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17 hours ago
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The Orchards is the Free Press' pick for Top Public Golf Course in Macomb County
This is the second in a series looking at the best public golf courses in the six-county metro Detroit area. We're always in such a rush. And that's often true of our experiences at golf courses we play regularly. No need to soak in the ambiance. Drive in, grab your clubs and shoes, slam the trunk, pay the greens fee and get to the first tee with five minutes to spare — and that's on a good day. Advertisement I mean, who wants to waste precious time practicing a little before a round? Hey, that's why the golf gods invented breakfast balls! But the Orchards deserves a second look, and a lingering one at that. While the beautiful, challenging and varied Robert Trent Jones Jr. course in Washington Township could easily stand on its own without any accompaniment, it's all the little touches that truly elevate the experience and make it the Free Press' Top Public Course in Macomb County. RANKING THE PRIVATE COURSES: Alister MacKenzie gem still No. 1 From the attendant who takes your bag and puts it on a cart when you pull into the parking lot to the handsome clubhouse that's exactly just enough (a strong menu, indoor and outdoor seating, a nice locker room, a full and expansive practice area with grass tees) and even the nice touch of having a bag of practice balls ready instead of dealing with a loud dispenser. Advertisement The entire experience feels upscale, even urbane, but without any hint of stuffiness. That's is a hard trick to pull off in the public-golf sphere. The Orchards likes to tout its motto of being 'Your club for the day,' and it has stayed faithful to that principle since it opened in 1993. As for the course, there are prettier ones and nicer settings. But the exceptional layout makes it feel more like a tournament-caliber course than any other public track in metro Detroit. That's probably why it regularly hosts the Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour's Rocket Classic. The 11th hole at The Orchards Golf Club in Washington Township. A round here practically guarantees you'll need every club in your bag. You'll need a draw and a fade if you want to score. You'll be playing uphill and downhill, hitting a few blind shots and enjoying the majestic sweep of the course with views from the 11th and 16th tees. Advertisement One of the most enjoyable parts of the course is that if forces you to think. You can often let it rip off the tee, but how much do you lay up on the seventh hole with a hard dogleg left? Do you go for the green on the sixth hole with a long bisected fairway? How much do you lay up front of the water-guarded 16th green? And how do you avoid disaster on the 18th hole by avoiding a downhill lie to a green guarded by sand and a huge pond? Maybe that's why I've never been frustrated at the Orchards, even after I've played poorly. The course gave me so much to think about and appreciate that I didn't have room in my thoughts to blame anything more than my strategy and execution. The rest of the series WAYNE COUNTY: The Cardinal at St. John's Advertisement MONROE COUNTY: The Legacy OAKLAND COUNTY: Shepherd's Hollow LIVINGSTON COUNTY: Moose Ridge WASHTENAW COUNTY: U-M Golf Course Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@ Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Orchards is Free Press' Top Public Golf Course in Macomb County
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17 hours ago
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The Legacy by Arthur Hills is the Free Press' Top Public Golf Course in Monroe County
This is the third in a series looking at the best public golf courses in the six-county metro Detroit area. The best part of The Legacy by Arthur Hills is that it doesn't try to be something it's not. You won't find gimmicky rock walls, out-of-place water features or elevation changes that appear out of nowhere. Advertisement No, the Legacy knows what it is: A farmland course in Ottawa Lake that takes its pastoral cues from surrounding pastures and imbues it with some of that same unadorned, windswept beauty. There's an earthy charm to all of it, but mostly The Legacy earns its spot as the Free Press' Top Public Course in Monroe County by virtue of its challenge, variety of design and playability from five sets of tees that top out at just over 6,800 yards. The 10th hole, a short par-4, at The Legacy By Arthur Hills Golf Club in Ottawa Lake. AROUND THE STATE: Best Michigan private golf courses ranked: Alister MacKenzie gem still No. 1 Credit Hills, the late architect who used to live by the course, for putting a lot of thought into creating a straightforward but fun course with enough challenge to test even the most skilled player. Advertisement OK, I said there weren't any gimmicks but there is one: the island green on the 155-yard eighth hole. It isn't quite the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, but it's a large green that plays into a prevailing stout wind, so make sure you take plenty of club and even more mental fortitude on your way to the tee box. Hills' designs often reflected a straightforward, practical approach to the game. The first hole, with its dogleg right and generous bailout to the left, was an example of this, catering to right-handers who mostly slice the ball but also not penalizing those who draw the ball. Just about everyone can get off the first tee and keep the traffic moving right away. A couple of years after I first played The Legacy, I played the Grasslands Golf and Country Club in Lakeland, Florida — where the Tigers often golf during spring training. After a while, it dawned on me that the typical, flat-land, open-vista course surprisingly reminded me of The Legacy. The openness of both courses was similar, and the five lakes at The Legacy might make you think you're in the Sunshine State for just a moment. But there are also enough trees on the course to never let you forget you're still in the Midwest. Advertisement Also, because the design trend has shifted toward open courses with fewer trees, this nearly 30-year-old course seems as hip right now as a middle-aged dad who knows all the words to 'Pink Pony Club.' Even if that design trend shifts, The Legacy will never go out of style with its mix of challenge, playability and unadorned beauty. The rest of the series MACOMB COUNTY: The Orchards WAYNE COUNTY: The Cardinal at St. John's OAKLAND COUNTY: Shepherd's Hollow LIVINGSTON COUNTY: Moose Ridge WASHTENAW COUNTY: U-M Golf Course Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@ Follow him on X @cmonarrez. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Legacy is the Free Press' Top Public Golf Course in Monroe County
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17 hours ago
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Best public golf course in Oakland County offers all the solitude in the world
This is the sixth and final entry in a series looking at the best public golf courses in the six-county metro Detroit area. There's simply no getting around the massive advantage Shepherd's Hollow Golf Club enjoys. It sits on 350 acres of undulating, wooded terrain in Clarkston that sits next to a park-like retreat for Jesuits priests and brothers. Advertisement There isn't a more beautiful and serene setting for a golf course in metro Detroit, if not the entire state, and that's why we're picking it as the Free Press' Top Public Golf Course in Oakland County If the mere setting was all that Shepherd's Hollow offered, it still might be enough to earn it scores of accolades. But Shepherd's Hollow is so much more than a setting. A round here is a holistic, luxe experience that starts from the winding drive through the tall pines onto the property. It lasts until the final bite of seared scallops grenobloise and truffle fries paired with Moet and Chandon champagne during a post-round meal in the handsome white clubhouse reminiscent of South Carolina's Low Country estates. MORE GOLF: Michigan's best 20 public golf courses rankings Advertisement Between your arrival and departure, you get an exquisite taste of some of the prettiest 27 holes of golf anywhere in Michigan. Like very few other courses in metro Detroit, the scenery, undulating topography and secluded nature of the entire property make Shepherd's Hollow feel like a true facsimile of playing Up North. Any combination of two nines stretch past 7,000 yards. That's long enough, but when you factor in plenty of hilly terrain, the length often feels like more than enough challenge. Yet it's never too much because of the sheer straightforward beauty of Arthur Hills' classic, minimalist design. There are generous fairways and large greens that make it eminently playable for anyone, as long as they stick to the right tees, because the course can also play shorter than 5,000 yards. One of the keys to the isolated serenity is the expansiveness of the property. Shepherd's Hollow claims another 27 holes could have fit on its 350 acres. But instead of crowding golfers, the course's ample space has bestowed up on players the benefit of solitude. If you stay on pace, and off your phone, there are times you feel the world doesn't exist beyond this tranquil forest of solitude. Being located on the second-highest point in Oakland County also offers Shepherd's Hollow the distinct advantage of providing plenty of elevated tees and dazzling views of the course. Of course, what goes up must come down, so there are some blind shots that force you to face a green mound as you imagine that lovely scenery and, hopefully, the well-placed shot you just hit. Advertisement The two holes I most often think of at Shepherd's Hollow are the first and 18th, among the 27. The first is a long par-4, dogleg right that quickly puts the course behind you and requires a tricky approach to a tricky green that plays 50 feet downhill from the fairway. The 18th could be considered the course's signature hole: A par-5 that bends to the right along the shoulder of a pretty lake. If you come to Shepherd's Hollow, make sure you aren't rushed. Give yourself the time to enjoy the experience, in totality, of what this course offers and the exquisite manner in which it does so. Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@ Follow him on X @cmonarrez. The rest of the series MACOMB COUNTY: The Orchards Advertisement WAYNE COUNTY: The Cardinal at St. John's MONROE COUNTY: The Legacy by Arthur Hills LIVINGSTON COUNTY: Moose Ridge WASHTENAW COUNTY: U-M Golf Course This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Shepherd's Hollow is best public golf course in Oakland County
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20-05-2025
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Overcharged on a product? In Michigan consumers are owed compensation
An investigation revealing grocery giant Kroger overcharging on items has stirred up plenty of customer angst. Several readers emailed to sound off on experiences (specifically at Kroger) where the shelf tag price didn't match the register price at checkout. Comments poured in, too, nearly 700 of them, on the Free Press' Facebook post about the article, with readers spouting off about overcharges, digital coupons not working, and folks wondering what to do. Consumers are protected by what's known as the 'Shopping Reform and Modernization Act,' also called the 'scanner law,' which requires that 'prices for most items be clearly displayed' near or where the product is displayed. Signs, electronic readers or price stickers can, according to the law, be used to indicate the price of an item. First signed into law in 1976 and taking effect on Jan. 1, 1978, the law was previously known as Michigan's 'Pricing and Advertising of Consumer Items Act' or 'item pricing act. ' It is one I personally have used at local retailers, especially grocery stores. The law requires items for sale to be individually marked with a price tag or sticker. More: Trump tariffs will slow Michigan growth, kill 13,000 auto-related jobs, experts predict More: Investigation finds Kroger overcharged customers for sale items Frank Kelley, the state's late attorney general, championed the law, according to Free Press archives. Over the years, the law — one of the strictest of its type in the United States — has had adjustments, most notably that items no longer need to have individual price stickers. Requiring that each item have an individual price tag eventually went away when the 'Shopping Reform and Modernization Act,' also known as the 'scanner law,' went into effect on Sept. 1, 2011. There are exceptions. For example, items that are sold by weight or volume and not in packages are exempt from the scanner law. One key requirement is that you must have a receipt with the price you were charged for an item. Also, you have 30 days from the date the item was purchased to notify the seller, in person or in writing. The seller then has two days after being notified to pay. While there are some restrictions, generally, here's what can happen when you are charged more than the price displayed, according to Consumers (buyers) are given an amount equal to the difference between the price displayed and the price charged for the consumer item. For example, if the price of something is $1.59 and scans at $2.09, the difference is 50 cents. The buyer receives a bonus, sometimes referred to as a "bounty," of 10 times the difference that is not less than $1 and a maximum of $5. In the example above, that would be $5. Note: If you bought multiples of the same item, the bonus only applies to one item, not all of them. Using this example, the consumer would receive $5.50 as a total bonus. If a seller refuses to pay, the consumer can take the seller to court and may receive up to $250 in damages and up to $300 in attorney's fees, according to the law. One thing that's unclear is when it comes to the term 'pay' and whether the seller can issue a gift certificate. 'This is a legal question best answered by a court,' according to the FAQs about the law at which said that 'dictionaries offer differing definitions as to whether 'pay'" is limited to an offer of money. A crucial point to remember when shopping is to pay attention to shelf tags or prices displayed for items. When you are checking out, at a register with a store associate or using a self-scanner option, pay attention to prices to make sure you are being charged the correct amount. After checking out, review your receipt to also make sure you were charged the correct amount for items. Also, make sure you alert the store if you spot an error. The Kroger Michigan Division and Grand Rapids-based Meijer say they comply with Michigan's law. In an email to the Free Press, a Kroger of Michigan spokesman said: 'The Kroger Michigan Division is committed to full compliance with all Michigan laws, including the Scanner Law. We prioritize transparency and affordable pricing to ensure a positive experience for our customers.' A Meijer spokesman in an email to the Free Press wrote: "Meijer is committed to pricing integrity and takes accurate pricing seriously as well as the requirements of the Michigan Shopping Reform and Modernization Act of 2011. If a customer observes what they believe to be a discrepancy, we ask that they go to our customer service counter and speak with one of our team members." Over the years, according to Free Press archives, the state's attorney general's office brought claims against various retailers under the law. Walmart paid the state of Michigan $780,000 in 2006 to settle a claim that the retailer 'repeatedly failed to price individual items in its stores here.' Home Depot in 1998 paid the state $250,000 for repeated violations of the item-pricing law. After then-Attorney General Kelley, a staunch supporter of Michigan's item-pricing law, retired in 1998 from the state, he went to work as a consultant for a company wanting the law rewritten. Kelley began working with Home Depot USA Inc. on a proposal to end having price tags on every item sold in Michigan and allow customers to use a system of scanners to check prices. In a 2001 Free Press article, Kelley described his work for Home Depot as an effort to "improve the law and protect consumers." "I won't be a party to any attempt to weaken the law," he said. It wasn't until 10 years later that retailers were not required to put price tags on individual items. In 2011, there was a legislative proposal to end individually pricing items sold at retailers. Those proposing to end the law at the time cited Michigan scanner technology, and retailers called the law expensive. Proponents for keeping the law said a proposed end to it didn't do enough to protect consumers. On Sept. 1, 2011, the new law required that the price of the items needed to be 'displayed on shelf signs or by other methods clearly visible to consumers in the store at the place where the item is located.' Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@ Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan has a 'scanner law': Here's how it works
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29-03-2025
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Flashback: 2020 Chef of the Year infused immaculate pastries with global flavors
Originally published Feb. 11, 2020. The Free Press will reveal its 2025 Restaurant of the Year and Top 10 New Restaurants and Dining Experiences next week. In the meantime, here's a look at a past Chef of the Year, Warda Bouguettaya of Warda Patisserie. Bouguettaya would go on to win the prestigious James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2022. This year's list will include culinarians who, like Bouguettaya, aren't attached to traditional restaurants. What makes a great chef? Is it sheer cooking skill? A penchant for managing a motley kitchen crew while keeping costs in check? The ability to translate a unique and interesting point of view onto a plate? Those aspects are all part of it, naturally. But, increasingly, greatness demands a chef to be a beacon in a community, to lead with ethical values while nurturing talent and fostering a positive — and safe — environment for employees and customers. The days of the dish-throwing, mercurial drill sergeant in a tall white toque are, thankfully, coming to an end. And while the definition of a chef has shifted, the boundaries in which they work have expanded, too. In 2020, we often find greatness beyond the walls of the traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant. Today, it's just as likely to lurk behind the scenes of a pop-up dinner series, at the helm of a food truck, catering a community event or feeding folks affected by natural disaster. Every year since I began as the Free Press' restaurant critic in 2016, I've aimed to widen the net when casting for people and places to formally recognize in our annual Restaurant of the Year/Best New Restaurants package — to be more inclusive of communities that have historically been overlooked in a food journalism oeuvre long dominated by Eurocentrism and white tablecloths. That's led to us highlighting a more diverse and delicious range of dining options. But the work is not done. This year, we aim to deepen that approach further by adding a new award as part of our awards package, distinct from the other accolades we give out. Consider it our attempt to get with the times. Because not all great restaurants are chef-driven and not all great chefs work in restaurants, we'd like to introduce you to the first-ever Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Chef of the Year: Warda Bouguettaya, owner/operator of Warda Patisserie. The most salient introduction to Bouguettaya is through her immaculate pastries. Since 2018, she has served her silky chocolate passion fruit tarts, cherry and port sablé cookies, black sesame and mango financiers and the North African yeasted crepes called baghrir from a pastry stand inside the Trinosophes cafe and arts space on Gratiot near Eastern Market. It was a long road getting there, but the journey informs all of her output. 'There is definitely not one identity to the patisserie,' she says. 'It's just the inspiration of all these places combined in one space.' Born and raised in a seaside town in Algeria, Bouguettaya first immigrated to Michigan at 21 in 2004 when her husband, Mohamed, took a job in the automotive industry. A few years later, they were on the move again for work, decamping to Shanghai for three years for another of Mohamed's postings. It was in China, of all places, that Bouguettaya formalized her love of French pastry by enrolling at the prestigious Paul Bocuse Institute. She started in the cooking curriculum, learning the ways of the cold station and the hot line. But when she got to the pastry department, she didn't want to leave. From there, she rearranged the curriculum so she could focus on her newfound love of baking. When the Bouguettayas resettled back in the Detroit area in 2016, she began to pursue her dream of opening her own cafe by setting up shop at the Corktown Farmers Market. 'At first, I thought that I was going to do just Algerian pastries,' she says. 'That worked well, but after the experience in China, I just couldn't choose exactly where I fit and where I felt more at home.' In late 2018, with the support of FoodLab Detroit, Bouguettaya formalized her business another step and opened Warda Patisserie inside Trinosophes. Here, due in part to a gorgeous Instagram feed and expanded hours, her notoriety grew along with her palette. 'For me, this notion of home kind of didn't have any borders anymore,' she says. 'And so I wanted to incorporate all of that into the patisserie, which is Asia, which is Algeria, which is France. … It is a patisserie without borders.' That translates to desserts like the Koh Lanta tart, named for a popular island district off the coast of Thailand where the Bouguettayas would holiday while living in Shanghai. The circular tart features a buttery almond frangipane base topped with salted pineapple caramel curd holding chunks of fresh pineapple crowned with a dusting of coconut. In the middle of a dreary Michigan winter, one bite is enough to transport you to the tropics. But while the inspiration is international — and the butter used in the dough is of the high-quality, high-fat French variety — Bouguettaya also embraces and promotes local purveyors and local ingredients. Offerings frequently rotate at the patisserie, but the savory potato and egg tart remains a staple. It features a flaky pastry crust topped with thin discs of roasted potatoes from Tantre Farm in Chelsea, a soft egg, creamy goat cheese and a smattering of dill or za'atar. Most of the salt comes from the cheese itself — a light-handed calling card of sorts. Both the Parisian flan served on weekends or the custardy quiche served midweek are about as good as either form gets. Soft and airy, but rich. Never clunky. Every dish at Warda Patisserie, be it savory or sweet, feels like a signature. A secretive letter shared between pen pals. The experience of eating it is personal. The instinct is to guard it for yourself while the next immediate impulse is to shout it from the rooftops. Each perfect tart holds within it a revelatory kind of beauty. It's almost impossible to describe. Bouguettaya says she began cooking in America to feel less homesick and you can taste the longing in every bite. It is poetry in edible form. In food, there's often a tension between precision and soul. Comfort food, sometimes referred to as 'grandma food' has been all the rage, because rustic peasant food hews closer to our collective ideas of authenticity. Precision is the perceived enemy of our grandma's recipes, which call for a handful of this, a pinch of that, seasoning "to taste" and the all-knowing "to the eye." So when food can walk the line between the two, that tension gives it a kind of rare energy. That is the food Bougettaya makes. It is heartbreaking in its gorgeousness, like a perfect canvas you don't want to ruin with a misplaced stroke, or in this case a bite. But the soul within, derived from her travels and her memories of cooking in Algeria at her grandmother's knee and that thing that happens when an immigrant falls in love with their new home, transcends food. You can't help but be moved. 70 W Alexandrine St, Detroit, MI 48201 This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2020 Free Press Chef of the Year Warda Bouguettaya a master of pastry
