Ray and Donna Lopes, Hidden Springs Farms, Williamson, Ga.
Ray Lopes is severely allergic to bee stings. With his biological aversion to bees and his thick New York City accent, he's the last person I expected to find producing honey on 109 bucolic acres in Williamson, Ga.
So how did a kid from Staten Island end up tending honeybees in rural Georgia? "My summer job as a teenager was to work on farms in upstate New York," Lopes explains. "I learned to work with bees then. It's something I always thought about doing again." After a corporate career that moved him around one too many times (the last time landing him in Georgia), Lopes and his wife, Donna, decided to throw in their lot with the bees.
At Hidden Springs Farms, the Lopeses raise cattle and peacocks, as well as harvest pecans from their orchard. But it's the bee business that accounts for about 70 percent of their income, generated by honey, beeswax, and the queens they breed and ship all over the country to other beekeepers and aspiring beekeepers. The Lopeses mainly raise Three Banded Italian bees, known for their gentle temperament. "Lots of people want a hive in their back yard that they can show their grandkids and not worry about stings," Ray explains. When Donna, bare-handed, pulls out a frame of one hive and holds it up on display, the bees busily work away and ignore the prying.
Hidden Springs honey, like all natural honey, varies in flavor depending on the kinds of plants the bees are pollinating while producing honey. During my local eating week, I started almost every morning with the Lopeses' tupelo honey, a rich, nectar-flavored honey that paired perfectly with tart goat cheese. As I sit here writing this, I am scooping liberally from a jar of wildflower honey, which Ray assured me would help with my allergies. What sweet medicine.
Hidden Springs honey and other products are available at the Peachtree Road farmer's market Saturday mornings, or online at www.hsffarm.com.
Food Issue 2009
My week on an all-Georgia diet
I do what I can to eat food grown locally. During the summer, I shop at my neighborhood farmer's market. I buy locally raised meats when I can afford them. I make a feeble attempt at growing my own veggies. And the milk my son drinks gallons of per week comes from a Georgia dairy. I do this for a...
Mike Buckner, Fielder's Flour, Junction City, Ga.
Ask Mike Buckner how long his family's been on the land he's standing on, and he'll answer, "Since the Indians." Clad in overalls and a worn cotton shirt, Buckner is the seventh generation to live on Fielder's plantation. The trip to the farm entails an hour's drive from the nearest interstate down country, and sometimes dirt, roads. Buckner and his...
Steve Miller, Clarkston, Ga.
During my week of local eating, many farmers kept me delighted. Steve Miller kept me fed.
Craig and Cydney Kritzer, Frogtown Cellars, Dahlonega, Ga.
OK, I'm not going to sugarcoat it: There are a lot of overripe, flat tasting, or stickily sweet Georgia wines. I should know — I spent my week on the Georgia diet valiantly drinking my way through the state. But there were exceptions, most notably Frogtown Cellars. Not only are its wines highly drinkable – some even downright delicious –...
Guide to Atlanta Restaurants
This guide includes restaurants that our critics recommend, are of note, or have received recent reviews in Creative Loafing.
Late-night dining (serving after 10 p.m.)
88 Tofu House (Korean) Beleza (Pan Latin/South American) Brick Store Pub (Pub Food) Cuerno (Tapas/Spanish) El Tesoro (Mexican/Tex Mex) Hanil Kwan (Korean) Il Bacio (Italian) Krog Bar (Tapas/Spanish) Nam (Vietnamese) Noni's Italian Deli and Bar (Italian) Rathbun's (New American) Six Feet Under (Seafood) Stella Neighborhood Trattoria (Italian) Tap (Pub Food) The Earl (Pub Food) Top Flr (New American) Trois (French)...
Restaurants that feature live music
Apres Diem (American) – Live jazz every Wednesday at 8 p.m. Atlanta Grill (American) – Tues.-Sat., 7-11 p.m. Atmosphere (French) – Every Thursday from 7-10 p.m. Café Circa (Caribbean) – Thurs.-Sat., 9:30 p.m. or midnight Dante's Down the Hatch (American) – Nightly Front Page News (Cajun/Creole) – Every Friday at 9 p.m. Ibiza (Tapas/Spanish) – Every Saturday at 10:30 p.m....
Restaurants with free Wi-Fi
5 Seasons Brewing (Pub Food) Brick Store Pub (Pub Food) Carroll Street Café (American) Dakota Blue (American) Joel (French) Solstice Café (American) West Egg Café (Breakfast)...
Kid-friendly restaurants
Cantina La Casita (Mexican/Tex-Mex) Dakota Blue (American) Eats (American) El Tesoro (Mexican/Tex-Mex) Mary Mac's (Southern/Soul Food) Nuevo Larado (Mexican) Osteria 832 (Italian) Ria's (Breakfast) Savage Pizza (Pizza) Six Feet Under (Seafood) Son's Place (Southern/Soul Food) Souper Jenny (American) Stella Neighborhood Trattoria (Italian)...
Recipe: Leek and Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke) Soup
Ingredients for soup 1 stick of butter 10 medium-sized leeks rinsed clean and chopped (green trimmed for stock) 1 3/4 lbs. sunchoke, with skins and rinsed 1 entire garlic bulb, peeled and sliced 1/2 lb. Georgia Crispin or Rome apples, peeled, cored and cubed 1 cup of any Georgia chardonnay Ingredients for stock Leek greens 1 bunch cilantro Kale stems...
A guide to local food resources
Thanks to Georgia Organics, whose local food guide we relied on heavily when putting this together. CSAs A & J Farms Naturally grown produce without using petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, sustainable farming, variety of heirloom fruits and vegetables. CSA shares provide weekly harvest of fresh vegetables from mid-spring through late autumn. 6800 Cowan Mill Road, Winston. 770-489-7291. Contact: Alex...
Recipe: Slow-Roasted Berkshire Pork Shoulder with Skillet-Fried Turnips, Apples and Potato Cider Butter
Pork shoulder 2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder roast, trussed Salt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Turnips and apples 1 bunch baby hakeuri turnips with greens 2 local apples (preferably sun crisp, Fuji, or gala) 1/4 cup hickory smoked bacon Hot pepper vinegar Salt Unsalted butter Honey Potato cider butter 1 lb. potatoes 1 quart heavy cream 1 cup apple cider Salt...
Recipe: Besha's Local Bread
Makes two loaves Ingredients: 2 cups warm water (105-115 F) One 1/4-ounce package (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast 1/3 cup honey 5 to 6 cups whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 cup canola oil One egg, beaten with a teaspoon of water • In a small bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups warm water and yeast and let...
Recipe: Hugh Acheson, Five & Ten: Georgia Grass-Fed Ribeye with Salsa Verde and Stewed Shiitakes
Salsa verde 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley (leaves only, finely chopped) 1 tablespoon basil (leaves only, finely chopped) 1 tablespoon mint (leaves only, finely chopped) 1 tablespoon marjoram (leaves only, finely chopped) 2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced) 1/2 red jalapeño (seeded and minced) 2 tablespoons minced cucumber Kosher salt Extra virgin olive oil Ribeye 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 1...
Recipe: Quail with Sweet Peppers and Goat Cheese Polenta
1 cup polenta 8 oz. fresh goat cheese (chevre) 8 quail, wings tips clipped 1 cup sweet peppers (roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped) 2 tablespoons chopped assorted herbs (such as parsley, thyme, basil, sage, rosemary) 2 cups arugula leaves, stems removed 4 tablespoons olive oil Salt In a 3-quart sauce pot, heat 4 cups water over high heat. When water...
Recipe: Kim O'Donnel's ratatouille
Adapted by Kim O'Donnel from Ready When You Are: A Compendium of Comforting One-Dish Meals by Martha Rose Shulman 1 1/2 lbs. eggplant (1 large globe eggplant or 3 thinner Asian eggplants) Salt 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium onions, thinly sliced 3 red or yellow bell peppers, julienned 4-6 garlic cloves, minced 1 large yellow or green zucchini, cut...
