During my week of local eating, many farmers kept me delighted. Steve Miller kept me fed.
Miller's certainly able to come up with the pretty heirlooms and fancy eggplants that are the summer currency at a farmers' market. But when you're surviving on local produce alone, the staples – onions, potatoes, greens and stewing tomatoes – become entirely more important.
On his Clarkston farm and on land in Decatur, Miller grows vegetables that many other local farmers pass over. When asked why this is, he replies, "Because I don't listen to anyone. I came from Dayton, Ohio, and when I arrived I just planted the things I used to grow there. And it worked!"
His independent spirit is part of why, in the midst of his field of English peas and cauliflower, a crazy tropical plant sticks up out of the earth. "It's papaya!" Miller exclaims. He hasn't harvested any fruit from his young papaya trees, but he pauses to admire their leaves and flowers.
Miller learned to garden from his grandmother, whom he describes as his "best friend." He planted his first garden when he was 7 and hasn't gone without one since. As he ambles around the Clarkston property, he seems as delighted as he must have been when he was that little boy learning from his grandmother. "There's nothing like a garden," he says, "Look at this – it has beauty, function, and you can eat it!"
But Miller's story proves that even the most innocent undertaking can attract trouble. In recent months, a woman from DeKalb County Code Enforcement has visited him to say that he can't have a vegetable farm. Research into DeKalb County codes, as well as calls to district Commissioner Burrell Ellis' office, reveal that the closest Miller comes to a code violation is in the use of land for commercial gain. The problem isn't the growing, it's that he sells his vegetables at an offsite farmer's market.
According to the DeKalb County Office of Planning and Development, the law is vague and in place to prevent large commercial operations in residential areas. Sanctioning Miller would be like punishing an eBay-based home business. Miller has hired a lawyer.
"You'd think they'd be excited to have someone here doing something in the green direction," Miller says. "This is something I'd like to pass on to my neighbors, to teach the community about. Instead they're trying to stop me." He pauses and adds, "People just don't know how much beauty you can get from vegetables."
You can find Steve Miller at the Decatur Organic Farmers Market on Wednesdays, 4-7 p.m.; the East Atlanta Village Farmers Market on Thursdays, 4 p.m.-dusk through Nov. 20; and at the Piedmont Park Green Market on Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. through Dec. 13.
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...
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...
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...
