| New look for Oceola
The landscape along M-59 and Latson Road in Oceola Township will change significantly in coming months according to a site plan approved by township officials. It is part of a larger development scheduled for completion by 2015. Oceola Village Centre, part of a 100-acre planned unit development, will include the township's first gasoline station, for which the site plan approval was recently granted, as well as up to four restaurants, two banks, a grocery store, five retailers and four housing developments. An 8,000-square-foot gas station-gourmet wine store, and three connected retail spots that will bring the building's total square footage to 12,000, was approved for the seventh year of a 15-year plan. Dana Rosenthal, project architect for the gasoline station-gourmet store, is working hard to be the first commercial development in the overall project.
Annual Arts Council fundraiser is now more important than ever
STANDISH - Rural arts directors have learned a thing or two about survival in Michigan's ever-shrinking arts funding climate. On April 22, the Northeast Michigan Arts Council holds its biggest fundraiser - an annual auction - at noon in Standish. The council secures grant funding for arts and cultural projects across Bay, Arenac, Midland and Saginaw counties. ''It's our 22nd auction, so we're pretty good at begging, borrowing and stealing to make it a nice event,'' says Gail Schmidt, arts council director. ''Businesses in the region are very generous. This year, we've got more than 200 items to bid on.'' Items such as a ''Dessert of the Month,'' one gourmet recipe for every month of the year, are among the event's donations. Look, too, for new bicycles for children, a digital camera, antiques, glassware and bed & breakfast overnights, Schmidt said.
Making the matzo
On the face of it, matzo brei is a humble dish -- so easy to make that a recipe is hardly needed: Matzo, the dry flatbread of Passover, is broken into pieces and meets briefly with water so it's damp, before being mixed with beaten eggs and poured into a hot frying pan sizzling with butter. Brei, which rhymes with fry, is from the Yiddish word briehn, or soak. And yet, no less august a food authority than Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, has called matzo brei "one of life's perfect foods." Reichl came to her post at Gourmet after many years as a restaurant critic, including several at the New York Times. The woman knows food.
Gallery: Passover celebrations
Find a Passover seder worldwide
For aficionados, matzo brei is part-pancake and a kind of cousin to French toast.
As Economy Grows, India Goes for Designer Goods
Mohan Murjani made a fortune in the U.S. when he created Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and backed designer Tommy Hilfiger. Then he lost it. Today, he's rebuilding his empire in the high-end retailing boom sweeping the country he left 50 years ago: India. In the 1980s, amid a sharp downturn in his fortunes, one of the few assets Mr. Murjani held onto was the rights to sell Tommy Hilfiger products in India -- even though imported jeans were effectively banned in the country then. He did nothing with it for a decade. But India's economic boom and the expansion of its ... .
Top-shelf shortcuts: Help for homemade meals can come from a ...
ATLANTA — It starts with a twist of the wrist, or so says chef Nancy Silverton in her new book of the same name. For Silverton, who squeezes orange juice for her son every morning, using canned and jarred items was not a concept she came to naturally. So what motivated this leading proponent of organic and sustainable produce to change her only-from-scratch standards and to go as far as to write a whole cookbook about it? "I was alarmed that people were forgetting what to do in the kitchen," Silverton answers. "Everybody's so busy, they are turning to home-replacement meals to get dinner on the table. Even if they are forsaking fast food, they're buying takeout from supermarkets and gourmet stores. I wanted people to get in touch with the joy in preparing good food that fit within the parameters of their life." .
Fast-food firm MTY Food Group reports Q1 profit nearly doubled to ...
MONTREAL (CP) - Quick-service food firm MTY Food Group Inc. (TSXV:MTY) nearly doubled its profit in the first quarter, reaching $1.8 million from $980,000 a year ago. The Montreal company, which operates and franchises restaurants under such names as Mrs. Vanellis, Yogen Fruz and Cultures, said for the period ended Feb. 28 profits amounted to 10 cents per share, from six cents a share in the comparable period. Overall revenues jumped 52 per cent to $6.24 million, from $4.1 million in the quarter last year. Meanwhile, revenue at franchise divisions rose 41 per cent to $4.64 million from $3.29 million. MTY owns 790 quick-service locations under other banners including TCBY, Thai Express, Sukiyaki, and Au Vieux Duluth Express. Friday morning on the TSX Venture Exchange, MTY shares were up 51 cents at $9.
Businesses are here to serve
Hattiesburg is full of options of where to eat out and of where to shop, yet frequently, locally owned businesses operate as if it is the customer who is there to serve them and not the other way around. Let me be clear, I have no complaints about the service from the wait staff. At least in the restaurant business, Southern hospitality is alive and well. However, the business itself could be a little more customer-friendly. After all, why would a restaurant have multiple bottles of wine on its wine list that are actually unavailable? Or when the customer has a legitimate complaint, why are we treated as if our concerns are no concern of the business? I have been out to eat in Hattiesburg when the manager basically refused to hear our complaint and did absolutely nothing to compensate us.
Nine ways to splurge your tax rebate (and one way to save)
That was part of our inspiration in putting together a dining guide. For options with a little more panache, check out our dining guides at the end of our calendar section or go online for more dining choices at www.theimpulseonline.com. 9. Splurge: fight, fight!
Oh, "Def Jam: Icon," just when I stop condoning violence, you make a game where I can fight Young Jeezy in the Penthouse as Ghostface Killah. For Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, costs $59.99 at ebgames.com. 1. Save: so you don't feel guilty
Consider the 9-month ING Direct Certificate of Deposit with 5.05 percent interest. It's better than a savings account because of the amount of interest you'll be earning. Then, once you make some money off of it, maybe you'll feel more like splurging (see related items above).
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