LOCAL Houston | The City Guide AUGUST 2015 | Page 6
Local August 2015_FINAL.qxp_002houston 7/27/15 12:18 PM Page 6
LETTER
FROM THE
EDITOR
BEHIND
THE BEE’S
T
here are few things as
comforting as food and
as soothing as drink.
Think about the sayings:
comfort food, chicken soup for the
soul, drink oneself to sleep. I could
go on. Alice had quite the trip eating and drinking in Wonderland, and Willy Wonka did as well at the Chocolate
Factory. Like Water for Chocolate weaves a sensual tale on the powers of food and
drink, and Julie & Julia made us want to cook our way through a cookbook.
Photography by Gabriella Nissen
For our cover shoot I joined SHELLEY RICE, local beekeeper,
on the roof of The Grove at Discovery Green. Shelley opened
the hive and pulled out one honeycomb after another, each
covered with busy bees. While the girls, the workers, were
taking care of business, the drones were hanging out. We
spotted this adorable girl dusted with golden yellow and hauling loads of pollen. The queen was nowhere to be seen and
according to Shelley, she moves around when the hive is disturbed.
Just as we were commenting on how peaceful and happy the
hive was a rogue bee dive-bombed my face and planted her
stinger right on my nose. Luckily it was a minor sting. After
sampling the delicious cheese plate prepared by The Grove’s
pastry chef Natasha Douglas and featuring their rooftop honeycomb, all was forgiven.
My point is that these two subjects – food+drink – have quite the hold on our daily
lives. Drama aside, without the two we could quite literally die. Current trends have
us respecting the two through our acquisition of these items, preparation of them and
even promotion of them through social media. Not a day goes by that someone’s
food shot is not on one of my feeds.
We are frankly obsessed with food+drink. And I’m OK with this. I love the two
things.
This issue coincides with Houston’s Restaurant Weeks, a wonderful opportunity to
check out a bevy of the city’s best restaurants offering special menus at special prices
and all to benefit the Houston Food Bank. Visit www.houstonrestaurantweeks.com for
a list of participating restaurants.
In this issue you’ll learn about a local farm (technically an hour and a half away) and
the family who is sticking to their guns, local bees, the most gorgeous gin and tonic
program, upcoming restaurants we’re excited about and so much more.
Bon appétit!
And just for fun we’ve hidden a few pollitos (chickens in
Spanish) throughout this issue. Find them all and tell us on
what pages at [email protected].
6
L O C A L
| august 15
Carla Valencia de Martinéz
Editor-in-Chief
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GABRIELLA NISSEN