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