Flight January 2023

Citrus Fizz

A DELICIOUS MOCKTAIL TO START THE YEAR OUT RIGHT

BY COLLEEN GRAHAM AT THESPRUCEEATS.COM

The citrus fizz is an interesting fruit mocktail that takes on the feel of many of the classic fizz cocktails, like the gin fizz or Ramos fizz. It has a fascinating taste and is a lot of fun to mix up.

In this nonalcoholic drink, you’ll combine orange, lemon and lime juices with a bit of grenadine for sweetness and color. It is then shaken with an egg to produce a wonderfully frothy drink. It’s actually a fascinating beverage designed to replicate those famous cocktails and you won’t even miss the liquor.

Ingredients:

 1/4 cup orange juice

 1/4 cup lemon juice

 2 tablespoons lime juice

 1 teaspoon grenadine

 1 small or medium egg

 2-4 tablespoons sparkling water, to taste

 Orange slice, for garnish

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients. 2. In a cocktail shaker without ice, add the juices, grenadine and egg. 3. Dry shake to break up the egg and mix the ingredients. 4. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. 5. Strain into a chilled Collins glass. 6. Top off with sparkling water and stir gently. 7. Garnish with an orange slice. Serve and enjoy.

Raw Egg Warning: Consuming raw and undercooked eggs poses a risk of foodborne illness.

Brought to you by

Baby Bellini Baby Bellini

The Baby Bellini is the innocent, virgin version of the classic peach and Champagne cocktail from the 1930s. Named after Giovanni Bellini, it is perfect for elegant entertaining and has the feel of a great Champagne cocktail. The taste is close to that of the original but has none of the alcohol, so it’s a win-win.

Serve this drink for brunch, a wedding reception or baby shower. It can be a “dry” occasion or you can offer this nonalcoholic version of the Bellini to anyone who is avoiding alcohol (such as the expectant mother) while other guests enjoy the alcohol-containing version using Champagne.

As in the Bellini, peach juice or puree can also be used in place of the nectar, and if you like, you could use ginger ale or a sparkling soda instead of cider.

Ingredients

 2 ounces peach nectar

 4-5 ounces sparkling cider

 Peach slice, for optional garnish

Steps to Make It

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Pour the peach nectar into a Champagne flute.

3. Slowly add the sparkling cider.

4. Garnish with a peach slice. Serve and enjoy.

 Refrigerate any leftover peach puree or juice in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze it to use for up to three months.

 Peach nectar will add the most peach flavor. Look for peach nectar in the juice section of the grocery store. Nectar will be more concentrated than peach juice, but you can use peach juice if that is what is available.

 If you have fresh peaches available during the peach season, you can make your own peach juice or peach puree for the freshest Bellinis. Peaches are ripe during the summer months of June through August in most areas. Using a mixed selection of peach varieties, they will create even more flavor for your juice or puree as each will be a little different.

 If you’re using fresh peaches, save one to make a slice for a garnish, either on the rim of the glass or floated in the drink. You can freeze slices sprinkled with a little lemon juice to use to cool the drink as well as add a tasty treat when the drink is finished.

BY COLLEEN GRAHAM AT THESPRUCEEATS.COM

Brought

BY RACHEL ESTES

When Meadowlark Coffee debuted as a pop-up coffee cart in December 2021, the end goal was clear: to one day reside in a brick-and-mortar shop.

Today, JP and Sommer McKenzie greet customers — many of them by name — from behind the counter of Meadowlark’s permanent abode at 109 Bradford St. NE in downtown Gainesville.

Softly opened in late October, the shop serves specialty coffees and teas from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

“It’s been a long time coming,” JP said. “We’ve always toyed with the idea of having a shop; it’s always been a dream. But it seemed kind of unattainable, you know?”

The impetus, he said, was the La Marzocco espresso machine Sommer gave him for his first Father’s Day in 2021, which came with one string attached: launch a coffee service within the next year or send it back.

JP, a veteran barista whose experience includes stints

at Jittery Joe’s in Athens and Brash Coffee in Atlanta, started preparing lattes for friends in his home until that winter, when the McKenzies pulled the trigger and launched Meadowlark as a pop-up coffee cart at Enemies of the Average.

The concept was short-lived, owing to its ability to meet food service rules and regulations set for pop-up operations by the Georgia Department of Public Health, and JP’s longtime dream of owning a brickand-mortar shop began to take shape.

When he left Brash in 2017, the owners asked JP what his five-year plan entailed. Five years later, he’s living it, pulling espresso shots — with the same La Marzocco machine, no less — and hosting customers as though they’re guests in his own kitchen.

“It worked out right on track but didn’t necessarily feel that way,” he said. “If you asked me a year ago if I thought we’d have this in a year, I definitely would have laughed. Even though (the pop-up cart) got shut down, it gave us enough of a taste to be really excited to do more. That was the push that we needed to just go for it, because it definitely came a lot sooner than we ever had planned for. But it was all,

what feels like now, perfect timing.”

What was intended to be a soft opening when Meadowlark Coffee officially opened its doors has been anything but, affording the McKenzies little time to train their sixmember staff the way they’d planned. The emerging baristas, however, have risen to the occasion.

“The moment Sommer and I got the call that we could open, we were like, ‘Let’s just be in here, train people slowly, get everyone acquainted.’ We kind of assumed every couple of hours someone would walk by, but it really started picking up quick. It’s really been trial by fire. Everyone has done so great — like, I could not be more proud of how everyone has really picked up, really gives it their all. It’s a gift that can’t be overlooked, that we have people (on staff) who really care about others but also care about really devoting themselves to what we’re doing.”

The roughly 430-square-foot space housing Meadowlark Coffee has likewise exceeded the McKenzies’ expectations.

“It’s a cozy space; it’s small, but it definitely exceeds my expectation in the way that I wanted it to feel — like you were walking into a friend’s kitchen, that you

were somewhere you were excited to be and felt welcomed and at home,” JP said. “That is what I feel here, more than I really could have envisioned.”

With Inman Perk serving coffee less than 200 feet away and Boarding Pass Coffee slated to join the square in the coming months while Farmhouse Coffee moves into Solis Gainesville just across the pedestrian bridge, JP sees the potential for camaraderie rather than competition.

“People who are into coffee are excited to share coffees with other people,” he said. “I think what we’re very quickly going to have here is, one, something to offer to people of all different coffee preferences, but I also think we’ll have a tighter knit community of coffee professionals or baristas who can do more coffee-oriented events together. I’m really, really thrilled that we’re growing in a way that will appeal to so many people.”

He added: “It makes sense at the rate we’re growing to have several (coffee shops) more come in. Everyone will have space. I don’t really think that anyone will be hurting for customers.”

With locally sourced ingredients, including pastries from Athens’ Independent Baking Co., house-made syrups and retail shelves featuring coffee roasters around the globe who “showcase the origin notes of their coffee in a clear, picturesque way,” JP expressed his excitement to offer something that specialty coffee connoisseurs may have had to travel elsewhere to find.

“At the very least, we’re introducing people to things that they never would have gotten to try otherwise,” he said. “Maybe things that wouldn’t have been part of their lives, we can offer.”

That, paired with the sense of community Meadowlark aims to forge, is a gift that keeps on giving, JP said.

“Being part of people’s lives through this and being able to see some of the same casts of people walk through the door, catch up and hear how their life is going — it all makes this feel like my hometown, even though I’m a transplant,” he said. “The community aspect that we’ve been wanting for so long seems to be coming to fruition.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

JAN FEB MAR

01

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE AND PADDLE

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Lake Lanier Olympic Park, 3105 Clarks Bridge Road, Gainesville

01 FIRST DAY HIKE

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Don Carter State Park. 5000 N. Browning Bridge Road, Gainesville

12

FARMERS MARKET

3:30-6:30 p.m. Jan. 12, Jan. 26.

Market Pavilion, 5210 Railroad Ave., Flowery Branch 15

2-6 p.m.

Braselton Civic Center, 27 E. Lake Drive, Braselton

ONGOING EVENTS

Lanier Running Club

5:30 p.m. every Tuesday

Liquid Nation Brewing, 2100 Atlanta Highway, Gainesville

YogaFit Gentle Yoga

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Wednesday

Blackshear Place Branch Library, 2927 Atlanta Highway, Gainesville

Murrayville Library Lego Club

04

DOWNTOWN BRASELTON CHOCOLATE WALK

11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 5040 Ga. Highway 53, Braselton

02 “JOHN AND JEN” BY GAINESVILLE

THEATRE

March 2-5

ALLIANCE

Ed Cabell Theatre, 3820 Mundy Mill Road, Oakwood

5-6 p.m. first Mondays of the month Murrayville Library, 4796 Thompson Bridge Road, Gainesville

Discovery Saturdays

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. second Saturdays of the month

Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville

09

FLOWERY BRANCH WINTER FARMERS MARKET

18 SUWANEE BEER FEST

1-5 p.m.

Town Center Park, 330 Town Center Ave., Suwanee

Homeschool Day

10 a.m. to noon third Thursdays of the month

Elachee Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville

Tea with Jane Austen: A

3-4 p.m. fourth Fridays of the month

Gainesville Branch, 127 Main St. NW,