Cafe

18

CAFE

[REVIEW]

Buzzworthy Breakfast

Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats takes the most important meal of the day to the next level

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats

www.honeybeesbg.com

The first time oney ee’s iscuits ood ats owner ike Shadwick made breakfast it didn’t go so well. e thought he’d do something nice for his mom so he went into the kitchen cracked two eggs into a bowl plopped in a scoop of margarine mi ed it up and presented it to her without the concoction ever hitting a frying pan. Considering he was just three years old that mistake was understandable but it didn’t deter his family from letting him play around with food which fostered a love of cooking especially breakfast food that he carried with him into adulthood.

Those days of raw eggs and margarine from a tub are now long behind Shadwick who opened oney ee’s with his wife eredith in une . Still he can follow the thread of his breakfast food obsession back to those earliest memories through adolescence and into adulthood where cooking eggs bacon sausage and the many other staples of morning mealtime was a constant. To him making breakfast was about more than simply throwing together a meal he was always inspired to put his own spin on things even if it was simply adding honey and sea salt to illsbury rands canned biscuits.

That little touch made the store bought brand much better but it wasn’t enough for the Shadwicks. ver the years Shadwick had developed an outstanding sausage gravy recipe and the pair felt that they needed a from scratch option to match its uality. t first eredith began e perimenting with making her own biscuits for the gravy but they were not what Shadwick had envisioned. e took her recipe as a starting point played around for a while then passed it back to her where she tweaked it until it was perfect.

The e perience underscored just how much Shadwick loved cooking. owever he never thought he’d make a career out of it until a couple of years ago when he left behind a ten year career in sales. While he was unemployed for a year and a half his wife suggested that he look into restaurant work as an option. Shadwick committed to taking the first food gig that came his way which ended up being a job as an mo’s i a delivery driver. etermined to see where the opportunity led he dove headfirst into the job and reali ed how much he loved the industry. ick mo who operated the Central West nd store where Shadwick was based recogni ed his passion and drive and promoted him eventually taking him under his wing where he learned the ins and outs of the business.

Shadwick got the opportunity to learn even more about the culinary side of the restaurant game after a friend connected him with ichael and Tara allina. With no cooking e perience outside of mo’s Shadwick went into an interview for a line cook position at Winslow’s Table and got it thanks to his attitude and work ethic. n just three weeks he’d fallen into a groove at Winslow’s and got the sense that he was finally doing the sort of work he was meant to do. owever the e perience was cut short when the pandemic hit town shuttering Winslow’s and flipping the restaurant world on its head.

Though he was disappointed that his run at Winslow’s was so brief Shadwick left there with the confidence to make a career in the restaurant business. fter e ploring what that would look like he and eredith decided to go out on their own and build upon the passion for breakfast food that he’d been cultivating his entire life.

That passion translated into oney ee’s which opened as a food stall at the irkwood Farmers’ arket last summer. uilt around his signature honey gla ed biscuits the outfit enjoyed immediate success selling out every Saturday it showed up for service. Within three weeks the Shadwicks knew they had to e -

ere’s a reason Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats has “biscuit” in the name. Pictured here are versions with everything bagel seasoning, honey-glazed and chocolate chip flavors. | MABEL SUEN

Honey Bee biscuits are hand-rolled and cut. | MABEL SUEN

Co-owners Michael Shadwick and Meredith Gibbons Shadwick. | MABEL SUEN

pand so they turned oney ee’s into a truck that launched in February which has continued to gain a following through regular stints at the irkwood Farmers’ arket and ile arden food truck park as well as private events.

The Shadwicks still sound shocked by the response to oney ee’s though they should not be. ou don’t even need to take a bite out of one of their biscuits to know it’s going to be good fluffy golden and gilded with honey they glisten in the sunlight. owever once you do dig in you recogni e just how e traordinary they are. The shortbread like e terior gives way to an almost cake like interior that has a subtle sweetness underscored by the honey gla e. Then there’s the butter so prominent you can feel it on your hands as you devour this masterpiece. That he and eredith were ever surprised by the throngs of marketgoers lined up for a taste is comical.

The biscuits are outstanding on their own but they are also a glorious canvas for oney ee’s other offerings. s a sandwich which the pair whimsically refer to as a “sammie they are filled with peppery scrambled eggs melted cheddar and bacon that is still glistening with a little grease that soaks into the biscuit’s crevices. Shadwick dresses the sandwich with a tangy aioli that brightens the dish.

Shadwick’s famous sausage gravy is another e cellent option shockingly creamy and kissed with peppery spice. t’s easy to understand why the concoction was a driver for their biscuit making endeavor in the first place. oney ee’s success is not limited to biscuits however. Shadwick also offers a crustless uiche which he and eredith call the “Wakey Wakey ggy akey a frittata like casserole of eggs spinach cheese and hash browns that is flawlessly seasoned and cooked. dditionally the pair make rolled and stuffed biscuit “croissants filled with everything from blueberries and cheese to savory butters. These options together with the multitude of offerings that show up on their rotating menu one day they promise to bring back their legendary s’mores inspired “Campfire iscuit show that there is no limit to their creativity.

While not available on my weekday visits the pair regularly offer vegetarian gravy made with portobello mushrooms sweet biscuits in such varieties as chocolate chip and Cinnamon Toast Crunch warm fruit compotes and several whipped butters and toppings. “ f you can think it we can biscuit it they like to say and with a brick and mortar hopefully on the not so distant hori on it’s e citing to watch them turn into one of the area’s most thrilling breakfast brands one that proves how finally following your true calling can lead to great things.

Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats

Biscuit .........................................................$4 Biscuit and sausage gravy .........................$8 Bacon and cheese “sammie” .....................$9 • Food truck