The Conductor, it was a play on a Cobb salad, with prosciutto in place of ham — a great trade, IMO. And while the salads were good, they weren't the part that had me loosening my belt. That medal went to the pizzas, specifically the Firebox and the Oktoberfest.

The Firebox was spicy, like, super spicy, and I don't normally think things are spicy. It was covered in a colorful array of peppers, including habaneros and jalapeños and topped with a sauce they dub the firebox sauce that is a homemade conglomeration that comes from everything they cook in the wood-fired oven. I ended up drinking more water than beer just to cool my mouth down, but I did thoroughly enjoy my ESB and Port Huron Pale Ale.

The Oktoberfest was a slice, or four, of heaven. I was initially nervous about the addition of apples, but they were perfectly balanced out by the addition of local sausage, sauerkraut, and a spicy mustard sauce. If I could I would drive back right now just to eat this pizza. It is only seasonal, so I guess that is just one more reason to go in the fall.

Even though we didn't get a chance to eat here, multiple people, including our guide suggested PepeNero at the Traverse City Commons as one of the absolute best and most romantic spots in the city. I took a look at their menu and I was so sad that high-end Italian restaurants aren't open at 9 a.m. Don't put it past me to start off my day with a grass-fed Black Angus fillet, fresh black winter truffles, trumpet and beech mushrooms in a porcini and red wine sauce with roasted organic potatoes.

Once you've filled yourself with pizza and beer or Italian and vino, there's nothing stopping you from grabbing a nightcap before heading back to your hotel room. If you're staying at the Hotel Indigo, you could easily do that at the scenic rooftop bar that overlooks Lake Michigan. Or, if you're like me, you head down a flight of steps into Low Bar, the city's speakeasy, (hint: it’s not the 7 Monks Taproom on street level, even though that’s worth a stop too; Low Bar is just to the right) for a play on a Boulevardier named The Reptilian Center. The cocktail featured my favorite amaro — Cardamaro — which drove me to it, the additions of Eagle Rare bourbon, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, along with some easy and enjoyable conversation with other patrons at the bar was the perfect digestif to end an overall beautiful day in a new town.

Be on the lookout for more On the Road stories coming soon.