Java Joe's Cafe, My Favorite U.P. Coffee Shop

Way up north across the Mighty Mac and located in lovely St. Ignace you will find one of the many treasures of Michigan's Upper Peninsula - Java Joe's Cafe. The name says 'Java,' but there is more to Java Joe's than coffee. The first time I stopped in there was in the evening with my wife to get a Chai Latte. The place was packed with people eating pizza. Yes, pizza. From the looks and smells of those pies, I would say that Java Joe's must serve up a mighty good pizza in addition to their yummy breakfast and excellent selection coffee.

The proprietor of the cafe, Joe Durm, is a friendly chap who loves to chat with his customers and seems genuinely interested in where they are heading or where they are from. He offers suggestions on places to stop along your way after hearing which direction you are taking from his store.

I can't vouch for the breakfast (I have always just stopped for caffeine) at Java Joe's Cafe, but judging by the sights, smells, and crowds it must be pretty good. Some of my family ate there last summer for breakfast and they were quite pleased with the quantity and quality of the food.

You can even make up your own cappuccino or latte flavor with the wide assortment of flavors in Java Joe's inventory. We had him create Caramel Apple Cappuccino when we stopped in on our way to Wisconsin. Joe said that in all of his years he had never before served up a Caramel Apple Cappuccino. It was so good. I need to find some apple flavoring and try to create my own.

When Joe isn't serving up coffee and pizzas he substitute teaches at the school on Mackinac Island. How cool is that to be a substitute teacher on Mackinac Island of all places?

Prices and Such

• Breakfast - from the Shortstack Pancakes at $2.89 up to the Hobo Omelet at $7.89
• Lunch - from the Veggie Burger at $4.59 up to the Whitefish Sandwich at $8.95
• Pizzas - average price for a 16" pizza is around $14.95 (I have to try the Smoked Whitefish sometime!)
• Coffees are anywhere from $1.29 for a small coffee to $3.75 for large specialty drinks

If you go: Java Joe's is located at 959 North State Street in St. Ignace. The cafe is located in the outskirts of the parking lots for the Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Inn.

Cherry Jello Salad

My mom makes this quick and easy jello salad for family get-togethers. It is always a hit! What you need:

• 2 (3 oz. each) pkgs. cherry jello
• 2 c. boiling water
• 1 (32 oz.) can cherry pie filling
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese cut into chunks

Directions:

• In a 9X13 glass pan, dissolve jello in boiling water.
• Add cherry pie filling and cream cheese chunks.
• Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Michigan Gas Prices and Economy Slow Tourism

Traffic at the Mackinac Bridge is down for the eighth year in a row. Currently it is down 2% from last year. Traffic counts in Cadillac and Traverse City also show a decline from the previous year. State parks have had fewer campers and less out-of-state visitors. Businesses across northern Michigan that count on the summer tourists to keep them open year-round are nervous. The average price of gas in Michigan is currently $3.089. That is $.80 more than drivers were paying one year ago.

Add in the fact that numerous families in Michigan are affected by the flood of job losses our state has been experiencing and you come up with a number that is bad for Michigan's tourism businesses. Folks here in Michigan simply have less disposable income. You cannot justify long car trips and vacations if that means you go without grocery money or the ability to pay your other bills.

I previously wrote about the tough time that U.P. businesses would be having this year back in April. This was when the average Michigan gas price was $2.79 per gallon.

Via the Traverse City Record Eagle.

Rhubarb Cobbler

I created this recipe a few years ago when I wanted to make a rhubarb pie but didn't want to go through all the trouble of making a crust. I think it turned out great and so did my family.

• 3 c. cut rhubarb
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 2 heaping Tbsp. flour

Mix together and put in a greased 8-in. pan.

• 1 c. Jiffy mix (made in Michigan)
• 1/3 c. milk

Combine and spread over rhubarb mixture.

• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Sprinkle sugar on top.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Nothing in the World Like Homegrown Tomatoes

I don't mean to brag or boast, but our tomatoes this year are on pace to be the best looking ones we have ever grown. In years past I would try and see how early I could plant those buggers in the ground, but this year I waited. I think it was around the middle of May that we planted our tomatoes this year. We planted them in a raised bed consisting of top soil, compost, leaves from last fall, and topped off with composted cow manure. They have grown so large that my wife had to tie supports from the tomato branches to the tomato cages. We planted a couple of Grapette tomato plants and a few of another variety called Celebrity.

The Grapette tomatoes look like a cross between Cherry tomatoes and Roma tomatoes. They are elongated, but small and full of that wonderful tomato taste. So, I don't know if it was a combination of planting the tomatoes later in the spring and the nutritious soil or what. All I know is I will be eating a lot of tomato sandwiches and BLT's.

Is there anything quite like walking through your garden and plucking a perfectly ripe homegrown tomato and eating it right there in the garden? A wonderful sun-warmed treat that is hard to beat.

P.S. Where I come from a tomato sandwich merely consists of two slices of bread (white, wheat, who cares?), as many thick sliced tomatoes as the bread will hold, and a slathering of Miracle Whip. Oh, the memories from my childhood of picking the tomatoes from our garden with my dad and then sitting down to a feast of tomato sandwiches. Does life get much better than that?

More High-Tech Jobs Created in Michigan

ePrize LLC will be announcing the creation of an additional 450 jobs over the next few years at their Pleasant Ridge offices. Online promotions and sweepstakes for such large corporations as Home Depot and Coca Cola are what ePrize is all about. They pulled in $30 million in revenue last year and have secured a $10 million loan for their planned expansion. Any job creation in Michigan is cause for celebration these days. When those jobs are in the high-tech sector there is cause for extreme celebration. The more jobs we can create here in Michigan that are non-manufacturing, the better our future will be. This is great news for Michigan on the heals of the Google announcement of creating 1,000 jobs in Ann Arbor.

Read the full story in The Detroit News.