Hot Take From the Kitchen

We are back for Season 6. Today we sit down with one of the voices of Alpena Hockey, Tom Dutcher, and discuss all things sports. We spend some times on local and national hot takes, Learn about Tom (30:19), spend some time talking about Alpena Hockey (39:58). We then pivot and talk about the Fab Five (48:14) and then our Top this week is our Favorite Michigan Football players (1:08).

We got ourselves an email so, keeping our word, we fired up the mics and brought you guys an episode! We sat down with DABS Founder, Cliff Lamay. We talk about where he grew up, what motivated him to create a Summer Basketball League and how the league is doing so far. We learn about his other side hustle--BlocBros--a DJ service he provides and then round out the episode with our Top 5 Guards of All-Time. It's a fun, surprise episode, and good to catch up from the summer, so thanks for tuning in!

We round out Season 5 with the gang from the Sunset Project. We learn a bit about each of the fellas, how they created the nonprofit and some of the things they learned along the way as well as their hopes for the organization. Steve and Brad then round out the episode with their Top 5 Characters from the hit TV Show, The Bear. Season 5 is in the books and we can't wait to talk to you all soon for Season 6!

Fantastic way to end Season 5 with the gang from the Sunset Project. We learn about how they formed and what they are trying to accomplish across Northeast Michigan. We learn a bit about each of them and then what all they are working on collectively. As you heard on the episode, we had a bit of confusion on the Top 5, so Brad & Steve recorded one after, but Steve forgot to turn on the recorder, so we had to use the back up audio--so we apologize for the quality the last segment, kinda shows how far we've come since Season One however! We appreciate everyone's support of our pod and look forward to Season Six and some of the things we have planned!

This week we have in The Kitchen Shelly Gibbs from Friends Together with Alison Jakubcin who is part of their Fundraising Committee. We learn more about Shelly, what all she does with Friends Together and what all Friends Together does for our community. We then touch base with Brad about his yearly Costume Run and how this year he has chosen to give Friends Together the proceeds from the run. Don't forget to give us an email to be entered into the free tickets for the Pull Pork Dinner!

We have a fantastic episode for you guys this week! We sit down with Paige Spisak from MLiveMIBest! We learn about how she found her way to the mLive team, a little bit about the content they make and how she ended up in Alpena. We then talk to her about all the things she needs to make sure she tries this summer in Alpena--especially with the Fourth around the corner! We then do a Top 5 of our favorite things to do in Northern Michigan. It's a fun episode and really appreciate Paige taking time to swing by the Kitchen!

Good episode for you guys this week! Robert Barrigar stops by and talks about his Insurance Agency, how their program the Agent Charitable Fund helps families across Michigan. We then talk about his involvement with Rotary, and a distributing trend we are seeing with Service Clubs. Lastly, we talk about an Insurance Agent's worse nightmare: we do a Top 5 Disaster Movies! It's a great episode where we discuss the community and encourage people to get more involved!

Back to our regularly scheduled pod with a guest we've been trying to get on for a while! Chef Reid Krebs of Blue Moon Cafe took time to swing by and talk about how his first year has gone with his new restaurant. We talk about his journey to Alpena and what led him to open his own restaurant in the heart of Downtown Alpena. He talks about where he got the name and then we round out the episode with our Top 5 Kitchen hacks. It's a great episode, we appreciate all of our listeners tuning in each week and Chef Reid for stopping by!

It our annual Memorial Day Episode where just the two of us sit down and reflect. This year we decided to reflect on what all we have learned over the past five years of running a podcast. We talk about what equipment we use, what platform we recommend to use to publish the pod, and go over some of the mistakes and things that we know we could be doing better. We talk about some things we would like to see for the future of the pod and then bring it all together with our favorite movie the past year Top Gun Maverick with our Top 5 Favorite Scenes from the movie.

Have have another past guest returning this week--Dylan Wallace. We talk about what all has changed since he was on back in Episode 10 in 2018--we've put in over 100 episodes since then! We find out his involvement with Huron Shores/Little League and some hopeful future improvements to the complex north of Alpena. We round it out with our Top 5 Favorite MLB'ers. It's a great episode, thanks for tuning in!

Great episode for you today. We sit down with Ben Freeland, who moved to the Alpena area from the thumb of Michigan back in 2008. We learned where he was from, about his time at SVSU and how he and his wife, Amanda landed in Alpena. We learn about his time at the hospital and his transition to Thunder Bay Fyzical. Ben shares a great story about Steve's mom, and then we get into what it's like being a Detroit Lions fan and the hope that comes with the beginning of a new season. We round out the episode with our Top 5 Gameday meals/snacks. It's great episode let us know what you think!

What an episode we have for you all today! We have Meag Schwartz from Great Lake Great Responsibility in the house! We talk about what all led to her winning Chevrolet's Lead Dream Chaser, a 2024 Chevy Trax for three months, and of course $100,000. We learn what all she had to do, when is she picking up the Trax and if she is hoping for one of those big checks like from The Office. We round out the episode with our Top 5 Great Lakes Destinations, it's one of our best episodes so give it a listen!

Fun episode for you all today, Madison Hall, Brad's niece jumps on and fulfills a dream. We've had some errors throughout the years on the pod, and Madison's episode a few years ago was one of them, so we had her back on and can cross this one off our list. We learn a bit about her and what she likes to do and life for her at her Middle School in Alcona. We round the episode out with our Top 5 Favorite Books of all time.

HE'S BACK! We have another return guest this week--Mr. Griffin James. He updates us on all his life changes, how it felt winning Alpena Chamber's Business of the Year and other life updates. We do our Top 5 Favorite CD's & Covers and finish the episode with a surprise announcement at the end from Steve! Of course if you've been following Chevrolet's social media channels you probably already know!

Big day for the pod. Brad & Steve decided to invest in the pod and finally bought the equipment. This should significantly improve the listening experience for our fans and also streamline the backend editing process for Steve. So this week's episode we have the girls from Bluebird: Kelly & Katie! We learn about both of them how the store has grown and then talk about our Top 5 Breakfast meals. It's such a great episode! Make sure to check it out!

This week on the pod we have Ben Gould sit down with us. Ben is currently and Registered Nurse who is working towards becoming a Nurse Practitioner! Growing up Ben was quite the athlete and had the opportunity to play baseball in college. However fate had different things planned and some unfortunate injuries exposed Ben to rehab and to further understand how the human body functions. After spending some time Personal Training while work to become a nurse, Ben worked at Performance Locker and help Steve rehab his shoulder. Once the Covid uptick reached our area, Ben was by then a nurse at MyMichigan in the ER dealing with all the front-line things you heard and read about. He shares some of his stories and experiences that really helped us appreciate all the work those in his position did through that time. After Ben shares some of his thoughts, we pivot to our Top 5 Comedic Actors of all time! It's another intense episode and we are so proud to share it with you all!

Today's episode we have WATZ's Mid-day host & Promotions Director, Shannon Roeske! We learn a bit about her, how she made her way to Alpena and all the amazing things that they are up to at Midwestern Broadcasting. We round the episode out with an Era's Tour inspired Top 5 Taylor Swift songs. It a jam-packed episode but nice and compact as we are working on shortening up the episodes!

What a great episode we have for you all this week! This week Jeff Konczak sits down with us and gives us a little background on how NOAA came to Alpena, updates on a few of his properties that are in the works, with a super cool Sancutary Cinema update and rounds out the interview by getting me excited with a Biggby Coffee soon to be in the neighborhood of my job! We round out the episode with our Top 5 Favorite Buildings in Alpena. It really is a fun episode, and if you enjoyed it as much as we did, make sure to leave us a comment!

Pretty exciting episode for us this week as we have on Alison Jakubcin and Raelyn Szatkowski! We've had Alison on before, so we get an update from her and then get to learn about Raelyn. Both of them have significant day in/day out battles so we get to understand what all they have they have to deal with daily. We then do a Top 5 Favorite Places to eat outside of Alpena. We then finish out the episode with the girls announcing that they'll be starting their own pod soon--so stay tuned for more details of that!

Season 5 marches on with our second episode of the season! This week's episode finds us revisiting with a prior guest, Cristi Johnson, who has had a lot change in her life since she was on back in 2018... wait a sec... have we been podding since 2018???? She talks about the new venture, SkellaFit, that life has presented her and the importance of believing in ones self. We then discuss how SkellaFit has grown into a new opportunity and how she's excited to bring that to not only our community--but the whole damn United States! We round out our discussion with her happy announcement that the Shipwreck Alley Rollers will be back this summer! After we catch up, get into our Top 5 Martial Arts movies of all-time. It's one of our most inspiring episodes to date, so make sure you drop in!

We are back! As we begin our Fifth Season of Hot Take From The Kitchen, we are pumped to kick this season off right! We sit down with Alpena Varsity Hockey Assistant Coach Cam Givens! We learn how he made his way to Alpena, his journey in hockey and what all he does at his job at REMAX here in Alpena! Once we get through all that we have an epic Top 5 this week! Our Top 5 War Movies of All-Time! It's a great top 5 and just a great episode to get back in the Kitchen!

New episode drops with Brad and Steve as they recap March Madness and Steve deals with Coach K finally retiring. He vents his frustration about this year's team and then the guys discuss the insanity of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. We answer our mailbag from our listeners and round out the episode with our favorite photos that we have each taken. It was supposed to be a quick episode, but before you know it--an hour goes by!

That's right Lions fans! Our beloved (at least by Brad & Steve) QB went to another team and won the whole damn thing. We talk about what punishment should Coach Howard receive, the amazing Steph Curry and NBA All-Star weekend. While we are there we discuss what's wrong with these all star games and Steve gives his idea for the NFL Pro-Bowl. We answer all the questions from the Ask Us Anything, and round the episode out with our Top 5 Man-Crushes.

We usually take a long break in the beginning of the year with the Pod but since we've been spotty at best, we decided to just start early and continue Season 4 for a bit. We catch up with all that has gone on in our lives. Steve survived Covid, and Brad is still working from home--find out how much longer on this week's episode. After we catch up, we talk about our New Year's Resolution for 2022.

Another episode that took Steve three months to edit, but he didn't want to give up! On our 100th Episode we have on Mitchel Dipzinski co-Founder of the Poetics Lab. While the recording of this pod might have taken place back in October, it's amazing how much of the episode still carries over into 2022. It's an important pod, so you should definitely give it a listen. To finish it out we draft our Top 5 Pokemon! We appreciate everyone's patience as we navigate trying to keep the pod alive!

So we decided to finally fired the pod back up! New mics, open & honest conversation about what the pod has become and where we want it to go. But so much stayed the same.... we fire off a few Hot Takes, get into what been happening in both Brad & I's lives since the last episode and we then talk about the future of the pod and where we would like to see it go. We round out the episode with our Top 5 Movies we would want if we were stuck on an island. We are reunited and it feels so good!

Steve took a heckuva digger on the porch a couple weeks back and messed up his back and neck. A large group of people commented that he should go to a chiropractor—but he’s scared. So we sit down with Lindsay Higgins, from Higgins Family Chiropractic and she talks to Steve about the benefits of regular chiropractic visits. We get to know Lindsay, and how she and her family arrived her in Alpena, and round it out with our Top 5 Super Bowl part foods! It’s a fantastic episode-give it a listen!

We have a fantastic episode for you guys this week!! This week we sit down with Paige Allia and Joel Choate and learn all the cool things they have going on in their lives. We first talk with Paige and learn how she settled in Alpena and also how she became a yoga instructor. We then pivot, talk to Joel and his new business in town Collective Effort Gaming. After we get the low-down on that, we talk about the Karmic Roots and what they are both hoping to continue to grow not only in Northeast Michigan--but hoping to expand their community all over. We round the episode out with our Top 5 Rom-Coms. It's a fun episode with two amazing people--check it out!

Welcome to Season 4 of Hot Take From the Kitchen! After an epic Hot Take Session that gets us caught up from the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, we get right down to business. To kick off the Season right, we bring back Matt Duthler from Northland Area Federal Credit Union and do our give-a-way. We find out that the lobby is open for all their location and that includes the new Headquarters they built right here in Alpena. We round the episode out with our Top 5 Favorite Superbowl Players, which is just in time for the Super Bowl next week. It's great to be back and hope you guys enjoy Season 4!

We are here for our yearly end of year episode! Lots of good and bad things have happened for us this year and we go over some of the highlights that 2020 has brought us. We then talk about our Top 5 Favorite Episodes from our 3rd Season and go over what we liked about those episodes. It's been a wild year but we've given it our best! We appreciate all our listeners and look forward to bringing you some episodes for 2021 & our 4th Season!

Hey gang! We are back with a quick episode and update for you all. It's been a crazy time but nevertheless we think we have a pretty cool episode for you all this week! Brad and I took our enneagram test and then shared our results with our listeners. We then talk about how enneagram dynamic work with relationships and what its says about us. If this interests you at all, feel free to take your own test with the link below and then email us what you are--and if you think you agree or disagree with what it says about you! https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test We round out the episode with our Top 5 Favorite Eddie Murphy movies! It's a short episode but we packed it full of great stuff, so give it a listen!

Grab your favorite Austin Brother's Beer, kick back and relax as we talk with Chris Heikkuri from Austin Brothers Beer Co. We meet Chris and learn how he and his family ended up in Alpena, MI. We get updates on how ABBC has done through the pandemic and what they hope to do moving forward. We have an awesome Top 5 that Steve screws up and only forgets one of the greatest Christmas movies of all-time!!! (We do Top 5 Favorite Christmas Movie Characters) DOH!! It's a great pod and we appreciate you all for listening!

We have a quick episode for you today!  We sit down and talk with Alpena County Prosecutor, Cynthia Muszynski, and find out how her election campaign is going.  As some of you know, Cynthia was appointed to be the County Prosecutor back in March and has been in the position since, but in the meantime, has been also campaign to get elected to the position Nov. 3rd!   We sit down and find out why she has such a passion for public service, and where she see the prosecutor's office direction heading in the next four years, if she elected.   We appreciate you all giving it a listen and if you haven't decided yet who you want to vote for as the next County Prosecutor, we hope this helps you decide Tuesday! 

Did you know Alpena has its very own Pro on the National Disc Golfing Circuit? Well you do now and we sit down with him while he is home on break! Andrew Marwede is a helluva basketball player but about three years ago he made the jump to disc golf and hasn't looked back! We learn about his growing up in Alpena and his time with AHS & ACC Basketball. We then pivot to his Professional Disc Golf journey and how he got so far so fast! We round the episode out with our Top 5 Favorite States--it's a great episode, give it a listen!

Gun Dawg is in the house! We get on the horn tonight and talk with one of Bay View's Finest: Mike Gunderson! We reminisce on the old day of Bay View Basketball and how Gun Dawg arrived in Alpena. We go over that background and then talk about his college career and where he is now. We then pivot to hear about his amazing transformation story and weight loss journey and round the episode out with our Top 5 Favorite ACC Basketball Players. It's a great, inspiring episode you definitely should check out!

The boys are back! Steve needed a "creativity break" and they are back refreshed and ready to go--okay, Brad is always ready to pod--but either way we got a new episode for you all. The boys start off refreshing what the pod has become and give a chance for the new listeners to learn about Brad and Steve a bit. The boys then talk about their photography journey and where it has landed both of them, Steve somehow doing semi-professional videography and Brad finding changes in his personal life. Either way, it is indeed fascinating when you decide to get outside your comfort zone and see what happens. The guys then round out the pod with a Top 5 that's been months in the making. It's a great episode, give it a listen!

Matt Duthler drops by The Kitchen to sit down with us and talk about his role with Northland Area Federal Credit Union and how he and his family arrived in Alpena. Matt is a strong advocate of the arts and his wife is a teacher and are both heavily involved in the Alpena community. Matt also brought the best bag of goodies to the pod. If you listen to the pod and find the trivia question, and email you answer into, hottakefromthekitchen@gmail.com, we will draw a winner out in the future pod to win a sweet prize basket. We round the episode out with our Top 5 Hippies of all-time. It's a great episode and our biggest give-a-way to date so thank you Matt & Northland Area Federal Credit Union!!!

We have a beautiful episode for you guys this week: two close friends, Jesse Osmer & Mary Eagan drop by The Kitchen to talk about how two people in today's world can have opposing political viewpoints and still be great friends. We talk about some of the issues that we are facing not just in today's world but the State and Local levels, and how while they both at times see things differently--they have much more in common than differences. We then round the episode off with "The Top 5 Things We Think People Should Know--But Don't". It's a great episode and hope you guys give it a listen!

The Mindset Mavens (Betsy Young & Sarah Morrison) stop sit down with us at the Hippie Dome and we learn all about how these two girls landed in Alpena and banded together. After we learn what brought them together we learn about the business they launched during the pandemic and what all inspired them to create "Run Your Day". After we dig into that we round out the episode with our Top 5 Things Each of Us Does for Self-Care. It's a great episode so give it a listen. If you're interested in getting your own copy of "Run Your Day" follow the link here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MindsetMavens?fbclid=IwAR1Ge0HsJ9IWJOUEiUp94Fh0lb6Tr6TomPaar8LyFRELq0qkp_yiQ5xq0DE

Nick stops by The Kitchen so we can learn about one of Alpena's most active community members. We learn a bit about Nick's background and then how he became the CEO of Wolverine State Credit Union. We talk a bit about the corona virus and how it has impacted him and his employees, and how the landscape has changed and we round it out with a Top 5 Dive Bars in Alpena. It's a great episode so give it a listen!

You know an episode is good when you have a technical difficulty and have to rerecord a few segments and they are just as good--if not better than the first takes. We sit down with Aaron Buza, owner of Downtown Scoops, and learn the path that led him to owning one of our favorite stores in Downtown Alpena! We talk about how the Coronavirus has impacted him and how they have done an amazing job adjusting. We round the episode out with our Top 5 Ice Cream flavors, during which we try and get Buza to expand the Secret Menu! It's a fantastic episode that will make you want to run and go get ice cream! To find out more about Aaron or Downtown Scoops, head on over to www.facebook.com/downtownscoops Make sure to leave us ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on whatever platform you use to listen to podcasts and don't forget to hit that SUBSCRIBE button so you know when a new episode drops! If you want to learn more about Brad & Steve you can find them on Facebook or Instagram here: www.instagram.com/bradleyprzeslawski or www.facebook.com/bradley.przeslawski www.instagram.com/stevejakubcin or www.facebook.com/steve.jakubcin

Our first episode back in The Kitchen in a long time, but well over due. Eric Ferguson, Financial Advisor from Edward Jones in Alpena swings by and talks about what brought him to Alpena. We talk about our time at Northwood University and the unique experiences we both had and then round it all our with our Top 5 Things To Do in Northeast Michigan. It's a great episode with a great young man that's helping make our community a better place!

It's been a minute but we are finally able to sit down across each at a table and discuss the world. We still kept the distance smart by meeting outside at The Hungry Hippie while we had some Scoops, so pardon the wind and road noise. We discuss what we think about Covid so far and how it has impacted our lives professionally. Then we both care about the Black Lives Movement and sat down and discussed our thoughts about it and how race plays a part in our community. It's an episode that has it all--there's both laughter and tears--which I think does a good job or summing up the world right now! Thanks for listening talk to you all soon!

If you guys at all are feeling like we have the past few weeks, then this pod is just what you all need. We took a walk down memory lane with on of Bayview's Finest Eric Muszynski. To many people however he is known in the area as a teacher in Hillman, Hillman's Athletic Director and of course their Boy's Basketball Coach. We talk about what it's like battling Covid-19 in a rural community like Hillman, his time at Alpena and ACC and then one of the Great Top 5's off All-Time, isn't even a Top 5. We draft our Bayview Dream Teams. Settle in and get ready. Its totally worth the listen.

What is this?!?!?!?! Two episodes in one week?!?!?!?!?! You know it!!!!!! We don't have a whole lot going on in our lives with the Shutdown going on, so we are recording episodes (not together, but over the phone). We bring the Mayor, Matt Waligora, back on to catch us up on the changes that have taken place with the city since his last appearance and what steps and actions the City of Alpena have taken and implemented due to the Coronavirus outbreak, if/when it comes to our area. There is also some talk on the Census, the Greatest College Basketball Player of All-Time, and some senseless NBA talk. Then the episode rounds out with our Top 5 Things We Miss During This Shutdown.

Hey everybody, we are back with a brand-new episode during these crazy times!!!!! It is just Steve and Bradley coming at you to talk about how Covid-19 had affected us these past couple weeks. The guys open up and become vulnerable (which is nothing new). We know these are trying times, so hopefully this brightens your day.

We are back this week with a very important episode. We bring on Dr. John VanWagoner, Superintendent of Alpena Public Schools, to talk about the School Bond vote coming up this coming Tuesday, March 10th. But first we discuss our Hot Take topics and get to know Dr. V., then get into the School Bond. Then we finish off with our Top 5 Super Bowls. Be aware that the audio is not the best and that the chipmunks raided the kitchen again or helium was being released during recording. But even with these audio issues, you should still listen since the topic is so important.

It's the episode you all have been waiting for!!!! We bring on our Mystery Guest and break the news of what organization will be the recipient of the proceeds from this year's Thunder Bay River Costume Run/Walk. After a little snafu that nobody is able to really explain, we get into a bevy of Hot Take topics. Then we get to know our guest and what her organization does. We round out the episode with our Top 5 Bodies of Water. It is an episode we have been excited about for many months and we are happy to bring to you all.

We are back once again this week with Claire LaFleur. We talk about NBA All-Star Weekend and the Cavs coaching situation in Hot Takes, with a lengthy discussion about gloves thrown in there somewhere. Then we get to know Claire and what brought her to Alpena. There is a very sweet and amusing story that you don't want to miss before we get to the most contentious Top 5 we have ever had, with some interesting takes concerning Whitney Houston. I'm not going to lie, this episode is great and there has been talk about bringing Claire on full-time as part of the podcast. Check it out and give it a listen. You won't be disappointed.

Jonny makes another appearance in the Kitchen with us this week to catch up on all things sports, both local and state. So get ready for some talk on hockey, basketball, and football. We also talk some baseball with our Top 5 Detroit Tigers.

We bring back Jackie Krawczak this week to talk about the Super Bowl, some politics (but don't get deep into it), leadership, what she has going on in her life right now, and our Top 5 Self-Help/Personal Development books.  There is so much in this episode, I didn't want to spoil it all here.  FYI, Jackie was talking about the Murder Mystery Dinner taking place this Saturday at the Sandbar & Grill, but we had to cut it out due to some technical difficulties.  So that is why there is a gap in the last segment.