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Ann Arbor has always been a beer-loving town. From the establishment of the first commercial brewery in 1838 through a century of German immigration down to today's local craft brew boom, the amber liquid looms large in Tree Town's quirky past and present. Find out how beer helped a former University of Michigan professor win a Nobel Prize. Discover the Ann Arbor doctor whose nationally bestselling home remedy book featured ale recipes. Learn which Michigan football legend pounded brewskis as part of his training regimen. Covering the exploits of famous poets, performers and prohibitionists, local author David Bardallis pops the cap off the big beer history of this little college town and leads readers to the best beer you can drink" in Ann Arbor today."

Grand Rapids' food scene is bursting with local flavor. Farmers, teachers, chefs and activists are taking back their foodways and serving up the fresh, healthful fruits of their labor. Author Lisa Rose Starner captures the essence of the growing food movement in Grand Rapids and the rugged individuals who are tilling the soil, growing food and launching successful food businesses while powering community change--one garden, one backyard, one block, one store, one plate of food, cup of coffee and mug of beer at a time.

Join local food aficionado Bill Loomis on a look back at the appetites, tastes, kitchens, parties, holidays and everyday meals that defined eating in Detroit, from the earliest days as a French village to the start of the twentieth century. Whether it's at a frontier farmers' market, a Victorian twelve-course children's birthday party replete with tongue sandwiches or a five-cent-lunch diner, food is a main ingredient in a community's identity and history. While showcasing favorite fare of the day, this book also explores historic foodways--how locals fished the Detroit River, banished flies from kitchens without screens and harvested frog legs with miniscule shotguns. Wedding feasts, pioneer grub, cooking classes and the thriftless '20s are all on the menu, too.