Skip to main content

Amanda's Story


NORTHERN HARVEST: TWENTY MICHIGAN WOMEN IN FOOD AND FARMING

Wayne Press Catalog: Northern Harvest

AMANDA DANIELSON

Born in Detroit, Amanda with her husband opened their first restaurant in Traverse City, Trattoria Stella, in 2004, proclaiming this community the ideal place, as it was and has been, and will continue to be in defiance of the pandemic and recession of 2020.  Like many other restaurants, Stella’s provided take-out meals for their clients during the shutdown, and is now reopening within the social distancing guidelines.

Sadly, Amanda and her partners have had to close the second restaurant described in her story, The Franklin, a venue that I and others have loved since its opening. 2020 has been destructive in ways this country has not seen since the flu of 1918 or the great depression of 1929.

Food, its preparation and its delivery, were part of Amanda’s experience from childhood.  With Lebanese and Polish grandparents she was exposed to different cultures and cuisines.

“My grandmother did all the canning.  She’d have five pots going on her big stove going at once so that the color of the green vegetables wouldn’t affect the color of the white vegetables, or the orange vegetables. It was fantastic growing up with those traditional flavors . . .”

At 12 she worked in her family’s Big Boy franchise. Later she traveled to Europe and Central America opening restaurants internationally for TGI Friday and exploring the larger culinary world. Her knowledge of wines is legendary. Educating her staff is a top priority with her, and several have gone on to other restaurants or to open their own restaurants. “We give people the opportunity to learn both the good and the bad from us in an environment that is truly nurturing.”

To phone for reservations or for take-out orders, (231) 929-8989. 

 To learn more of Amanda’s story and those of the 19 other amazing women in this book you can now purchase Northern Harvest from your favorite bookstore.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dos manos in Matamoros

Dos manos      Before the trip to Brownsville, Texas, to help prepare and serve food to asylum seekers held in the tent city across the river in Matamoros, Mexico, Marti told us to bring fanny packs or other bags that would leave our hands free. Whether chopping vegetables or serving from the trays of hot food to the 1,000+ men, women, and children of every age, we would need both our hands , dos manos , at all times. How did we come to be there and why were we doing this? Hunger and homelessness exist inside our nation’s borders, both in cities and rural areas. Tightrope, the new book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, describes families shattered by what the authors call “death by despair.” Donating to good causes and volunteering at soup kitchens are not uncommon, and churches and other organizations strive to meet the need on a daily basis. Still, the need that drew a dozen women in their 60s, 70s and 80s to this community just across the Texas...
Post a Comment
Read more

Barb's Story

NORTHERN HARVEST: TWENTY MICHIGAN WOMEN IN FOOD AND FARMING https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/northern-harvest BARB THOLIN Born in Illinois, Barb didn’t move to Traverse City until 2007. Farming was in her DNA. Her mom grew up on Barb’s grandparents’ farm. Barb studied agronomy, worked on an organic vegetable farm, and cared for draft horses, always a passion. After almost two decades of managing a food co-op and trying to educate people about food, health, diet, sustainability, she decided to devote herself fulltime to educating the public through promoting local farmers, vintners, brewers, bakers, restaurateurs and more.   Happily for this region, she chose to do this in Traverse City, starting up the Edible Grand Traverse magazine,   already surpassing 60 issues.    To read more of Barb’s story and to learn about the 19 other amazing women in the food business in Northern Harvest , just contact your favorite independen...
Post a Comment
Read more
 Love and Loss on four wheels Falling in love at first sight is risky.   You know nothing of the past history, of what underlies that enchanting façade.   But the emotion and the magnetism are irresistible.   Falling in love with a car at first sight—not looking under the hood, not kicking the tires—is not just risky but crazy. For many years I had a red stick shift Corolla that I loved dearly and kept way past its prime until the inevitable repairs accumulated beyond sustainability.   I went to a local Toyota dealer where many of the repairs had been done and spotted the car of my dreams, except that I had never dreamed of any car or fixed on a model or color or anything else.   But there in front of my eyes was a splendid turquoise car, and the letters on it identified it as a Prius, a hybrid, and if I had given any thought at all to my next car it was to select a hybrid. Someone else might say my new love was green.   I believe the Toyota promot...
4 comments
Read more